Director / Patty Jenkins (MONSTER)
Stars/ Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis and Robin Wright

The newest superhero to join the cinematic universe is unveiled in this fourth instalment of the DC extended universe. WONDER WOMAN, which is the first female-dominant superhero film since 2005’s ELEKTRA, has been in development for over 20 years. In that time, plenty of names have been attached to direct, including Ivan Reitman and Joss Whedon. After accepting the offer in 2015, Patty Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist.

An origin story for Wonder Woman, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot, who stars in several films belonging to the FAST & FURIOUS chain) is an Amazon princess living on an island paradise, which is inhabited by female warriors. A trained and highly-skilled fighter, Diana learns of World War I when a pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), crashes his helicopter nearby. Enraged by the destruction that is occurring on the planet, Diana leaves her idyllic abode to use her superpowers and bring peace to the people, fulfilling her destiny to become Wonder Woman.

Like most origin stories, WONDER WOMAN travels right back to Diana’s upbringing and childhood years. During the opening act, we learn of the influence that her Aunty (Robin Wright) and protective mother (Connie Nielsen) have on her as a child. The script moves along quite swiftly during these earlier sequences, which also explains how their island nation came to existence. The introduction of Chris Pine’s character brings with it a more light-hearted approach and adds plenty of playful humour to the mix, a welcomed facet that remains intact as Diana acquaints with Steve’s secretary, Etta Candy (Lucy Davis), in war-ravaged London. As it continues, the plot gains some extra muscle as Steve resumes his mission and by more heavily involving the films antagonists. 

Everything happens mostly as expected in WONDER WOMAN. The closer it gets to arriving at that 141 minute duration, the further away it is from its best work. The final hour, which goes heavy on the special effects, does contain some well-choreographed stunts, but shifts gears into auto-pilot action mode and overdoes it as a result. Partly written by BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE and MAN OF STEEL director Zack Snyder (who is set to direct the upcoming films JUSTICE LEAGUE PART 1 & 2), the script can’t camouflage its formulaic structure or its clichés as strongly during this latter stage of the film. However, just as expected, the constant presence of an iconic and strong female cast in a role normally occupied by the opposite gender is always refreshing to watch, sweeping aside anything and anyone who dares to stand in her way.

3 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion/ M (mature themes and action violence)

Trailer / WONDER WOMAN

Moviedoc thanks Roadshow Films for the invite to the screening of this film..

Review by Moviedoc / “LIKE” on Facebook – Moviedoc

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