June 5, 2017 · Watch the official trailer
Nearly four decades after Lynda Carter hung up her tights, “Wonder Woman” finally took center stage on the big screen.
The long-awaited feature took home just over $100 million in the United States on its opening weekend and fully delivers on the high expectations avid moviegoers had for the first female superhero movie in 12 years.
This origin tale follows the story of Diana, a young princess hidden away from the rest of the world on an island of female warriors sworn to defend against the Greek god of war Ares. When an American pilot spying on the Germans during World War I crashes into their secret paradise, Diana is compelled to put her training to the test, go out into the world and end the bloodshed.
Continuing the role from her supporting performance in last year’s “Batman vs. Superman,” Israeli actress Gal Gadot is an imposing, passionate choice to take on the Wonder Woman mantle. Gadot is more than believable in a fight, battling with a sense of vigor that most actors simply don’t offer in comic book films nowadays.
Her performance in the leading role is strangely akin to Chris Evans’ turn as Captain America, especially given how similar “Wonder Woman” feels to “The First Avenger,” which saw the Marvel superhero battle Nazis during World War II. Like Evans, Gadot centers the strength of Wonder Woman within the emotional core of Diana, building her superhero power from the empathic love in her heart.
“Wonder Woman” also flips the script by having a male in the traditional love interest role, with “Star Trek” actor Chris Pine’s Steve serving as a counterbalance to Gadot’s Diana. Pine has all the best lines in an underwhelming script from Allan Heinberg and often steals scenes with his wry smile and perfect comedic timing. Gadot and Pine have strong chemistry throughout and the film really hums when the pair share time on screen together.
The film certainly packs a lot of punch in its extended action sequences, especially in the transformative scene where Diana unveils the Wonder Woman armor for the first time. Director Patty Jenkins does her best work here in defining the power of her superhero with an iconic battle as Diana fearlessly storms across “No Man’s Land” to take on the German army. It’s the best scene in the film by a wide margin and quite possibly the best action sequence in a comic book film in many years.
“Wonder Woman” isn’t without its flaws.
Structurally, the film suffers from over-extending its character base at the beginning and end, working best when the focus is on Diana’s heroism in the real world and in her burgeoning relationship with Steve.
A clunky, computer graphic heavy third act fails to conclude the two-hour epic with the promise the film started off on. Jenkins’ movie succumbs to the same dark, unnecessary battle with a “big baddie” that wrecked previous DC films “Suicide Squad” and especially “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.” The present day scenes that bookend “Wonder Woman” also don’t do the film any favors, taking audiences out of the moment in service of the larger cinematic universe.
There’s a lot to be said for a film led by a female superhero directed by a female director that is both successful at the box office and a quality movie. “Wonder Woman” is a major step forward in changing the minds of Hollywood studio execs as they develop future projects with women in mind.
“Wonder Woman” certainly has dents in her armor that keep it from being a truly great film, but it’s an important movie, and one certainly worth seeing in theaters.
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