History YMMV / WonderWoman1984

* NeverLiveItDown: Diana sleeping with her boyfriend Steve while the latter is possessing another man's body. The narrative don't put much emphasis on this: the act is simply framed as a pair of lovers being intimate with each other, and the sex scene is never mentioned again. However, a large number of viewers take issue with the fact that the man whom Steve is possessing is unconscious and can't possibly consent, to the point of treating Diana as an incredibly unheroic--even villainous--rapist because of this. Almost every criticism leveled against the film will point to the "Wonder Woman raping a man" scene as the shining example of the film's writing problems.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The movie is widely agreed to be inferior to the first one and doesn't recapture what worked so well in it (if anything, Creator/PattyJenkins went deliberately ''against'' pretty much everything that worked well in it), in no small part thanks to an incredibly petty main villain, Diana's portrayal, especially her having sex with Steve while he's in another man's body, underusage of the movie's 1980s setting, the rather poor handling of the Dreamstone, and Steve Trevor's return being handled very wonkily.

** Fans had a ball with the sheer unlikelihood that [[spoiler:''every single person in the world'' who made a wish would be won over to give them up by Diana's speech and a dose of truth, Lasso of Truth or not,]].

* EvilIsSexy:
** Maxwell Lord is already played by [[{{Hunk}} the rather hunky]] Creator/PedroPascal, and the additional combination of a nice set of hair (even if it [[{{Trumplica}} brings to mind a certain someone]]) and [[SharpDressedMan his stylish suits]] mean that he easily applies.
** Barbara gets a whole scene to show how her wish is making her more confident in herself, which includes her going to the gym in her skintight LeotardOfPower.

* UnnecessaryMakeover: Barbara's "Plain Jane" look--the big glasses, baggy dress, and messy hair--was supposed to make her unattractive, but not only is Kristen Wiig still beautiful, but her outfit also was how women ''actually dressed'' in the 80's and was considered more fashionable at the time than Diana's more elegant and classical outfits. Barbara's "glow up" after gaining her powers is meant to invoke an '80s-flavored EvilIsSexy, but instead she just looks like something out of a Music/DuranDuran video.

** For those who didn't find the campiness of it all to be straight {{Narm}}, the mall scene near the opening has been praised as a good bit of fun that's evocative of Creator/RichardDonner's Film/{{Superman}} movies.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Barbara Minerva in the movie is a nerd who becomes fixated on the hero, only to be consumed by jealousy and become their enemy once they gain powers. Just like Catwoman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', the Riddler in ''Film/BatmanForever'', Syndrome in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', Electro in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'' and Killian in ''Film/IronMan3''.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The movie is widely agreed to be inferior to the first one and doesn't recapture what worked so well in it, in no small part thanks to an incredibly petty main villain, Diana's portrayal, especially her having sex with Steve while he's in another man's body, underusage of the movie's 1980s setting, the rather poor handling of the Dreamstone, and Steve Trevor's return being handled very wonkily.

** The announcement that Wonder Woman would not be using a sword or shield in the movie caused some strange controversy, as some declared it a case of TheyChangedItNowItSucks. The character has used such weapons on and off since the seventies, but her primary means of combat have always been her lasso and her tiara (the latter of which she's shown using as a weapon in the trailer, confirming this usage). Typically, Wonder Woman avoided using 'real' weapons like swords because they were aggressive in nature (the reason given by Patty Jenkins for ditching them), because Diana is intended to be a diplomat and peacekeeper first, warrior only when she needs to be ([[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Doomsday]], [[Film/WonderWoman2017 Ares]] and [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague Steppenwolf]] are formidable foes that justified Diana using a lethal weapon and she went for the kill.) This is backed up by her introductory scene in both versions of ''Justice League'', where she only uses her bracers to fight a group of terrorists.

** Diana's ability to turn the plane invisible has zero setup and never comes up again. She mentions that her father was able to turn Themyscira invisible and that she did it once to a coffee cup moments before using the ability to turn the jet invisible, and it is never mentioned again.

** As detailed in other examples, quite a percentage of fans found Diana and Steve’s treatment of the unnamed man whose body Steve’s psyche is piloting unsympathetic, even if they didn’t intend for it happen. Several scenes of Diana and Steve happily reunited were intended to be romantic came off to said fans as disturbing within context, made even worse when Diana suggests they make the possession permeant. This also had an effect on Diana being forced to revoke her wish in the ending, with some people more concerned about the nameless man’s freedom, feeling little sympathy for Diana’s grief.

* CriticalBacklash: There have been people online that have utterly ''lambasted'' this movie for its flaws and the choices made by Creator/PattyJenkins, and while its quality is certainly up for debate when compared to its 2017 predecessor, one could argue the film still has plenty of redeeming moments that make it worth the watch.

* {{Sequelitis}}: The movie is widely agreed to be inferior to the first one, in no small part thanks to an incredibly petty main villain, Diana's portrayal, especially her having sex with Steve while he's in another man's body, underusage of the movie's 1980s setting, the rather poor handling of the Dreamstone, and Steve Trevor's return being handled very wonkily.

*** Note that this sentiment does not occur among those who choose ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'' as the canon "predecessor". That movie retains the more revealing outfits, but lacks MaleGaze. The only shots in the movie where the women's exposed skin are in focus are the shots of the hammer-wielding Amazons breaking the columns who were mostly played by real-life athletes and body builders, which many viewers saw as respectful and tasteful.

* HilariousInHindsight: Steve Trevor's awed reactions to escalators - which were developed ''before'' World War I (see CriticalResearchFailure) - meshes pretty neatly with a photo of Diana [[WhatCouldHaveBeen in the Crimean War]] that was shared by Creator/ZackSnyder, which happened several decades before World War I. Since Steve is traditionally the reason Diana ever leaves Themyscira, he must have been alive back then.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: While it is based on a design from the comic books, Asteria's [[BlingOfWar golden armour]] looks incredibly gaudy and overwrought, especially so with its gigantic unwieldy wings. The wings are supposed to protect the user from damage, which they do for a bit, but they nonetheless get torn up in the first third of the battle. There's no point in the fight that the armour stops damage in a way Diana could've just avoided with her much more practical and aesthetically pleasing regualr outfit.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The decision to have Diana walk away from humanity for a century is gently retconned by having her being an active (albeit underground) hero in the ensuing years. Her experiences with the Dreamstone and general supernatural influences also helped cement her decision to leave humanity to their own devices.
** Those who wanted an adaptation of Creator/GeorgePerez's first Wonder Woman volume and felt Ares was wasted on the first film will feel the climax to be a great adaptation of it, even if Ares isn't the antagonist as the situation is very similar, that being [[spoiler:Diana having to convince an antagonist much more powerful than her that his wish ultimately will bring him nothing but suffering]] and not being able to solve the issue with violence.
** Some took issue in the previous film over how Diana seemingly had no problem killing soldiers that she believed were doing evil because they were under Ares' control. In general, being set in WWI, there are numerous deaths throughout the film (though, again, this was in occupied Belgium, Germans violated that country's neutrality and brutally occupied it). However this one has her explicitly tell Steve to not kill the men under Max Lord's control due to them not being in control of their actions. [[spoiler:In fact no one dies (discounting those who may have died off screen during the chaos), including [[KarmaHoudini Max Lord]]]].
** ''Film/{{Justice League|2017}}'' received criticism for changing some of the Amazonian's armor to a more ChainmailBikini style, although [[https://twitter.com/Sam_Antha_Win/status/930557775633006592 one actress did defend the change]], stating that the new armor allowed more comfort and range of motion. This film provides a middle ground for the opening scene on Themyscira, with the actresses in the background wearing their original armor, while the ones performing the main stunts wear leotards that are form-fitting but not revealing.

* HarsherInHindsight:
** The scenes of the streets of Washington, D.C. being overrun by angry mobs as society falls apart thanks to a {{Trumplica}} became a lot more difficult to watch less than a month after the film's release when angry pro-Trump mobs literally stormed the Capitol following statements about the election being stolen from him.
** The subplot of Diana continuing her relationship with Steve using another man's body without consent and the multiple accusations of rape from her that come from it, in dark irony [[LikeFatherLikeSon echo her father Zeus]] in Myth/ClassicalMythology. Similar to Diana and the nameless man in the film, [[DoubleStandardRapeDivineOnMortal Zeus got away with forcing himself upon mortal women]] (or shapeshifting into their husbands) and the question of consent, like in ''Wonder Woman 1984'', not being broached.
* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The scene where [[spoiler:''every single person on Earth'' rejects their selfish wishing in order to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]] vindicates Bruce Wayne's belief that "[[Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice Men are still good.]]"

* SpiritualSuccessor:
** Of ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'', which was also penned by Geoff Johns. Both feature protagonists gaining the means to revive their loved ones, but they end up unwittingly losing their powers in doing so. The entire world then plunges into chaos, which can only be reversed by giving up that which was sought after.
** It has been noted by many that the film is a throwback to the classical heroism of the Richard Donner Superman duloagy with its eccentric billionaire supervillain (Lex Luthor/Maxwell Lord) grounded by a tale of romance between one of the most powerful heroes in the world (Superman/Wonder Woman) and their down to earth romantic partner (Lois Lane/Steve Trevor).

* RootingForTheEmpire: Many fans actually felt that Maxwell Lord was the strongest and most developed character in the film, and sympathized with his motivation to be successful and take care of his son. It also doesn't help that in [[UnfortunateImplications some contexts]], Lord is actually (possibly accidentally) doing more good than the heroes opposing him.

* SpiritualAdaptation: Of ''Comicbook/{{Flashpoint}}'', which was also penned by Geoff Johns. Both feature protagonists gaining the means to revive their loved ones, but they end up unwittingly losing their powers in doing so. The entire world then plunges into chaos, which can only be reversed by giving up that which was sought after.
* SpiritualSuccessor: It has been noted by many that the film is a throwback to the classical heroism of the Richard Donner Superman duloagy with its eccentric billionaire supervillain (Lex Luthor/Maxwell Lord) grounded by a tale of romance between one of the most powerful heroes in the world (Superman/Wonder Woman) and their down to earth romantic partner (Lois Lane/Steve Trevor).

* UnfortunateImplications:
** Diana consummating her relationship with Steve Trevor while his soul is possessing another man's body is treated as a sweet, romantic moment despite it being [[DoubleStandardRapeSciFi sexual assault and/or rape]] since the guy that's been possessed cannot consent, as a number of [[https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2020/12/26/the-warped-morality-of-wonder-woman-1984/ viewers have]] [[https://meaww.com/wonder-woman-1984-diana-sex-steve-trevor-another-man-body-non-consensual-fan-reactions pointed out]]. Patty Jenkins' response over the criticism was that because the wish was undone, the event never happened, as well as stating that it was a homage to the FreakyFridayFlip style of comedy of the 1980's, further [[https://www.cnet.com/news/patty-jenkins-responds-to-controversial-wonder-woman-1984-plot-point/ drew]] [[https://www.themarysue.com/patty-jenkins-responds-wonder-woman-1984-body-swap-criticism/ accusations]] about this due to it coming across as attempts to justify what comes across as sexual assault and/or rape in a time where such jokes aren't considered acceptable anymore. Worse (in terms of the decision to do this and to defend it, that is) is the fact that it's totally unnecessary, since the possession element is irrelevant to the overall plot, and [[AWizardDidIt Steve was brought back by vague magic]] which could just as easily given him his own body instead of stealing someone else's.
** The film has also come under fire for its regressive, orientalist, and even racist depictions of Arabs and the Middle East, as seen [[https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/wonder-woman-1984-middle-east-arab-mena-racism.html here]], [[https://www.albawaba.com/node/wonder-woman-1984-racist-arab-twitter-breaks-down-everything-wrong-movie-set-egypt-1401594 here]] and [[https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/film/wonder-woman-1984-criticised-for-racist-depictions-of-egypt-1.1135546 here]]. The film's Egyptian characters are a mishmash of Middle Eastern traits, and the film depicts the region as poor and wartorn.