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.
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Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
WW84 lassos its way to Warner Home Video with flawless technical specs. This set includes the 4K Disc, the Blu-ray Disc, and the Digital Code. Both discs are housed in a hard, black, 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. There is an insert for a digital code as well.
WW84 comes with quite the impressive 2160p UHD transfer from its native 4K recording. With the enhanced HDR + Dolby Vision element, there is a noticeable upgrade in color and detail from the already fantastic 1080p Blu-ray version.
Most, if not every single film in the DCEU is tonally and visually gloomy and dark, but that's not the case whatsoever with WW84, most likely due to the time period of the wacky 1980s. The first 15 minutes or so takes place on Themyscira where the color palette is engulfed in beach-like colors of orange, gold, brown, and yellow, with some fantastic luscious greens for grass pastures and shrubs. This is all set to a backdrop of amazing-looking blue skies and ocean water with some wonderful white gowns of the spectators looking onto the Amazon games.
The Dolby Vision helps these golds and ambers distinguish themselves from one another and looks great. Then the film fast-forwards to the 1980s and all of the neon signage, hyper color advertisements, and bright Crayola colors are rampant in the mall sequence and beyond. It's quite the colorful movie that is always upgraded with the Dolby Vision. Even darker sequences at night time in the city park or the final battle with Cheetah and Wonder Woman have some better earthy colors that look exquisite. Diana's golden lasso of truth is the perfect glow of gold and yellow, even illuminating objects as it passes by. Black levels are extremely rich and deep and the skin tones are always natural.
The detail is impeccably sharp too in all lighting conditions. Closeups reveal facial pores, individual hairs, and war wounds superbly. The makeup effects look excellent as well and the textures in the costumes and even the gold metal suit are fantastic. All of the big '80s hairdos showcase each individual curly piece of hair in all its hairspray glory. CGI effects look good as well, never coming through soft, no matter how ridiculous they look, specifically Cheetah towards the end. Wide shots are never soft, but rather give way to the intimate detail of a city in the 1980s and Themyscira. There are zero video problems to report here, making this a phenomenal-looking video presentation.
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.
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 bonus features are only located on the Blu-ray Disc.
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 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR enhancements and the Dolby Atmos track are simply next-level amazing 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 those fans of Wonder Woman and the DCEU.
