WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

 The year is 1984. Diana Prince, Wonder Woman, finds herself in the midst of the ’80s and all its flashy glory. But the question to be asked is, does this beloved DC legend and her very ’80s-esque endeavors provide the right material for an epic sequel? The answer is no. And here’s why: 

The film, directed by Patty Jenkins, takes place roughly 70 years after Diana’s (Gal Gadot’s) original World War I escapades in which Diana manages to move past and carry on with her life despite the loss of her love interest, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). She spends her time in Washington D.C. as a museum curator but upholds her enchantingly mysterious stature by naturally self-isolating, with the exception of her new colleague, Barbra Minerva, a genuine, yet frumpy character played by “Saturday Night Live” star Kristen Wiig. The plot thickens when the museum receives a magical rock with wish-granting properties. At this point, wannabe oil tycoon, Maxwell Lord (played by a hoaky Pedro Pascal) enters, in an attempt to absorb the rock’s abilities. From then on, chaos ensues in a nonsensical blur worth two and a half hours. Steve Trevor’s return was an obvious cash grab, Kristen Wiig is now an evil cheetah, and the world seemingly loses its sanity until Wonder Woman quite literally swoops in and saves the day, regardless of if the resolution made sense or not. 

The film was completely taken in the wrong direction. The neon-infused ’80s scenes did nothing more than throw a cheap sequin veil over the DC character as a whole. The transition from the deep-rooted setting of the original World War I film, to that of the glitzy era that is the ’80s provided a lackluster sequel without much genuine substance of any kind. The revival of Steve Trevor was nothing more than an opportunity to promote the film’s popularity, but in reality, his return only lessened his initial sacrifice in his World War One days.

    I would love nothing more than to praise the return of the DC fan favorite, but honestly, the film’s underwhelming direction just wouldn’t allow it. Hopefully in the near future we will see some sort of redemption in the form of a third film, but until then, Wonder Woman 1984 was simply a miss.