WW84 is good, but not great

WARNING! Spoilers for the first Wonder Woman film ahead!

The 2017 Wonder Woman film illustrated the story of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), an Amazonian warrior who was brought to life by Zeus, who had never met a man on her all-female island residence of Themyscira. Upon meeting Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), a handsome American military pilot, she learned what the rest of the world is like and helped Trevor and his squad fight in World War I. This ultimately led to the heartbreaking death of Trevor, whom she had fallen in love with.
Though the first film is set in the 1910s, the second — Wonder Woman 1984 — takes place over 70 years later. Diana now resides in Washington, D.C., and works in the Smithsonian, all the while performing heroics as Wonder Woman. Enter Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) — a powerful businessman who’s doing everything in his power to save his failing oil company. Alongside him is Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), a villainess who is Diana’s equal in terms of strength, agility and combat abilities. Add the fact that Trevor is suddenly alive and well, and there’s the plotline. Diana must face both physical and emotional difficulties as she tries to stop the chaos caused by the pair of villains.
The new film seems a little lengthy for the amount of plot and action it portrays. There are, admittedly, some prolonged scenes, and not nearly as many epic cinematic moments as seen in the previous movie. There is also a much bigger emphasis on the characters’ (particularly Diana’s) emotional conflicts as opposed to external forces.

The movie is still good, however. Gadot returns as Diana and once again exceeds expectations with her performance. Wiig, though not known for playing a villain, does well in her role. Pascal also does an excellent job portraying a completely different person than his titular Mandalorian character, for which he is most known.
Older audiences and fans of retro culture might enjoy the film solely for its 1980s references, including vibrant malls and parachute pants. The film also seems to portray the art and culture of the period accurately. One of the film’s funnier aspects is watching Trevor as he struggles to catch up and learn about everything that has changed in the last 40 years.
Overall, the film is just okay. It is not as good as its predecessor, but as a whole, it is heartwarming, funny and still one of D.C.’s better movies. For that, it earns a three out of five.