An
entertaining follow-up to its superior predecessor, Wonder Woman 1984 has an interesting plot and powerful villains to
boot; fans will likely approve.
Decades
after World War I, the ageless Amazon warrior, Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman
(Gal Gadot), now living in 1984 Washington D.C., befriends a shy, timid archivist,
Barbara (Kristen Wiig), who comes across a mysterious stone with unknown
purpose and powers. TV personality and
oil speculator Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) is also interested in power and wants the stone’s magic as each person’s dreams
and desires are realized with sinister consequences that threaten Diana’s
world and forces her to revisit a painful past including her lost love, Steve
Trevor (Chris Pine).
This film
has a theme and intriguing premise that begins promisingly with the development
of its two antagonists, and moments with Pine’s ‘fish out of water’ in a modern
world are amusing, while he and Gadot shine
together and culminates in a touching moment of truth. You will pick up
direct and passing references in literature (The Monkey’s Paw) and films
(Heaven Can Wait and Indiana Jones). Plus we get to see Diana display new
abilities.
Partially
shot in DC and Virginia, the film feels slightly long (at 2 1/2 hours) as the storyline spirals (purposely?) into a
couple loose ends, while action scenes including a battle in the White
House (X-Men United did a better job)
and the climactic battle at a military facility don’t flow quite as well as they
should; indeed, a couple of effects shots are average.
However, with
its timely message and the acting of its leads, this is still a solid adventure
and worth a viewing. Do stay for that mid-credits
scene, a valentine for fans.
*** of
**** stars (for Gadot fans and the mid-credits)
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