Gal Gadot’s warrior queen strikes just the right tone of hope and dynamism in Patty Jenkins’s stylish, empowering sequel
This long-delayed sequel to 2017’s hugely enjoyable superhero romp Wonder Woman was originally slated for release last Christmas, but it may be just the tonic we need right now. Combining the colourful charm and romance of Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman with an empowering 21st-century gender-flipped sensibility, it shifts the action from the battlegrounds of the first world war to the bumbags and rolled-up sleeves of the US in the 80s. The result is an entertaining (if somewhat overlong) adventure that once again owes more to the fun-loving spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future than to the dour DC drudgery of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or Justice League.
As WW Jacobs’s tale The Monkey’s Paw tells us, wishes can come true – but at a terrible price. When a mysterious ancient stone turns up at the Smithsonian workplace of Diana Prince (Gal Gadot), its powers are initially hidden. But when self-conscious, socially awkward gemologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) dreams of being more like her new friend Diana (strong, cool, beautiful), her imaginary makeover somehow becomes a reality. Meanwhile Diana, whose heart has remained broken since the loss of airman Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), finds herself wrapped in a Ghost-like embrace with a mysterious stranger, rekindling the flames of undying love.
