Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
This review originally ran earlier this month.
We are republishing it on the occasion ofWonder Woman 1984sChristmas Daypremiere onHBO Max.
This sequel had almost everything going for it.
Its empathetic predecessor is likely the most beloved and critically successful of the slate of beleaguered DC Comics films.
But these issues were surmountable.
Instead, in1984,Dianas non-erotic yearning for Steve has become the entirety of her identity.
She doesnt miss her Amazon sisters, whom she can never see again, more?
Its been about 70 years and she still hasnt moved on from Steve?
Romance has the potential to be heartwarming and expansive in superhero stories, but here it just feels claustrophobic.
In the end, the actors cant save the story.
Wiig really, really tries, too.
She vamps it up with Pascal, each of them going for arch performances the script cant match.
But why not lean into the best aspect of the preceding story: the Amazons?
Why bring Robin Wright back if youre not going to give her another juicy action scene?
The movie insults by offering scraps and making us pretend its a meal.
But the film is indicative of the larger pitfalls of an aging superhero genre.
This isnt good filmmaking.
