Sequels seem to never fail to disappoint and “Wonder Woman 1984” was no exception. Despite having a rather thorough plot, 200 million dollar budget and actor Gal Gadot, the movie felt awkward and unfocused. 

 The film starts off with a story from Diana’s childhood on the mythical island of the Themyscira and right away you are thrown into the shallow message of “cheaters never win.” This quickly becomes a pattern, little blurbs of action matched with cliche messages that prevent the film from having the depth and cohesive message that defined the first movie. 

“Wonder Women 1984” covers Diana’s adjustment to working at the Smithsonian Institute while continuing her adventures as a wonder woman. The majority of the movie is spent setting up new characters, villains and motives, a feat itself considering how simplistic the plot is. Barbara Ann Minerva, a quirky historian whose personality is defined by her inability to walk in heels, is the first to fall victim to the mysterious wishing crystal. Quickly following this, the main villain of Max Lord steals the crystal and ensues chaos as he wishes to become the crystal himself. 

Max Lord was a rather boring character to me. An eccentric businessman who loses sight of his values of family to be consumed by greed. His rise and fall were predictable and any social commentary about corruption, money and power were lost in the ridiculousness of it all. 

To really enjoy the movie, I think you have to suspend reality and reason entirely. If Max Lord is so evil, why doesn’t anyone wish him away? How could Barabra wishing to be like Diana make her turn into a cheetah? Again, is Kristen Wigg a CGI cheetah? The many discrepancies and flaws that don’t really deserve to even be called creativity make the movie both disappointing and hilarious to watch. 

Perhaps the movie set itself up for failure. The film was caught in time between the “Wonder Women” which is set during World War I and “The Justice League,” which takes place in about 2016. Director Patty Jenkins had to make a standalone movie that would both revive the beloved character of Steve and lose him. I would give this a movie 6.5 out of a ten, (even though cheetah CGI Christin Wig makes me want to give it a zero.)