Set during the Cold War, director Patty Jenkins’ action-fantasy movie “Wonder Woman 1984” was released to audiences last Christmas. Focusing on the most recent struggles of the DC super-heroine, viewers are taken alongside the protagonist in a totally new environment.

Being the sequel to the 2017 hit “Wonder Woman,” it is safe to say that expectations were set reasonably high, especially after Israeli actress Gal Gadot became the new stunning face of the superhero. However, despite Gadot’s reappearance in the colorful decade of the 1980s, the confusing plot and weak characters both make for a borderline boring narrative.

While it is true that superhero movies can often consist of similar plots, it is apparent that this one in particular lacks creativity. As viewers come to know, Wonder Woman is faced with a villain whose destruction comes from granting everyone’s wishes, good and bad, which of course, never goes as planned. This cheesy and overused idea epically fails to bring anything new and exciting to the table. Aside from this, it becomes hard to keep track of what is reality and what is not, and it can become easy to lose understanding of what goes on all together.

Despite Gadot’s impressive ability to bring the comic book heroine to life, the characters around her bring down the narrative’s appeal overall. Here, villain Maxwell Lorenzano, played by “Game of Thrones” and “The Mandalorian” actor Pedro Pascal, is a businessman who has a thirst for wealth and recognition. When he gets his hands on the ability to grant wishes, he uses it for his evil ends, and Wonder Woman is then left with the duty of trying to stop him.

While it sounds like this particular idea has potential, Maxwell comes off as weak and hardly an enemy. In other words, no real character development happens, and it feels as though there are no layers to him. He invokes no fear and looks like an amateur compared to other villains.

Aside from Maxwell, Wonder Woman also has to take on a super-villain by the name of Cheetah as well. Played by actress Kristen Wiig, Cheetah practically dwells on her own insecurities and uses them as her driving force to be evil. She comes off as underdeveloped as well and does not stand a chance against her nemesis. While everyone loves seeing the hero win, the end result in this case is made painfully clear from the very start. It is obvious that neither of the two villains have the capability to take down Wonder Woman, as they are both frail. Simply speaking, it all makes for a yawn-inducing movie night.

Overall, “Wonder Woman 1984” is a major let down, especially in comparison to the dozens of great motion pictures that have come from the original comics. The incredible Wonder Woman never seems to fail us, except in this one.

“Wonder Woman” is now available on demand.