Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Film and Plot Synopsis

In this second installment to the Wonder Woman film series, Diana lives amongst the population of the world in 1984. Now an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., Diane encounters an ancient artifact that has the power to grant the most desired wish of anyone who touches it. She also becomes friends with the timid and insecure Barbara Ann Minerva. When Diana touches the artifact and restores her one true love, Steve Trevor, to life, she also discovers that the wish also comes at a cost…Diana’s strength and power. However, will Diana choose to have a life with Steve or to continue to be Wonder Woman?

‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Movie Summary

The film begins with a flashback to when Diana Prince (Lilly Aspell) is a young girl on Themyscira Island. Diana is competing in a multi-stage athletic competition against much older Amazons and holding her own. Diana takes a short cut during one of the competitions and is subsequently disqualified. Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), Diana’s mother, and Antiope (Robin Wright), Diana’s aunt, lecture her on the importance of truth.

The film then flashes forward to 1984, sixty-six years after the events of the first Wonder Woman film. Diana works as a senior anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. She specializes in the culture of ancient Mediterranean civilizations. At work, Diana makes a new friend in the form of co-worker, Barbara Ann Minerva (Kristen Wiig). Barbara is extremely insecure and idolizes Diana. She works hard to develop a friendship with her. On the side, Diana continues to fight crime as Wonder Woman, but manages to stay out of the public eye and does not draw attention to herself.

One day, the Smithsonian is visited by aspiring businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal). Lord is the leader of ponzi scheme operation involving oil well speculations who is facing bankruptcy. Although he is generally a terrible person, Lord loves his son Alistair (Lucian Perez) very much and would do anything for him. Lord is searching for the mysterious Dreamstone which is an artifact that is rumored to grant the wishes of anyone who has contact with it. Diana and Barbara unknowingly use the stone to fulfill their own individual desires. Diana wishes for the deceased love of her life, pilot Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), to come back from the dead. Steve’s soul manifests and takes over another man’s body in the real world. Barbara wishes to become strong and beautiful like Diana, unaware of Wonder Woman’s physical power.

During a gala night at the Smithsonian, Lord manipulates the easily impressionable Barbara in order to acquire the stone for himself. Once possessing the stone, Lord wishes to become the embodiment of the stone and gains its power to grant wishes. Additionally, he also acquires the ability to take whatever he desires from others. Over the course of a few days, Lord rises to become a powerful influential figure in the world, while leaving chaos and destruction in his wake.

Barbara, Diana, and Steve investigate the Dreamstone’s power further in the hopes that the information that will help them defeat Lord. They discover that the stone was created by the God of Treachery and Mischief. They also learn that the stone grants a user their wish but takes their most cherished possession in return. The only way to reverse the condition is by renouncing their wish or destroying the stone itself. Steve realizes that his existence comes at the cost of Diana’s power. Despite their mutual losses, Diana and Barbara are unwilling to renounce their wishes, and they try to figure out another solution.

Meanwhile, Lord grants the President of the United States (Stuart Milligan) his wish of more nuclear weapons, which puts the world on the edge of World War III. He takes the President’s influence and power. He also learns from the President that a satellite broadcast system that can transmit signals globally exists. Lord decides to use the system to communicate to the entire world and offers to grant everyone’s wishes. Fearful of losing her wish, Barbara joins forces with Lord to prevent Diana from harming him. Steve confronts Diana and convinces her to renounce her wish so that she can regain her strength. Diana returns home and dons the armor of the legendary Amazon warrior Asteria (Lynda Carter). Diana then heads to the broadcast station and battles Barbara, who has made another wish with Lord. Barbara no longer wants to be like Diana and instead wants to become an apex predator. As a result, Barbara becomes the lethal Cheetah. Diana and Cheetah battle, but a fully restored Diana ultimately defeats Barbara’s new alter ego.

The world is in utter chaos as Lord’s power grants millions of wishes at once while Lord siphons the life forces of everyone around the world in order to survive. Additionally, the Soviet Union launches a military strike against the United States due to the American sudden surge in nuclear weaponry. Diana confronts Lord and uses her Lasso of Truth to communicate with the world via Lord himself. She convinces everyone in the world to renounce their wishes. Diana also shows Lord a vision of his son, Alistair, wandering the streets as chaos ensues around him from Lord’s fulfillment of everyone’s wishes. Lord renounces his own wish and returns home to reunite with his son.

Some time later around Christmas time, Diana encounters the man whose body Steve was inhabiting while Diana’s wish was in effect. The man has no memory of Diana, but she recognizes him by his clothes. Diana also continues to protect the world with her new ability to ride the winds in the sky still while keeping relatively anonymous.

In a mid-credit scene, Asteria is revealed to be alive and living among humanity in secret, much like Diana.

Additional Film Information

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