It seems even more ridiculous now, after the Donald Trump–backed right-wing violence on Capitol Hill and ongoing threats to US democracy, to bother writing a review of Wonder Woman 1984, telling you it’s a terrible movie — which it is.

It’s only the popularity of WW84 that makes it worth talking about. It’s done such good business with its simultaneous release on both HBO Max and the few megaplexes still open under lockdown that it boosted the stock prices of various theater chains, raising hopes for the ultimate survival of theatrical exhibition. WW84, it’s hoped, points the way forward for big, dumb superhero cinema.

That fact, along with some of the glowing reviews about how supposedly timely and topical the film is, are the areas of grim fascination for me. Though WW84 got, at best, “mixed” reviews overall, there are raves from critics at major magazines like David Sims at the Atlantic, who argues that the film has an important message: