Wonder Woman 1984 was released on December 25 on HBO Max streaming service and in theatres that remained open despite covid restrictions. The movie is a sequel to Wonder Woman that came out in 2017 starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Both movies were directed by Patty Jenkins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW2E2Fnh52w 

The two and a half hour movie is set in 1984 and follows Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman or her alias, Diana Prince. While working at the Smithsonian Institution with her new friend Barbara Minerva, played by Kristen Wiig, they encounter an empowered object called the Dreamstone. The stone had the power to grant wishes to all who touched it.

When Diana holds the stone she wishes for her long-dead boyfriend, Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, to be returned to her. However, it isn’t just her who wishes upon the stone. Maxwell Lord, a businessman who sought after the stone, played by Pedro Pascal, eventually finds it and enacts his plan to become the stone and grant wishes to people. The movie follows the chaos that ensues after this and Wonder Woman’s journey to stop it.

The latest installment to the DC Comics movie franchise is very different from the first one. While the first movie focused almost exclusively on Wonder Woman, this new one shifts the focus onto other characters, like Maxwell Lord and Barbara Minerva.

The change of focus isn’t the only different thing about this movie, the entire premise is different. While the first one had lots of action and Wonder Woman’s journey in her new world, the sequel focuses more on her relationship with Steve Trevor and how the wishes are affecting the main characters. That’s not to say 1984 doesn’t have any fight scenes or action sequences though.

Because of these differences in the film the latest movie feels more like a fantasy novel brought to life rather than a superhero comic. The jumps around the plot throughout the movie rely on magic to have the details make sense. The intricacies of how the “magic” worked were hastily explained and didn’t really make sense.  

It received a 5.5/10 on IMDb and a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert Reviews said, “Along the way, the rules for wishing on the stone keep changing in whatever way is convenient to keep the plot chugging along.”

However, WW84 didn’t fall completely short in terms of entertainment. The movie is humorous and light. Common Sense Media commented, “Campier and less revolutionary than the original, this long but entertaining sequel still shows the many ways women can be strong, heroic, and smart.”

Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t live up to the hype generated by the first movie. It fell short in terms of action and the seriousness of the first movie and was a strange choice of succession.