WONDER WOMAN 1984 is a Super Hero Movie that… Ridiculous?

I really like Wonder Woman (released in 2017). Not only is it the first film that gives hope to the DC Extended Universe  ( DCEU ) after several previous releases such as Batman v Superman to Suicide Squad which failed to achieve expectations, but  Wonder Woman in itself is a film that is really fun and able to capture. The excitement of a comic is at the same time not trying to be a film that is too dark and  dark like the previous DCEU films  . It is also my favorite DCEU film  so far (one that is almost matched by Birds of Prey ).

So I definitely wonder how both director and writer Patty Jenkins and our lead Gal Gadot can bring this superhero from Themyscira to life again. Moreover,  Wonder Woman 1984 is set in one of the most popular eras for  pop culture , a time that is still very rare in superhero films. Will this film take advantage of the many pop culture references  in it? Or will this film return to give us an adventure that is as exciting as the first film? Many questions arise.

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Wonder Woman 1984 is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, which is quite a long time for a film. And even though it is only 10 minutes longer than the first film, this film feels much longer than before because of the many scenes that are dragged so far and also how slowly the film's narrative progresses. Even after walking 30 minutes to 45 minutes, the film simply introduces some of the characters without really showing what the point of the story is and what problems Diana Prince will face (her real name is Wonder Woman, for those who are still unaware, although unlikely).

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Filming begins on the island of Themyscira, where Amazonians are seen holding an athletic race. For 10 minutes we are presented with how athletic Amazonian women are only for the little Diana (played by Lilly Aspell) lectured by Antiope's aunt and mentor (Robin Wright) for cheating while competing and saying that no hero is born from lies, a sentence which will be repeated during the film running later.

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Continue to 1984 and we see Diana, now a Wonder Woman complete with her flagship clothes and equipment,  lasso of truth . We are in a mall, and a group of thieves who have just robbed the antiques has been arrested by Diana in just a matter of minutes, but the scene of the fight between Diana and the criminals seems not only insignificant, but also trying to be humorous but not funny, light. but becomes  cringe . Ridiculous seemed the right word. And unfortunately, many of the fighting scenes that will emerge later also reflect the same feelings.

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And that's unfortunate because Wonder Woman 1984's core story offers hope and shows that human greed has long-term consequences that must always be watched out for, something that seems to really reflect 2020 and also what we need right now. But it feels like they are trying too much to make a story that should be told and finished faster into a film that is more than it should be, so there are a lot of times where I feel awkwardness in conveying the narrative.

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The film does not get to the heart of the matter until about 40 minutes of the film progresses, when a mysterious rock falls into the hands of a struggling businessman, Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal without his unfortunate mustache), where the stone appears to have the power to grant any request, including Diana who had previously hoped for the return of Steve (who died in the first film and was played by Chris Pine) and was granted! He was present, even though he was in the body of a person who was only given the name "Handsome Man" (Kristoffer Polaha) on credit .

The presence of Steve himself is an awkwardness that still feels very strange and inappropriate to me. Indeed his presence creates some sweet moments in the film, but his presence also invites some cliché scenes that have happened in previous films, and also how did he suddenly get inside the body of “Handsome Man”? During the scene where Diana slept with Steve, did she sleep with "Handsome Man" even though the "Handsome Man" didn't realize because she was being possessed by Steve? Many questions, lots of questions.

But that magic stone, even though it offered to grant all kinds of wishes, also had consequences. And because of his greed, Maxwell actually used the stone to always aim for strength and power, until finally he became a big enough antagonist for Diana and Wonder Woman 1984 . Pedro Pascal is no stranger to playing the antagonist - like in Kingsman: The Golden Circle and it's also very regrettable that I like him and want to support him - and as Maxwell, we are given the opportunity to see him play the role of a businessman who doesn't know the word stop with his trademark charisma. which we have rarely seen before.

Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), Diana's co-worker at the Smithsonian Institution, also provides the humor Wonder Woman 1984 needs , at least at the beginning of the film. Her clumsy personality and innocent manner matched Diana's personality who was always  to the point and never made small talk, so the relationship between the two was interesting. That's why it's a shame when the character changes during the film, so that it becomes an antagonist which in the end feels forgotten because it has a role that feels forced as long as the film starts to touch the end.

Of course it is Gal Gadot as Diana Prince or Wonder Woman who manages to tie the entire imbalance of the film's tone, with its very easy nature giving off an uplifting feeling and offering hope not only to the characters around it but also to us as the audience. Indeed, the action is not as cool as in the first film, and there are many clash scenes full of  CGI that feel awkward, but in the end Gal Gadot is still able to put his dazzling, graceful and tough stature as a super heroine named Wonder Woman.

And speaking of 1984, there is very little about how this film felt like it was in 1984 or the 1980s. My father who has watched since the final quarter of the film doesn't even realize this is a film that should be set in 1984. It's the colors that sometimes appear on the screen - like in a scene in a gym where lots of equipment and people wearing different colored clothes - ministerialism in the 1980s, but very little of the atmosphere was alive in 1984. No music from the 1980s, no references to  pop culture in the 1980s, nothing in history that appears in films . A golden opportunity that can make this film truly unique and life is wasted, in my opinion.

Wonder Woman 1984  is indeed a superhero film that is very far from his prequel film. The cheerfulness is still between too forced and not felt at all, the fighting scenes also often make us distracted, the duration is also very long with the story that often stutters while walking. It's still fortunate that Gal Gadot is still able to play his role quite interestingly and Pedro Pascal has a clichéd role but still works thanks to his unique charisma.

If Wonder Woman 1984,  which has been running for 2 hours and 30 minutes, looks like this, what about the Justice League “Snyder Cut” which is said to be in 4 hours? After all, "Snyder Cut", I will come!