Review: Wonder Woman 1984 is a sprawling superhero extravaganza

Your opportunity to soak up the spectacle of a bona fide big-screen blockbuster is just days away as the long-delayed Wonder Woman 1984 prepares to dominate local cinemas from Boxing Day.

So is it as wondrous as Gal Gadot's original portrayal of the superheroine three years ago?

Grab your fanny pack, your leg warmers and your shoulder pads - we are going back in time. This is Wonder Woman 1984 after all.

It's testament to the talents of both Gal Gadot and writer/director Patty Jenkins that despite the fact Diana Prince is literally a goddess she's a Wonder Woman who somehow still manages to be incredibly relatable and accessible.

In her second outing, this becomes imperative as she anchors a far more sprawling superhero extravaganza.

For reasons I shall leave to you to uncover, the lovers are back together. Steve Trevor returns as Diana's wingman as they face off against two very different baddies - one very Trumpian, the other one more feline in nature.

They are both motivated by very human desires and weakness, their powers growing as they feed both - the fate of the world, of course, eventually at stake. Diana won't be able to save us alone.

The big-screen action treatment does not disappoint as the mana of this modern-day blockbuster Wonder Woman once again filled me with so much joy.

What wasn't so joyful were the rather weighty earnest messages bogging down a muddier messier narrative.

But you know what? Right now, Diana is the cinematic superhero we need as we drop-kick 2020 into the InSinkErator and flick the switch.

It's a much-deserved festive distraction which we are just so lucky here to be able to experience on the big screen as they intended.

Four stars.