Reviews land for 'Wonder Woman 1984' as more UK cinemas close

Watch: Wonder Woman 1984 trailer

Reviews are landing for Wonder Woman 1984, Gal Gadot's second term as the Amazonian demi-goddess.

And while there are concerns among some that its two-and-a-half hour runtime is wildly excessive, they're a decent crop, with plenty of liberal references made to the ‘current mood’ in midst of a worldwide pandemic.

Empire magazine reckons Patty Jenkins' movie to be 'a vibrant and virtuous adventure packed with all the heart and heroism we've come to expect from DC's shining light. Wonder Woman 1984 really is the hero 2020 needed all along'.

Read more: Wonder Woman 1984 first reactions

Total Film adds that it's 'a much-needed blockbuster full of humour, spectacle and optimism'.

“This is an epically long and epically brash film from director and co-writer Patty Jenkins, but Gadot has a queenly self-possession and she imposes her authority on it,” adds The Guardian.

Per Variety: “Jenkins is an enormously talented filmmaker on whom the studio took a chance - one that's seldom questioned when conferred upon men - and she proves her worth by never letting the spectacle drown out the performances.”

“If WW84 can't quite reach the heights of the first film, it still soars beautifully when it matters most,” says Slashfilm, adding that it’s a ‘delightfully cheesy balm for the horrors of 2020’.

Reckons Uproxx: “Wonder Woman 1984 is pure sugar. There's little nutritional value. But we all deserve dessert right now.”

It's not all couched plaudits, however, and as is so often the case, an at-a-glance high Rotten Tomatoes rating doesn't tell the whole story.

Collider calls it 'a well-intentioned but sloppy punch against Trumpism'.

New York magazine notes: “The disappointing sequel highlights not only the dire state of the live-action superhero genre in film, but the dire state of Hollywood filmmaking as a whole.”

Polygon adds: “A Wonder Woman story in 2020 could be uplifting and inspiring, and this film is neither.”

The release of the movie comes at a extremely difficult time, however, as London and parts of Essex and Hertfordshire head into tier 3 of the coronavirus restrictions, with only 40% of the country currently able to open its cinemas.

In the US, the movie will be made available to stream via HBO Max from Christmas Day, but in the UK, the movie will still open today as originally planned.

According to Variety, while a month-long theatrical window had been agreed with UK cinemas, a deal is still said to be in the offing between Warner Bros and Sky to bring the movie to home-streaming.

Watch: Wonder Woman 1984 opening scene