---

^{By: Amanda Guarragi}

If this year has taught any of us anything, it is that patience is key and that greed truly ruins the best of people. We’ve seen that leaders do not look after their own people because power and money are more important than saving their country’s population. What Wonder Woman 1984 does so well is show us what humanity values. What it truly needs is the support of others around them in order to survive in this world. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) is the embodiment of all of these values, patience, love, honesty, justice and most importantly, peace.

The film begins with a young Diana (Lilly Aspell) taking part in the Amazonian Olympics. She is the youngest out of the rest of the contenders. What is so wonderful about this opening sequence Diana’s determination to be the best and her passion towards achieving that goal. That passion and drive is definitely a good thing but sometimes it can turn into something else. Wanting something more than anything in the world can also be damaging depending on the desire. Patty Jenkins wanted to reflect the world we live in by incorporating fun nostalgia to gloss over the fact that life can be horrible in any decade. Everyone wants to lead the perfect life. People want to achieve their dreams and when that doesn’t happen when they want it to happen, when they believe it should happen, people get desperate.

The story was really strong but the execution is what was lacking the most. The entire cast was fantastic and really brought so much energy to the film. However, there were plenty of missteps and there were restructured pieces from the first instalment, that made it somewhat feel repetitive. If it weren’t for Steve Trevor’s (Chris Pine) “man out of time” schtick to make this film enjoyable then it would have been pretty dry. Gadot and Pine have excellent chemistry so it was absolutely magical to see them interact again but it wasn’t enough. Steve Trevor is the heart of Diana Prince, therefore the heart of the entire film (again), we haven’t seen Diana without Steve in her own film yet. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very fun film but it loses its power towards the middle.

Jenkins also introduced us to Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Barbara Minevra (Kristen Wiig) who both gave excellent portrayals of their characters. Pascal stole the spotlight, he was brilliant and the one thing everyone will remember from this film. In all honesty, as good as Wiig was as Cheetah, Pascal overshadowed her and it felt like the story wasn’t strong enough to tie her in as well. There was so much more they could have done with Cheetah and I understand that it is her debut but Wiig was underused. The special effects weren’t that strong either and they should have taken more time to perfect Cheetah, instead of just rushing her debut in this way. The third act of the film also felt incredibly rushed, especially considering how long it took to get there. They needed to tie everything up quick and you could tell.

Wonder Woman 1984 is filled with 80s nostalgia and Gal Gadot embodies the character of Diana Prince so well. There are moments that mirror the powerful scene in the first instalment that will make all women feel empowered. Wonder Woman makes all women feel proud of who they are because everyone can see a little bit of themselves in Diana. Gadot brings this purity, this essence that no one can quite describe and that is what makes her version of Diana so wonderful to watch. Make sure to stay for the post credit scene because there is a lovely little treat for fans.