Warner Bros. and DC's Wonder Woman 1984 is now playing in theaters in multiple countries overseas, and will soon be available in North America. Critics have published reviews of Wonder Woman 1984, the latest DC Extended Universe film, that provide insight into what audiences can expect from Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins' long-awaited sequel.
As the title indicates, Wonder Woman 1984 is set during the Cold War and finds Diana Prince reuniting with Steve Trevor, who has mysteriously returned despite sacrificing his life during the First World War. Complicating Diana and Steve's efforts to make up for the lost time is the arrival of business tycoon Maxwell Lord and friend-turned-nemesis Barbara Minerva, a.k.a. Cheetah.
As the sequel to Wonder Woman, one of the few films in the DCEU to receive near-unanimous praise, anticipation for Wonder Woman 1984 was heightened by the multiple release delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Early reactions to the DC sequel were overwhelmingly positive and now full reviews have hit the internet, most of which are echoing the initial positive sentiments towards the film. Glowing assessments of Wonder Wonder 1984 praise the film for providing a high-quality escapist spectacle that is perfectly suited for these trying times. However, even positive reviews criticize the villains and overindulgent storyline, with some indicating the film squandered its potential.
Here's what critics are saying:
Screen Rant (Molly Freeman)
"At its heart, Wonder Woman 1984 tells a very human story about love and loss that feels especially prescient in 2020, but the film never loses hope or faith in the ultimate goodness of the world and those who live in it. Gadot's Diana embodies that hope and optimism in every way - sometimes to the point that it feels far too unrealistic in a year filled with so much loss, but that blind idealism is also comforting in its steadfastness."
Score: 4/5
Variety (Peter Debruge)
"It whisks us away from our worries, erasing them with pure escapism. For those old enough to remember the ’80s, it’s like going home for Christmas and discovering a box full of childhood toys in your parents’ attic. This is what it felt like to watch Richard Donner’s “Superman” for the first time, or to marvel at the strong female role models of such vintage TV shows as “Wonder Woman” and “The Bionic Woman.” Even if the ’80s seem as distant to you as the World War I setting of Patty Jenkins’ history-making “Wonder Woman” feature three years ago, the sequel offers an amusing tour through that tackiest of decades, when shoulder pads and permed hair were all the rage."
Vanity Fair (Richard Lawson)
"In its best stretches—the first hour of the film, let’s say—WW84 sweetly revels in its old-school trappings, its hokey mystery, its goofy villain, its resourceful hero. The film is light on its feet, colorful and playful in a way not seen elsewhere in the DC Universe. (I suppose Aquaman comes close in terms of sheer, willful silliness.) It’s downright fun, with a rollicking opening set piece in a bright-hued shopping mall that sets the stage for cute antics to come—the film not only looks ’80s, but feels it, in all its decidedly uncool earnestness."
BBC (Nicholas Barber)
"A funny, sweet-natured, brightly-coloured standalone adventure, it is so reminiscent of the likes of Raiders of The Lost Ark and Ghostbusters in its jokes, its plotting, its locations and its general atmosphere that it fills you with the same warm feelings that they did – one of those feelings being wonder."
Score: 4/5
Mashable (Angie Han)
"[...] WW84, like its heroine, has its heart in the right place. The emotions work even when the calculations behind them don't quite add up, and nowhere is this truer than in Diana and Steve's rekindled relationship. Their romance has the proportions of a myth (she's a goddess in love with a mortal), but it's grounded in relatable pain (she's a lonely woman who's never gotten over her first love). Gadot and Pine smolder with an intensity that you believe could carry on for decades, and the very best of her performance shines through in the scenes when she's rubbed completely raw."
Vulture (Angelica Jade Bastien)
"Sadly, all that glittered in the franchise’s first outing is gone in Wonder Woman 1984. The disappointing sequel highlights not only the dire state of the live-action superhero genre in film, but the dire state of Hollywood filmmaking as a whole."
USA Today (Brian Truitt)
"The biggest problem with “1984” is there’s just too much of, well, everything. An extended Amazons-centric opening featuring kid Diana is cool but takes too long to get the movie humming, and some iffy visual effects mar the more massive, blockbuster-ready scenes. Still, the action-packed, heartwarming flick hits more than it misses, especially for fans waiting through a year full of release delays."
Score: 3/4
Warner Bros. ultimately decided to release Wonder Woman 1984 on HBO Max day-and-date with movie theaters in the United States. International markets, on the other hand, will gradually receive the DC sequel starting on December 16. The studio opted to release the film theatrically in certain countries before its U.S. debut in an effort to curtail piracy.
U.S. fans hoping to take advantage of HBO Max's seven-day free trial ahead of Wonder Woman 1984's debut on the streamer are out of luck. The offer is being revoked in favor of a 22 percent discount to new subscribers who purchase a six-month subscription.
Following the decision to release Wonder Woman 1984 in U.S. theaters and HBO Max at the same time, Warner Bros. announced 17 additional films would debut under the same model in 2021. Response from the entertainment industry has been generally negative, though WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar recently stood by the company's decision.
Wonder Woman 1984 will be released in U.S. theaters and on HBO Max on December 25.