After many, many long months since issuing the first trailer and waiting through the pandemic after yet more pushed back release dates, Wonder Woman 1984 was finally released in America back on Christmas! Unfortunately, my city, like many others around the US, is on lock-down, and so all of the theaters around here are closed. I don’t have HBO Max (or any other cable channels for that matter), just plain old TV, so it seemed like seeing the movie anytime soon just wasn’t in the cards for me. Well it goes without saying that I have some of the bestest friends in the whole world because Vicki, knowing I am a huge fan of Wonder Woman, gave me a link to a drive-in movie theater in a nearby town that was actually still open AND playing the movie! It was like a Christmas miracle and New Year’s wish all wrapped in one!

As a fan of Wonder Woman, just like millions of other people across the globe, I was so thrilled when it was announced that another movie was going to be made after the phenomenal success of the 2017 one. That movie was an origin story and it was just so well done! From the acting to the fight scenes to the dialogue to the costumes, the whole thing created a fantastic and theatrically solid movie. There was something so inspiring about seeing Diana, Princess of Themyscira, testing her limits, discovering her strength and powers, and finding out who she really was. My 9-year-old daughter absolutely loves the movie, athough we have to cover her ears and eyes for a few scenes.

So based on my true admiration for the way in which Patty Jenkins directed the 2017 film and the fierce, yet humble, quality that Gal Gadot brought to the character, I had high hopes for Wonder Woman 1984 to be just as good. Also, the last time I had been to a drive-in was over twenty years ago. So much nostalgia seeing the outdoor movie screens as we drove up! My husband and I were glad to have this opportunity to have a somewhat unique date night together. Most drive-ins have closed down and so there are generations of people who will never have the experience of watching a movie in their car, while listening to the audio play through a station on the car’s radio or through a speaker that attaches to the car window. It doesn’t sound all that great when it’s written out like that, but it really is a fun experience. Click here for a link with some cool history and information about drive-in movie theaters.

My parents saw a few movies at the drive-in back in their day, my husband and I have been to the drive-in, and I have every intention of taking our children to see a movie there at least once. They can have a memory of it, too, before all of the drive-ins eventually shut down. According to a quick Google search, there are only around 300 operating drive-ins left in all of the United States. The pandemic has been terrible overall, no doubt, but it might be just the thing to breathe a little life back into drive-in movie theaters.

So back to my review. By the way, there are no spoilers here, just my opinions. (Don’t worry, I’ll keep it short since I’ve already used up lots of words extolling the virtues of drive-ins.) Sadly, I have to report that the movie was a bit lackluster. First of all, the movie’s fight scenes and action sequences didn’t pack quite the same punch (pun intended) as the last movie. Wonder Woman almost gave off the air of being annoyed or bored with having to fight the bad guys yet again. Next, having the movie set in the 80s didn’t feel right. I understand that it was integral to the plot, but something about the fanny packs, big hair, and neon outfits was out of place for a classy super hero like Wonder Woman. In general, the plot just had too many things going on. One of the biggest disappointments of this movie (besides the not-great CGI) was how they halfheartedly introduced her Invisible Jet. It was a big letdown. Really lame.

Not to end on a bad note, of course there are a few things I did like about the movie. I liked how at the beginning of the film, we got another glimpse into Diana’s life as a child growing up on Themyscira. I loved the mid-credits scene and how it tied into Asteria (mentioned briefly in an early part of the movie and again with the golden suit of armor that Diana dons) and into a specific someone who comes full circle in the world of Wonder Woman. As I said, no spoilers here, so just be sure to watch it! Lastly, I love, love, LOVE how they used the same theme song for Wonder Woman’s fights since her appearance in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. It’s totally bad ass and fits the scenes so well. It’s called “Is She With You” by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. Here’s a link with a short montage set to the music. I definitely need to add it to my playlist for when I go out running. By the way, what sounds like an electric guitar is actually an electric cello being played by a musician named Tina Guo.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think? Feel free to leave me a comment below. Bonus points for anyone who saw it at a drive-in theater like I did.

As always, thanks for stopping by. ❤