Directed by Patty Jenkins

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig

Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and violence

Wonder Woman 1984 is the second installment in the Wonder Woman series. In this film, we see Wonder Woman/Diana (played by Gal Gadot) in Washington D.C. in 1984. After coming in contact with a stone that grants anyone a wish, Diana wishes for her former lover Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine) to return. Not only does Trevor return but the stone’s power is embodied into businessman Maxwell Lord (played by Pedro Pascal). With everyone getting a wish, the world turns into chaos.

Wonder Woman 1984 is a fun and exciting film, with some drawbacks. First, Gal Gadot is near perfect as Wonder Woman. She embodies the character and makes it her own, akin to the same way Sean Connery did with James Bond or Arnold Schwarzenegger did with the Terminator. Gadot is Wonder Woman and I cannot imagine another actress in the role. She is kind, funny, and tough when she needs to. It would be an understatement to say Gadot brought energy to the film and is the reason why the film works so well. In addition, the supporting cast is excellent. Pedro Pascal, who is slowly becoming one of my favorite actors, is fantastic as Maxwell Lord. Pascal brings a charm to his character and makes him quite likeable. You somehow root for the character although you know he’s the villain. This can be attributed to the fact that he is given some personality. We see why he acts the way he does and sympathize with him.

While I enjoyed the actors in Wonder Woman 1984 and have a soft spot for some of the story elements presented, I was not the biggest fan of the entire story. Unfortunately, the film does throw a lot at the viewer and asks of them to keep up. We have Steve Trevor coming back, Maxwell Lord having the power to grant everyone’s wishes, and Barbara (played by Kristen Wiig) who is slowly losing her identity, but also wants to become like Diana. While all of these plot lines are connected, it can become overwhelming at times. The film should have stuck to the Max Lord plot and maybe hinted at the Barbara/ Cheetah story for the next film. Speaking of Cheetah, she is only in the film for mere minutes. It’s disappointing to see Wonder Woman’s arch enemy on screen for a few minutes and its not done well. Again, the film should have saved this for a potential sequel and focused on Max Lord.

It also goes without saying that the CGI were not too great. In particular, the graphics on Cheetah were a miss. Normally, I wouldn’t mention an element like this as it does not take away from the film. However, considering Wonder Woman 1984 has been placed on the shelf for months due to the ongoing pandemic, you would have thought director Patty Jenkins would have saw this as a perfect opportunity to fix these the sloppy graphics. The CGI doesn’t ruin the film, but it does stick out like a sore thumb. And because how long the film has been collecting dust, I have to call out the mistakes of the filmmakers.

There are some clear issues with Wonder Woman 1984, but there is still fun with the film. Gal Gadot and the rest of the cast are clearly having fun with the film and rightfully so. It is an enjoyable piece that we sorely need right now. While fun and exciting on the surface, issues start to arise for Wonder Woman 1984 the deeper you look into the film.

3/4