Wonder Woman Review

The Gist

Princes Diana (Gal Gadot) is trained to be the greatest warrior. When an American spy (Chris Pine) crash lands on her island, Diana escorts him home in hopes of stopping the war to end all wars.

 The Review

 Finally! DC have finally cracked it! Fourth time lucky I guess even though the reviews mean squat compared to the box office receipts. Despite me rewarding Batman v Superman four stars, I did feel rather depressed and empty by the end of it. On second viewing I did wish I had waited, but regardless, it’s come and gone, now we have Wonder Woman to praise.

So here, DC has finally paid attention not only in following Marvel’s footsteps as in lightening the mood, allowing someone who understands the character adapt it. Sorry Mr Snyder but Superman is more than a punching machine, and he can speak, give him more lines!

Like Gadot, Patty Jenkins wouldn’t have been my first choice in adapting WW. Well, I’m the first to admit I was wrong on both sides, both have succeeded in more ways than thought.

We’re given the usual superhero origins story which I won’t criticise too much, after all this is WWs’ first cinematic iteration so best play it safe. We’re given quite a bit of time on the beautiful and colourful Themyscira, sucking in the bright blue skies and sandy beaches, gee I wonder what the outside world will look like.

 Diana, sculpted from clay and given life by Zeus is trained to be a great warrior by her aunt, General Antiope. Robin Wright fills the role and all I can say is I would love to see a prequel with just her character. Shortly after Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor crash lands into the sea with ze Germans hot on his tail. There Antiope and the rest of the Amazonian spring into action and, yeah it’s pretty kick ass. Taking cues from what makes Zack Snyder’s action good, Jenkins slows it down at times. It is quite exhilarating watching the Amazonians flip off of horses and do spinny things while shooting arrows at the sam time. After that Diana learns about the war and decides to go help.

As mentioned, DC has taken their cues from Marvel which has also slightly been this movie’s downfall. One although minor nitpick is like the MCU, the villains are just there. No presence, no real threat, which is a shame because in my opinion one area where DC reigns is in its villains, hell Batman’s rogues gallery alone is enough.

However, that is a tiny nitpick and means nothing due to the film’s main stars. The chemistry is strong between Gadot and Pine, it’s believable and sweet in a way, and it’s main star, perfect.

As someone who hasn’t read many comics but kept up with the stories and watched the animated series, Wonder Woman always seemed complete. A female warrior badass who could even take on Superman if she wanted.

We’re given her origins and there’s a naivety that Gadot brings to the character which works really well. Her first encounters with people in grimy old London is quite funny with Trevor on her tail trying to keep her out of trouble. There are some nods to Richard Donner’s original Superman which is a nice touch, in fact, the relationship between Diana and Trevor is quite similar to Lois and Clarke, hey if it ain’t broken!

Another nitpick would be the final showdown but again when the rest of the movie is this good, it’ll do nothing. All in all, DC are finally onto something, a lot of us had lost faith but who would have thought that Wonder Woman, not Supes would be the beacon of hope.

 The Verdict

Fun, action packed with enough heart and humour to go around, Wonder Woman is a sigh of relief not only for a good female led superhero movie but for female-led movies in general. We need more Sarah Connors, Ripleys and now, Wonder Women.