Official “Wonder Woman” film poster from wonderwomanfilm.com
CULLMAN – "Wonder Woman," directed by Patty Jenkins, is the origin story for one of DC Comics’ flagship characters, Wonder Woman. Starring Gal Gadot as the titular character, the movie follows Diana (Wonder Woman) as she grows up on the island of Themyscira amongst her fellow Amazonian warriors. When she crosses paths with Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, she is compelled to leave the island with him after she learns of World War I taking place in Europe.
Once the pair have left Themyscira, the script injects a lot of humor between Diana and Steve Trevor. The two actors portraying them have good chemistry with one another making it the first film in the DC extended universe that feels fun and light. This is also the first DC film to really embrace some of the more fantastical elements of its source material. The film isn't overly concerned with taking itself too seriously and just wants the audience to have fun. Between Steve Trevor staying on Themyscira and Diana walking around London, the film makes good use of fish out of water humor before the action really begins.
Once the two of them reach the front lines of the war, the film becomes a nearly non-stop summer action flick with only a few moments of downtime sprinkled in. Wonder Woman's abilities are put on full display as she tears through several action set pieces at lightning pace.
The film also has a message it wants to get across about the nature of humanity that ties directly into the film's main antagonist. The third act suffers a small flaw nearly all super hero films suffer as the final battle becomes a massive green screen and CGI blowout similar to the one seen in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice". However, "Wonder Woman" does have an interesting villain which makes the battle more engaging than some others like it.
Overall, "Wonder Woman" is a very solid comic book film with humor, exciting action and good characters played by good actors. For those reasons, it is easy to say that this is the best movie the DC extended universe has given us so far.
4/5 stars
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