Wonder Woman living in the nostalgic time of the 80s, tries to fight the inevitable source of evil that lives in every one of us. Greed. “Wonder Woman 1984” is good on a surface level, but when  delving into the acting and execution of some plot points, it deserves only a mediocre rating.  

The film opens with a flashback of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) waxing nostalgic about her childhood by describing how reckless she was and how she learned a person must earn the things they want. 

Now living in 1984, Diana works full-time as an anthropologist for the Smithsonian Institution and is merely a superhero on the side. Fellow colleague Barbara  Minerva (Kristen Wiig) is tasked with inspecting a rock that is said to have the ability to grant a wish but at a cost, of course.  Eventually, she casts a wish to be just like Diana, envying her confidence and popularity.

Businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) also wants to use this rock for his own selfish desires including trying to save his bankrupt business. He manages to get his hands on it, desiring to have its powers so he can have infinite wishes if he manipulates people into urging for the same things he does. This eventually leads to worldwide chaos, as everyone is having their absurd yearnings granted, and Diana has to become a full-time superhero to save the world.

As the plot thickens, the visual aspects of the movie such as the cinematography and the CGI are fantastic. But, with a run time of two hours 35 minutes,  some aspects of the movie were unnecessary. The amount of setup for the main villain of the movie, Maxwell, is unbelievably long, and when Wonder Woman’s actual main nemesis shows up in the movie, The Cheetah, she gets one or two fight scenes and that’s it. 

Gadot is incredible and brings home the character by showcasing her virtue as a person. In the first movie, she portrayed Wonder Woman as someone still figuring out who she is and is clumsy with how to act in front of humans. In this movie, there is a clear difference as she appears more confident and experienced.. 

Likewise, Pascal’s villainous character has a persuading demeanor and convinces the audience of his character. This, of course, isn’t all that surprising considering Pascal’s work in “Game of Thrones” and “The Mandalorian.” 

Sadly, this isn’t the case for all the actors in the movie, though. Comedy actress Wiig (“Bridesmaids”) is testing the waters of action/drama, and it clearly shows. When she tries to deliver lines with power and rage behind them, they just sound choppy.

 Landing composer  Hans Zimmer seems like a lucky coup for director Patty Jenkins, since his past works include such hits as“The Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Inception.” But, even with the big names under his belt, the soundtrack didn’t enhance the experience of the movie. It was a generic soundtrack that could be found in any other superhero movie. 

 The soundtrack isn’t immersive of the time it’s set in, but the main themes of the movie do echo what the 80s were. The big advertisement point of this movie was the fact that it was 1984, and it was the time for shallow ambitions that seemed to lead to nowhere as well as wanting all the glory and fame without truly intending to do anything that warrants celebration.

The thing that truly matters about cinema, though, is the message it sends to the public. The overarching directive this film conveys is that you can’t have it all without truly earning it contrary to the general mentality of the 80s. . The movie sells the themes and ideas of the 80s  well, and a staple in the main arc of the movie that everything has a price. 

Overall, this movie conveys a powerful message and some aspects of it are exceptional.  Unfortunately, the execution of immersing the audience in the movie is subpar at times. Audiences can give it a watch if they want a powerful message delivered in a subpar manner. “Wonder Woman 1984” is rated PG-13 for action and violence.