Lightning does not strike twice in the latest superhero blockbuster “Wonder Woman 1984”, a sequel to 2017’s massively popular “Wonder Woman”. At two-and-a-half hours, it’s a long and bloated enterprise, with only short bursts of genuine entertainment amidst the tedium.

This isn’t for lack of trying since the core group have all returned and seem to be giving it their best shot. Director Patty Jenkins (who also co-wrote the script) tries to go bigger and better in scope but the end result is muddled and confusing. As for lead actress Gal Gadot, her take on Wonder Woman and alter ego Diana Prince seem to have improved from the last film, bringing more confidence to the role this second time around. The third piece of the puzzle is Chris Pine as love interest Steve Trevor, which turns out to be a real head scratcher at first glance since he exited the franchise at the end of the original film. How he returns is a bit of a cheat but makes sense in full context.

As for the story itself, “Wonder Woman 1984” has only turned the silliness up to 11 as we begin with a flashback to Diana’s youth as she trains with her fellow Amazonian sisters on the island of Themyscira. This opening sequence plays like a fight to the death between the fierce warriors but ends with young Diana learning a valuable lesson of patience and strength. Flash forward to Washington D.C. in 1984 and Diana Prince is all grown up, curating long lost artifacts as her alter ego and also fighting bad guys with the not-so-subtle Wonder Woman disguise. One early fight sequence in a shopping mall is intentionally over the top but never lets the audience in on the fun it’s supposed to be presenting. We get the easy jokes of bad hairstyles and fashion faux pas but not much else. Like most of the film, it’s full of silly dialogue and sloppy transitions. One of the biggest offenders is the introduction of the film’s MacGuffin, an ancient stone that grants wishes but also takes as much as it gives. This convoluted device will eventually open the door to not one but two antagonists that will breathe some fresh air into things.

The first is snake oil salesman Max Lord (Pedro Pascal from “The Mandalorian”) and he’s the more engaging of the two villains, even if his character motivations are flimsy at best. Deep in debt and desperate for a way out, his lifestyle mantra of “if you can dream it, you can have it” follows him everywhere like a curse and Pascal brings a lot of charisma to a diminished character. Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), on the other hand, doesn’t start the film as its secondary villain. When we first meet her all she wants is to break out of her nerdy shell and gain the confidence of fellow coworker Diana Prince. It quickly becomes a slippery slope and the only tradeoff there will be losing her humanity while crossing to a darker side.

“Wonder Woman 1984” is simultaneously streaming on HBO Max while also playing in theaters that are open during this current pandemic.  Those who stream at home will have less to lose as they roll the dice but regardless of how you see it, the film is nowhere near the entertainment or cultural phenomenon of the original. Like many fashion choices of 1984, it will leave viewers scratching their heads.

Rating: C

“Wonder Woman 1984” is now playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.