The fate of the world is once more on the line, and only Wonder Woman can save it. This new chapter in the Wonder Woman story finds Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) living quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s—an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she’s come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile, curating ancient artifacts and only performing her super heroic acts incognito. But now, Diana will have to step directly into the spotlight and muster all her wisdom, strength and courage in order to save mankind from a world of its own making.
For in-depth thoughts on Wonder Woman 1984, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Wonder Woman 1984 offers a lovely uptick in quality over the already incredible accompanying Blu-Ray, making it an early contender for new release of the year. Skin tones appear more natural with healthy doses of crisp detail apparent on faces such as pores. The increased range of the color spectrum is stunning to behold. The Dolby Vision and HDR enriches the colors from already impressive to out of this world when it comes to vibrancy. From the opening moments, you can take a look at the intense blue of the sea surrounding Themyscira and be blown away. Don’t get me started on the intense colorfulness of the 80s setting, especially in the early mall sequence that is overflowing with eye-popping hues.
The highlights in the film are more defined with whites more pure and balanced with no instances of blooming to be found. Elements in the latter half of the film taking place in the cover of darkness are more vivid and finely delineated. The black levels are especially strong in this presentation, staying deep and inky with great detail. This 4K UHD presentation really delivers on all fronts including strong gains in clarity and color. The Blu-Ray is great, but Warner Bros. has delivered another demo-worthy transfer on this latest 4K release.
Audio Quality
This disc comes equipped with a wonderful Dolby Atmos presentation that, like its predecessor, packs one heck of punch from beginning to end. From the opening Amazon Games, the soundscape is set to deliver an expansive experience suitable for an action film. Sounds are appropriately rendered with precise directionality from the more kinetic action scenes to interpersonal moments of dialogue. Ambient details are plentiful and quite satisfying in the rear and overhead channels. The overhead channels serve to complement the other channels rather than carry the main load, which adds a nice sense of space to the mix. Musical cues and the momentous score from Hans Zimmer envelope the room with a vengeance. Dialogue is presented perfectly clear without ever being overwhelmed by any of the competing sonic elements. The heavy gunfire and crashes provide an all-encompassing soundscape that kicks in throughout all the speakers. The low end is engaged in a really solid way that will have your house shaking. The mix offers up the best experience for those with the home theater system to support it.
Special Features
- The Making of Wonder Woman 1984: A pretty sleek 36-minute featurette in which the cast and crew explore this evolution for the character, the fascination with the “monkey’s paw” aspect of the story, mixing the personal with the grandiose, the new characters in the film, the visual aesthetic of the film, shutting down Washington D.C. for filming, and many more great insights that help enrich the narrative.
- Gal & Kristen – Friends Forever: A five-minute featurette which explores the relationship between Diana and Barbera, as well as the actors who inhabit them. It is nice to see what the team was going for within the story, but the best part is watching the pair goof around a bit on set.
- Small But MIghty: An eleven-minute piece that looks at what is arguably the most exciting part of the film, the opening scene with young Diana in the Amazon Games. This piece is worth it for the audition tapes of the young actress alone, but there are a lot of cool behind-the-scenes moments that are worth scoping out.
- Scene Study – The Open Road: A six-minute look at many of the numerous practical effects employed in the convoy sequence and what the scene meant for Diana in the narrative.
- Scene Study – The Mall: A five-minute look at creating the bright and colorful mall sequence that highlights how eighties this movie was looking to get. This piece explores finding the right location to shoot the sequence, the amazing feats of production design, the stunt work and more.
- Gal & Krissy Having Fun: A minute-long humorous video that plays almost like a classic sitcom opening with Gal and Kristen having fun together on set.
- Meet The Amazons: A 22-minute virtual panel that brings together director Patty Jenkins with many of the women who were cast as Amazons in the film. This piece goes into what Jenkins was looking for when casting an Amazon, the diversity of the community, the backgrounds of many of the women and more. This is a fun chance to get to know these performers who normally would not get as much of a spotlight.
- Black Gold Infomercial: The full-length minute-and-a-half commercial with Maxwell Lord featured in the film in full 80s glory.
- Gag Reel: A nearly seven-minute collection of flubbed lines, malfunctioning props, goofing around and other humorous moments from the production. This is always a blast.
- Wonder Woman 1984 Retro Remix: A nearly two-minute reimagining of the classic Lynda Carter Wonder Woman theme song with the new cast members and footage inserted. This is honestly probably my favorite supplemental feature on the disc.
Final Thoughts
Wonder Woman 1984 does not live up to the heights of its predecessor, but there is quite a bit to enjoy about it. The main flaws lie within certain narrative choices that find the movie oddly taking away some of the agency from Diana in favor of servicing less interesting plot points. Nevertheless, Gal Gadot remains as formative a presence as ever, and the addition of Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal help the movie a great deal. The movie offers impressive action sequences and some heartfelt moments, but the hope is that the story can be a bit more focused next time out. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that features a reference quality A/V presentation and some fun special features. For fans of the film, this release does not disappoint. Recommended
Wonder Woman 1984 will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray and DVD on March 30, 2021. The film is currently available to own on Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
