Gal Gadot and Chris Pine star in a scene from the movie "Wonder Woman 1984." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Clay Enos, Warner Bros.)

By Catholic News Service

This follow-up to the 2017 outing for the DC Comics superhero (Gal Gadot), helmed by returning director Patty Jenkins, is an entertaining, old-fashioned popcorn movie that conveys good messages about self-sacrifice, helping one’s neighbor and the twin evils of greed and selfishness.

Seven decades have passed since the action of the first film, and the heroine — who, being immortal, hasn’t aged a day — is working, under the guise of her alter ego, Diana Prince, at Washington’s Smithsonian Institution. There she befriends a co-worker (Kristen Wiig), and together they unlock the secrets of a magic crystal that, like Aladdin’s lamp, grants the wishes of whoever holds it. This leads to unexpected consequences as, at the protagonist’s behest, her true love (Chris Pine), an air ace who died in World War I, reappears inhabiting someone else’s body and a wicked megalomaniac (Pedro Pascal) uses the artifact to try to seize global domination.

Probably acceptable for older teens. Frequent stylized violence, implied nonmarital sexual activity, a single crass term. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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