WONDER WOMAN 1984
Truth, love, and joy rise above wishes, greed, and lies.
Should You Watch It?
If you want an exciting superhero adventure with genuine heart, Wonder Woman 1984 delivers. The characters are engaging, the acting and direction are first rate, and the action is full of jeopardy. More importantly, the movie celebrates Truth, Love, Kindness, Joy, Patience, Courage, and Sacrifice.
The costs are real but limited. The film includes four obscenities and four light profanities, non-Christian pagan and mythological references, and implied sexual relationships involving two couples. Its magical worldview also requires discernment.
For older children and adults, this is a strong family viewing choice if those concerns fit your household’s convictions.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESDiana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, has moved from World War I into 1984, where she works as an archaeology scholar at the Smithsonian Institution. There, she and Barbara Minerva investigate a mysterious artifact that can grant a person’s greatest wish.
But every wish comes with a terrible price. When a power-obsessed con man takes control of the artifact, his ambitions threaten the world. Diana must stop him while facing the weakening of her own powers.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is top-tier superhero entertainment. Wonder Woman 1984 is exhilarating and exciting, with thrilling action, strong jeopardy, and many heartfelt moments.
The characters are well defined and engaging. The acting and direction are first rate, and the story gives its central conflicts emotional weight. Max Lord’s hunger for power, Diana’s desire to recover her lost love, and Barbara’s longing to become someone else all give the adventure a meaningful moral center.
The Worldview
The film strongly celebrates Truth, Love, Joy, Patience, Diligence, Courage, Sacrifice, Kindness, and Goodness. It also presents selfishness and greed as destructive. Human beings are portrayed as flawed and sinful, with desires that can lead them toward ruin. Max Lord’s pursuit of power neglects his son, while Barbara’s desire for strength destroys her compassion.
The movie departs from a biblical worldview through its polytheistic mythology. Diana says there were many gods who used elemental forces to create magical objects, including an evil trickster god connected to the Dream Stone. Wonder Woman’s powers also appear magical and mythological rather than connected to the supernatural power of the God of the Bible. The story suggests that faith and religion are divisive unless they produce virtues such as truth, love, patience, kindness, sacrifice, goodness, and joy. It also hints at reincarnation when a man returns in another man’s body.
The film’s political subtext may be read as criticism of both a superficial, dangerous presidential wish and a deceitful television personality villain. The casting of the villain’s Hispanic son and the actor’s heroic role elsewhere complicate any simple political conclusion. These choices invite viewers to weigh policies and competence rather than personality alone.
The movie’s central message recalls 1 Corinthians 13:6: “It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Scripture also teaches that love is patient, kind, and not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13:4–5).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Light eclectic mixed pagan worldview with a light Romantic, idealistic, feminist outlook on humanity and its ability to learn and change, and a mixed view of the world/universe but that stresses strong positive moral, biblical values tinged with Christian, redemptive values, especially and specifically Truth, Love and Joy above all but also Patience, Diligence, Courage, and Sacrifice, and the movie’s perspective on humanity also agrees with the Christian, biblical view that human beings are terribly flawed and even sinful and thus their wishes and desires are tainted by their flaws and sins, plus some false or aberrant theology such as there’s a comment about polytheistic gods being real (Diana says “there were many gods” who used “elemental” forces or resources on Earth to create magical objects to serve one purpose or another, and there’s also a reference to a “god” who’s an evil trickster god and who created a Dream Stone that grants people’s wishes but always takes something away from them that they value), and there’s a hint of reincarnation as a man comes back to life but in another man’s body, Wonder Woman’s powers seem magical and mythological rather than based on something scientific or related to the Biblical God’s supernatural power, and at least one politically correct moment occurs when Wonder Woman grabs guns from two thieves and says, “I hate guns”
Foul Language
Four obscenities and four light profanities
Violence
Lots of action violence and jeopardy includes fighting between Wonder Woman and thieves, a thief threatens a child but Wonder Woman saves the child, men fire guns at Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman is nicked by a couple bullets, Wonder Woman fights female villain in two action sequences, men driving two military vehicles try to squish Wonder Woman, but she survives. Wonder Woman flips one of the military vehicles, Wonder Woman makes large leaps and jumps (sometimes using her Lasso of Truth to propel herself), Wonder Woman uses her Lasso to sweep tow children out of the way of oncoming military vehicles, Wonder Woman’s male friend helps her during some of these action sequences by fighting the men against her, a young Wonder Woman makes spectacular jumps and leaps while competing in a race with some young women, young Wonder Woman also makes a high dive into the ocean and jumps her horse across a ravine, Amazon women shoot arrows at targets, etc.
Sex
Lightly implied fornication, but no sex scenes, just a few kisses
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Light alcohol use and a drunken man bothers a woman twice
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Selfishness and greed but rebuked, and a father neglects his son, but this is rebuked and overcome.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Diana’s mother tells her, “Truth is all there is.” Why is truth essential to heroism, and when is telling the truth difficult?
Proverbs 12:22 · Ephesians 4:25Several characters discover that getting what they want does not satisfy them. What desires can become idols in our own lives?
Psalm 37:4 · 1 John 2:15–17Max Lord’s pursuit of power causes him to neglect his son. What does love require from a parent, and how does Scripture describe it?
1 Corinthians 13:4–5 · Ephesians 6:4The movie celebrates truth, love, patience, kindness, sacrifice, goodness, and joy. Which of these virtues most needs to grow in you?
Galatians 5:22–23 · Philippians 2:3–4The Final Word
Wonder Woman 1984 offers thrilling action, engaging characters, and a heartfelt celebration of truth, love, and joy. Its light profanity, pagan mythology, and implied sexual relationships call for parental discernment, but older children and adults can find much to appreciate. WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
