Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and even Man of Steel were critically divisive movies in the growing DC extended universe. After each one came out, fans were hoping the next one would be the movie that would be embraced by all movie going fans alike. Now, that next one is Wonder Woman. Is Wonder Woman going to be the first DCEU film to be overwhelmingly praised by fans and critics alike? Yeah, I think it will!
Wonder Woman stars Fast and the Furious actress Gal Gadot as Diana, the princess of Themiscara, which is a mysterious island of amazons hidden from the outside world. The action starts when Chris Pine's Steve Trevor meets Diana when he crashes his plane near Themiscara and recruits her to help him with the escalating World War 1.
I went into this movie with a lot of reluctance because I love these DC characters and Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and even Man of Steel in some ways disappointed in different ways. I wanted this movie to be the first great DCEU movie and I'm really happy to say that it is!
Patty Jenkins directs with grace and wonder. You can tell how much she loves the character of Wonder Woman. Patty Jenkins had said that one lf her favourite films growing up was Superman: the Movie from 1978 and you can really tell because there are a few omages to that movie. Wonder Woman is a strong character and this film makes other female led movies like Catwoman and Elektra look like a complete joke. If you mix together the fish-out-of-water element of Thor and place it into the World War setting of Captain America: The First Avenger, then you get a good idea of what this movie is.
Henry Cavill’s performance as Superman is very serious and earnest and he doesn’t get to show the lighter side of playing Superman. That’s not the case with Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Much like Chris Hemsworth in the first Thor and Dave Bautista in Guardians of the Galaxy, Gal Gadot is limited in the amount of dramatic acting she has to do and is instead given the chance to show her surprisingly decent comedic chops to hide her relatively unseasoned acting ability. The beauty comes from when Gadot really needs to get serious in some key scenes, she brings it and she's pretty commendable. Add on her great physicality and look and Gadot is actually pretty damn good in the role!
Her Chemistry with Chris Pine is one of the highlights of the movie and may be one of the reasons Gadot is as good as she is. There are several scenes where his performance is just laugh out loud funny. In particular, a scene with both Pine and Gadot on a boat had me howling for more.
At the end of the day, while I wouldn't say that Wonder Woman is one of the best comic book movies ever made. I would, however, say that it is a very good installment and that it is the best DC movie since 2008's The Dark Knight!
4/5 Bracer Deflections
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