It makes perverse sense that the biggest movie show on earth provided ridiculous drama, unsurprising twists and cartoon villains leading up to Sunday’s ceremony, including ill-advised proposals (like a so-called popular Oscar) that were either shelved or jettisoned. So perhaps it was unexpected that the actual Academy Awards would deliver a predictable bummer ending. Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, our co-chief film critics, join Wesley Morris, a critic at large, to talk about the diverse slate of winners, “Roma’s” not-so-surprise loss and, yes, “Green Book.”

[The best and worst moments of the Oscars | Our analysis of the ceremony. | The complete list of winners.]

MANOHLA DARGIS To be fair, the awards were pretty good and sometimes great, until they weren’t. It was a pleasure and often moving to see all those women rise up to take their rightful place on that stage, starting with the three nonhosts — Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler — who did exactly what you want from good hosts and what those who produce the Oscars rarely grasp. They were funny, charming, breezy, and then they got off the stage before they could bore or embarrass us. And then there were all the female winners, including two for “Black Panther”: the costume designer Ruth E. Carter and the production designer Hannah Beachler.

Both were hired by Ryan Coogler, the director of “Black Panther” and one of the heroes of last night. He doesn’t just hire women to work on his movies, he hires them to head departments (like cinematography, a male-dominated field), putting them in positions of power. His hiring practices represent the kind of real activism that few other moviemakers embrace, as the parade of men thanking their wives last night continues to affirm. Even so, it was also deeply satisfying to see one man, Spike Lee, finally receive a competitive Oscar, sharing best adapted screenplay. That it took the academy this long to formally honor him speaks volumes about this organization.