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Blu-Ray : For Fans Only
Ranking:
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Release Date: March 30th, 2021 Movie Release Year: 2020

Wonder Woman 1984

Overview -

WW84 is a painful movie to watch because there are so many great actors and extraordinary stunts, but the film in no way furthers any character's storyline in the DCEU and almost every creative decision that was made didn't live up to expectations. It's a jumbled mess of tones that crosses blindly into silliness and dramatic situations without regard for how to tell a cohesive narrative. Better luck next time. That being said, this 1080p HD transfer is solid and the Dolby Atmos track is demo-worthy. The near 100 minutes of bonus features are a wonderful watch and somehow better than the actual film and for that reason this release is Recommended for Fans of Wonder Woman and the DCEU.

Read our 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review

 

Fast forward to the 1980s as Wonder Woman's next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah.

OVERALL:
For Fans Only
Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
Blu-ray + DVD + Digital
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p AVC/MPEG-4
Length:
151
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.39:1, 1.78:1
Audio Formats:
English: Dolby Atmos
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, Dutch, Danish, French, Finnish, Polish, Spanish, Romanian, Swedish
Special Features:
• Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix feature
Release Date:
March 30th, 2021

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

Watching WW84 a few more times since its initial release has proven that given a little amount of time to digest the initial shock of how bad this movie is, WW84 is still a horrible disaster of a film. Maybe even more so, because the movie so desperately wants to be cheeky and fun while taking itself seriously, and it never mixes those ingredients with care. Furthermore, there's nothing that really carries over or furthers any storyline in this movie, making this a one-shot fan service for 1980's buffs that doesn't coincide with the first film or any DCEU movie with Wonder Woman that takes place after 1984.

It simply just exists and tries extremely hard to have fun, but instead, it still comes across as a decade's old late-night tv show on the SyFy channel, but with a big budget and no regard for storytelling. However, after watching just how much fun the actors had making this movie, it's difficult not to see where everyone thought this was going to be the next best superhero film everyone would be talking about for years.

For the full review, please click HERE.

 

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray

WW84 tells its truth to Warner Home Video with very good technical specs. This set includes the Blu-ray Disc, a DVD copy, and the Digital Code. Both discs are housed in a hard, blue, plastic case with a cardboard sleeve featuring the artwork of the film, including the multi-color background and Wonder Woman in her gold metal outfit. It's the same artwork as the 4K UHD version. There is an insert for a digital code as well.

Video Review

Ranking:

Wonder Woman 1984 tackles its 1080p HD transfer with grace and ease on this Blu-ray disc where detail and color are both wonderful. The color palette is bright, rich, and bold for most of the film. Being set in the 1980s allows the film to explore its many wild colors from the bright neon wardrobe to flashy hairstyles, and even some of the hyper-colored store signs that were ever so rampant during this revered decade. Wonder Woman's outfit looks great here as does her shiny gold suit of armor which displays all the necessary brightness. The golden lasso exudes a nice amber glow as well, but none of it really compares to the better 4K UHD with HDR from the 4K disc. Black levels are deep and inky with no crush or murky shadows, and the skin tones are natural.

The detail is sharp and vivid, reveals nice closeups that showcase makeup effects, facial lines, individual hairs, and visual effects work that all look good. This all being said, this is quite a bit of video noise during the heavier action-CGI sequences and there were some compression issues as well here and there. This was probably due to the near four hours of footage that was placed on one single Blu-ray Disc, where the 4K version had much more room to allow the film itself to breathe naturally. Still, this is a great-looking Blu-ray, but again, the 4K outweighs this 1080p HD transfer. 

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with an incendiary Dolby Atmos track that goes full speed as soon as the film starts playing. Again, that first seen on Themyscira where the selected Amazons are competing in an Olympic-type obstacle course makes use of the Dolby Atmos track perfectly by using sound effects or large structures moving in all directions, spears being thrown, the crowd cheering, the competitor's rapid breath, and even their footsteps on the different landscapes, which are all mixed into a wonderful concoction of immersive sound. It doesn't stop there either, as the robust effects are then transported to a mall in the 1980s, where music, shoppers are talking, and cash registers are ringing until Wonder Woman shows up and takes out the bad guys.

Again, this Dolby Atmos track never slows down with more action sequences, and wicked car chase, explosions, gunshots, and fight choreography that is always perfectly balanced and nuanced for full immersion. Each bullet, vehicle, or piece of debris from an explosion that flies by has a seamless and smooth transition from speaker to speaker that sounds excellent. The quieter moments of dialogue in large rooms with tall ceilings all have the necessary reverb and atmosphere that make it sound realistic. Those height speakers come into play with vehicles overheard, the golden lasso of truth being swung high in the air, and of course, that final fight scene between Wonder Woman and a vicious cat. All the sound elements are there, which bring an intense and fantastic low end of bass that keeps the rumble brewing without ever going into rocky and overbearing territory.

Hans Zimmer's score always adds to the suspense and 80's time period while the dialogue is clean and clear and free of any audio issues. What a fantastic Dolby Atmos track for sure. For those that don't have the Dolby Atmos setup, the 7.1 mix will kick in automatically, and there is even a Dolby Digital 5.1 option available as well.

 

Special Features

Ranking:

There are about 98 minutes of bonus material here, all of which are worth watching. In fact, these special features are better than the movie itself, showcasing some great behind-the-scenes stunts and more. 

  • The Making Of Wonder Woman 1984: Expanding The Wonder (HD, 37 Mins.) - A better than average EPK, complete with cast and crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and rehearsals that focus on the themes, tone, characters, stunts, cameos, and more. The funniest thing about this bonus feature is how everyone involved constantly says how cool and amazing every storyline and piece of dialogue is, which of course the final result was anything but that. Still, this is a great little feature that explores the making of the film.
  • Gal And Kristen: Friends Forever (HD, 5 Mins.) - The cast and crew discuss the relationship between Diana and Barbara in the film, along with some minor flashes of the two actresses having fun on set, much to the crew's dismay as they were constantly making each other laugh and singing songs during filming, complete with a short original music video of their friendship.
  • Small But Mighty (HD, 11 Mins.) - Perhaps the best bonus feature on this release is the exploration of the young actress who played the young Wonder Woman, named Lilly Aspel. She was around 10 years old when her scenes were filmed and she's going on 25, in that she did every last one of her own stunts and conversed with the other actors and crew like an adult. There's a reason she has her very own extra here. She's awesome.
  • Scene Study: The Open Road (HD, 6 Mins.) - A deeper look at what went into behind the scenes on that particular vehicle chase in the middle of the desert with tanks, missiles, and Wonder Woman.
  • Scene Study: The Mall (HD, 5 Mins.) - Another extensive look at how the crew and actors shot the opening mall sequence.
  • Gal And Krissy Having Fun (HD, 1 Min.) - That little music video mentioned above of Gadot and Wiig having fun and singing on the set in its entirety.
  • Meet The Amazons (HD, 22 Mins.) - From the DC Fandom 2020 conference, this is a virtual Zoom interview with the director and the stunt-women of the film who played the Amazons discussing working on the movie.
  • Black Gold Informercial (HD, 2 Mins.) - The funny infomercial from the film, starring Adam Pascal in its entirety.
  • Gag Reel (HD, 7 Mins.) - A genuine funny montage of flubbed lines, props not working right, and Chris Pine doing impressions of Gal Gadot.
  • Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix (HD, 2 Mins.) - A cool trailer mixed like it was made in 1984 with the original Wonder Woman song. It's a shame this wasn't added into the theatrical cut.

Final Thoughts

WW84 is not a perfect movie. It's not even a good movie by any means, as it trudges through its long and painful journey to have fun and have a thrilling story arc at the same time. It never knows if it wants to be serious or silly and it never mixes well in any scene. It's odd because, in the extras here, every crew member seemed to have the best idea for the story and how to make this movie, but in the end, it never played well or came across as fluid or the right tempo and tone. It's sad too because this could have been a ton of fun - but alas, it wasn't. That being said though, the 1080p HD transfer is very good, and the Dolby Atmos track is simply excellent and demo-worthy, and the bonus features are fantastic. They're a better time than the actual movie was. With so many good elements and extras here on this disc, this comes Recommended For Fans of Wonder Woman and the DCEU.