#WW84 thoughts: Better the 2nd time around. The story and tone worked better when I knew what to expect. The cast, characters and chemistry are definitely the standouts. But the film falters in that the story it wants to tell and the story it actually tells don't match up. (1/?)

WW was about Diana, as a person, learning that love can be a source of strength, and, as a hero, realizing that humanity is worth loving, despite its many flaws. WW84 wants to be about the bravery of choosing the Truth even when it's hard. But it isn't really about that. (2/?)

WW84 wants to be about Truth, but it's really about sacrifice. At its best, it's about what we give up for the greater good; about what we deserve and what we end up with - and who we become when those things don't align. It explores sacrifice as a necessary part of heroism (3/?)

But the film is so concerned with being about Truth for whatever reason rather than sacrifice that it shoehorns all these character moments and narrative detours to make it fit. But Truth as the theme doesn't fit, so you get this jumbled film that loses its own thread. (4/?)

Diana's journey isn't really about accepting Truth. Steve Trevor in 1984 isn't a lie she's chosen to believe. It's a reward she has to let go of. A more interesting and better focused WW84 would've explored the necessity of sacrifice rather than chasing the idea of Truth. (5/?)

If the narrative focus had been switched, I think the film would've been a lot tighter in both its narrative and thematic flow. Sacrifice, rather than Truth, gives you a lot more character moments, which the movie excelled in, rather than plotting, which was weak at best. (6/?)

It also would've centered Diana more. I loved Pedro Pascal as Max Lord, but this is the 2nd time where Diana often feels like she's a secondary character in her own movie. By providing more focus on Diana's journey, we'd also get more Barbara, which we absolutely deserved. (7/?)

I so desperately wanted to love WW84, but I didn't, and that actually makes me slightly devasted. I wanted it to be ambitious, but it only went big without swinging for the fences. And since it felt thematically unfocused to me, so many emotional moments just didn't land. (8/?)

My favorite superhero movies tend to ask: what does it mean to be a hero? Iron Man and Black Panther were centered on this; MoS and BvS especially explored this in a way that is deeply evocative. Heroism as a choice is what's interesting to me. A decision, not a destiny. (9/?)

What does it mean to be a hero? In WW, it meant Diana choosing humanity, even though they/we didn't deserve it or her. In WW84, it should've been about her choosing humanity, even though *she* deserved more. Instead, it tried to be about choosing capital T truth over lies. (10/?)

Finally, I want to say that I liked the film, even if I didn't love it like I wanted to. And because I wanted to love it, I'm happy for those that did. Loving things is a gift. On the flip side, I am not at all interested in the thoughts of those who find joy in hating it. (11/?)

I could speak on this for another 10 tweets but this has gone on too long already, lol. If anyone wants to chat about the film or anything I've said here, my DMs are open to discuss! Fair warning though - I am zero percent interested in arguing or ragging on the movie. (End)