Wonder Woman Review

(Warner Bros.)

30 movies. 30.

That’s how many superhero films have been released since just 2010, and not a single one of them has been headlined or directed by a woman.

While it took its sweet time getting here, such a film finally exists. And, as it turns out, a female-led superhero film can be just as exciting, emotional, and thoughtful as the average male-led one. Maybe even more so.

Who would have thought?

Wonder Woman is the breath of fresh air that the comic book movie genre, and indeed Hollywood at large, has desperately needed. It’s also a magnificent comeback for DC Comics, which has struggled to keep up with the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since Christopher Nolan completed his Dark Knight Trilogy back in 2012. But fear not—Wonder Woman avoids repeating almost all of the mistakes of last year’s Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad. This is a rousing, inspiring joyride that wears its heart on its sleeve and is all the better for it.

(Warner Bros.)

The film opens on the mythical island of Themyscira, an isolated paradise inhabited by a society of fierce female warriors called the Amazons. When American spy Steve Trevor (a very charming Chris Pine) crash lands offshore, he tells of “the war to end all wars.” Upon hearing of all the death and destruction, Diana (Gal Gadot) assumes that Ares, the god of war that the Amazons were created to defeat, is responsible and sets out with Steve to end the conflict, once and for all.

Right off the bat, Wonder Woman shows that it has a heart as we follow the playful antics of a young Diana (Lilly Aspell), who is eager to learn the ways of combat. One can’t help but smile as she watches the other Amazons training while swinging an imaginary sword and kicking the air in admiration. By the time Gadot steps back into the role, Diana has grown to be a strong, but imperfect, woman. She’s self-assured, but perhaps a tad overconfident. Clever, but naive. Powerful, but inexperienced. Gadot handles the weight of this character with grace in both the thrilling action sequences and the quieter, personal moments. As she becomes exposed to the world of men, Diana doesn’t show any signs of cynicism. Gadot’s Wonder Woman wants nothing more than to do good, a true hero, through and through.

Director Patty Jenkins wisely chooses to spend a great deal of the film’s 141-minute runtime on developing her characters in tender, earnest ways. One scene where Steve teaches Diana how to dance is particularly endearing. Jenkins also manages to create a fairly effective anti-war film within the confines of a PG-13 comic book film. When Diana observes the horrific effects of World War 1, we look at it with even more regret than usual, having been won over by her optimism and ashamed by her disappointment.

That being said, when the action begins, Wonder Woman is exhilarating. Jenkins might overuse slow motion in some of the film’s earlier action scenes, but her direction is generally assured and often spectacularly choreographed. The highlight of the film is, without a doubt, the sequence in which Diana steps out onto a heavily-contested battlefield, driven by pure determination. If you’re anything like me, you’ll likely get chills at the sight of such an awesome display of female power and bravery.

However, the film isn’t perfect. Its villains feel more like plot devices than characters and the climax eventually devolves into the CGI showdown that is apparently a staple of this new wave of DC films (although Wonder Woman handles it much better than its predecessors, likely because it also takes so much time to develop its protagonists). But its problems are easily forgivable considering how frequently the film succeeds. Wonder Woman is a welcome (and unfortunately necessary) reminder of how badass women can be.

(Warner Bros.)

“I believe in love,” proclaims Diana in Wonder Woman’s climactic battle. While that line might seem cheesy on paper, Gadot imbues it with such conviction and deliberation that you can’t help but want to leap to your feet and cheer for it. It also serves to solidify Wonder Woman’s status as a film that the world seriously needs right now. Yes, it’s about a powerful woman and by a woman, but that’s not really why. Above all else, Wonder Woman wants to remind us what a hero looks like: a person who refuses to stand by and do nothing. It doesn’t mean saving the world, it means choosing to see the good in it and wanting to put a little more back in.

When Diana is brought to the frontlines of the war, she is shocked to see British soldiers trapped in the trenches, declining to even consider rescuing a nearby village of civilians in danger. And so, revealing her iconic armor for the first time in the film, she climbs out into No Man’s Land. Alone. Defiant. Courageous. Heroic.

Wonder Woman is finally here. Hear her roar.