Since Wonder Woman 1984 hit theaters and HBO Max a few weeks ago on Christmas Day, the movie world basically hasn’t stopped talking about it. The reviews are pretty mixed and there are some strong opinions on the superhero sequel. Some people love the campy vibe director Patty Jenkins added to the film, saying it is reminiscent of older DC movies. The naysayers, however, have made note of the length of the film, saying it moves too slow and that the plot doesn't justify the runtime. With Wonder Woman 1984 clocking in at a whopping two and a half hours, one can understand where they're coming from. But how much was cut from the Gal Gadot-led film? Well according to director Patty Jenkins, only one scene.
Patty Jenkins is a very skilled director, who has a specific way of handling things. This includes her editing process, which is typically pretty sharp. During a recent interview with Collider, Jenkins explained that she actually only cut one whole scene from Wonder Woman 1984:
I didn't cut out very many scenes in this movie. I cut out only parts of scenes. The only scene I can even think of that we cut out was Steve and Diana hailing a cab outside of The Natural History Museum to get to Black Gold. That's the only actual scene I think we cut out.
Say what you will about the film's length, but the runtime allowed Patty Jenkins really bring her vision for Wonder Woman 1984 to life. There are a lot of things to love about the superhero flick, ranging from the '80s aesthetic and the invisible jet to the two awesome villains and the emotional return of a beloved character.
It's actually impressive that Patty Jenkins managed to fit so much into the film. And with so much time on her hands, Jenkins was able to insert things into the movie without them feeling rushed. And this seems to have been the filmmaker's intention.
In the same interview, Jenkins talks about the pace of films now and how slowing things down a little bit, at least to her, brings a little bit more feeling to a film. Here’s what she had to say about the creative choices she made for Wonder Woman 1984:
We've gotten pretty quick moving in movies a lot now, but that doesn't add up to emotion to me. But I'm also a director, so who knows? I may be indulging myself and just playing around in scenes for too long to sustain the movie. Generally directors do that when you leave them alone.
Whether you agree with Patty Jenkins’ choices for the film, there is no denying that the film has seen success in an otherwise slow year for the film industry. The film has become one of the top-grossing films since the pandemic shutdowns began, and it's also seen high viewership numbers on HBO Max.
Wonder Woman 1984 is far from the last project we will see from Patty Jenkins, who has a number of big films in the works right now, including another Wonder Woman sequel. CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all of Jenkins’ future projects and will continue to be your source for movie and TV news.
