Movie #15 of 2020:
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
I like a few isolated parts of this superhero sequel (mostly involving Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig’s respective acting choices) but overall it’s a huge mess whose thematic incoherence at least keeps pace with all the plot holes. What exactly is the macro-goal of our villainous thinly-veiled Trump figure, or the micro-justifications for some of the prices he demands for granting wishes? Why does he himself ask to be the Dreamstone, especially given that its power is clearly able to reward multiple requests from the same person? Why does this film completely gloss over its protagonist violating the bodily consent of that poor nameless engineer?
I’ve got more of these questions — I kept up a running thread on Twitter while I watched — but they all boil down to the fact that this blockbuster’s script goes to some baffling places that seriously undermine the story it’s nominally trying to tell. The logic never tracks, and the ultimate moral seems to be that it’s bad to want things: not to get them unfairly or without hard work, but just to crave them at all. That’s a weird fit for a genre that’s literally built on empowerment fantasies, and it’s not even developed consistently enough throughout that it could be appreciated as subversive.
Instead this is a movie that practically demands you not think too hard about anything it shows, yet neglects to provide enough spectacle to ever merit that level of distraction either. Even the 80s setting doesn’t feel as cheesily retro as some comparable recent period pieces like Stranger Things or Captain Marvel. It’s a frustrating viewing experience, especially as a follow-up to one of the brighter spots in the DC Extended Universe.
[Content warning for queerbaiting and racism.]
★★☆☆☆
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