Wonder Woman 1984 - Might not be as Great as its Predecessor but Still Pretty Entertaining

Finally this movie could be watched officially on our small screen after Catchplay+ platform released it yesterday through single video rental. I thought it was a really smart move to capture new subscribers who wanted to watch this film without the worry of having to go out to public places like the cinema and mall. Anyway, I believe we should just be thankful that such option is available. OK, let's start with the movie now.

Brief Story Line

Set in the year 1984, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot - Ralph Breaks the Internet, Fast and Furious movies etc) was now working at Smitshonian Institution where she befriended a geologist named Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig - Despicable Me 3, Downsizing etc). Secretly though, Diana as Wonder Woman still trying to do heroic deeds. Due to some mystical reasons, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine - Star Trek Beyond, Unstoppable etc) who has been dead for many years somehow miraculously came back to life which made Diana so delighted, although it came at such a high price.

Meanwhile, a businessman named Max Lord (Pedro Pascal - We Can be Heroes, The Equalizer 2 etc) was trying to get his hand on an object in the Institution which would enable him to have the power beyond imagination. He tried various ways in order to do so and ultimately brought danger to the whole world.

So how would Diana deal with the return of the love of her life and also save the world from the villains? You could find them all in this Superhero movie.

End of Brief Story Line

This movie started off really brightly with an intense action sequence which surprisingly took quite long and really made me and my wife totally excited. But after those amazing scenes, the story slowed down a bit, likely to give us room to breathe, as well as introducing new important characters. As it continued further and with the appearance of the beloved Steve Trevor, the movie felt a bit lighthearted but still interesting.

However, the more the story continued, I somehow felt the focus seemed to be more on the characters development which don't get me wrong were OK, but personally felt a bit longer than expected. The result of such focus made the action sequence seem very little and the intensity was only felt one time in the middle. As a fan of superhero blockbuster movies, obviously there would be expectation of frequent spectacular action scenes which would make me excited, but this time I thought it lacked a bit in this area. Not until the finale that we get to see a major fight scene, though unfortunately it felt anticlimactic especially with the final conclusion.

For a movie set in the year 1980s, I thought the costume and make up department did their jobs greatly. My wife also thought the same, as she felt the hairdo really looked like from that period. Wonder Woman's new costumes were fantastic too. Unfortunately though, I could not help feeling there was a bit of something missing and after reading some comments on the internet, I realized it was the 80s songs (or at least the songs I was familiar with). Even if the musical score was amazing, but without those songs, it just did not give the strong 80s feel. Oh, the special effects were good as well. This time I disagree with some comments saying they were too heavily reliant on computer graphics, because I found them to be well done.

Gal Gadot still gave a wonderful performance as Wonder Woman. I also like her chemistry with Chris Pine. Meanwhile other cast were generally OK. Both my wife and I were quite surprised by Katherine Wiig's performance in here as we were so used to see her in more comedic role, but she fit in just nicely here. Pedro Pascal though to me personally did not seem to be too convincing in his part. He seemed like out of place. Oh there were also appearances by people from the first movie, i.e. Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright as Diana's mother Hippolyta and her sister Antiope respectively. Btw, there was an interesting mid end credit scene that probably could be well appreciated by the more mature audience.

Overall this was still an entertaining movie. There was a strong message of hope and we also get to see Wonder Woman being human, plus the lovely romance between Diana and Steve. Considering the movie having around 2.5 hrs duration, it would have been better if there were more action sequence and some popular 80s songs. After all, what's the point of making the story set in the 1980s if we did not get to hear them? Personally, if we have to compare this with its predecessor, my wife and I loved the original movie more. Nevertheless, it would not be a complete experience if we do not watch this one. So if you are still doubtful about going to the cinema like us, you could certainly enjoy this film by simply paying the single rental worth less than a ticket price in the premium theater.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars