Since releasing into theaters and on HBO Max almost two weeks ago, Wonder Woman 1984 has stirred up plenty of conversation and more than a little debate. A lot of people have been lauding Patty Jenkins’ superhero sequel as a hopeful and optimistic breath of fresh air during incredibly dark times around the world, while there are others who simply believe it to be a very bad movie.
Gal Gadot’s return as Diana Prince is currently the lowest-rated DCEU entry on IMDb, has faced unwanted comparisons to Green Lantern from fans and the critical consensus has been sliding slowly downward, with the film now holding a 61% Rotten Tomatoes score and veering dangerously close to Rotten territory in the process, although users have ranked it at a much higher 74%.
Having been vocal about her disagreements with the studio on the first Wonder Woman, Jenkins was the main creative driving force behind the second installment and took directing, producing, story and screenplay credits. The polarizing reactions to the comic book blockbuster fall squarely at her feet, then, with insider Grace Randolph claiming the filmmaker’s decision to move as far away from Zack Snyder’s influence as possible is one of the major reasons why 1984 has divided opinion.
“On the first Wonder Woman, Patty Jenkins was working with Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder’s people extensively, and from what I’ve heard, they didn’t always see eye to eye. But that friction, I think created a really great, really unique and very well-balanced film, you know that people really enjoyed. Now on Wonder Woman 1984, even though the Snyders are still producers, Warner Bros. gave Patty Jenkins complete creative control as she’s made very clear in her interviews.”
“I’ve said, you know this movie has been coming out for two years now, I’ve made videos talking about how I felt these changes were a mistake. So two of the biggest ones that were really big mistakes was that she got rid of Zack Snyder’s stunt team and his VFX people, and she also got rid of screenwriter Allan Heinberg. Oh, that was a huge mistake. Those two things were horrible. Instead, Jenkins doubled down on Geoff Johns, who to be fair I think has zeroed in on Patty Jenkins as his only remaining connection to DC films as everyone else abandoned him.”
Snyder may have been the architect of the DCEU and is credited on the majority of the franchise’s output, but he hasn’t been heavily involved in any of the projects since Justice League, and even admitted in a recent interview that the directors of the solo movies can do whatever they want with the characters.
According to Randolph, Jenkins bringing in her own people and jettisoning Snyder’s team set her up for a fall, and there’s no denying that Wonder Woman 1984 would have massively benefited from a much better script and a general tightening of the bloated narrative.
