Without a doubt, the best part of the horrible movie Batman Vs. Superman was Wonder Woman. The only part of that movie where I sat up and paid attention, was when Gal Gadot was on there battling Doomsday. She has, without a doubt, the best superhero theme of any superhero out there now and Gal was great. I couldn't wait for Wonder Woman's solo film.
It took a while, but that film is here. Given the DCU track record, there was every reason to be nervous. It was the first woman-led superhero movie and there was a lot riding on it (I am ignoring the Supergirl movie from the 80s). The good news is that Wonder Woman is terrific. It is everything you could hope for, remembers what fun a superhero movie should be, makes up for Batman vs. Superman and the utterly horrid Suicide Squad. In fact, Wonder Woman is one of the best superhero movies every made.
This is, of course, an origin story. We learn that Wonder Woman is part of the Amazons, a group of female warriors created by Zeus to show mankind love and bring them back toward their goodness and greatness, which war, jealousy and the god Ares had stolen from them. However, the Amazons have been living on a secret island for generations, training to save the world, but also not having any contact with the outside world.
To this culture is born Diana. She is a black-haired beauty who wants to become a warrior, despite her mother being terrified of her being trained to do so. However, trained she is, and then comes the day a mono-plane crashes carrying pilot and spy Steve Trevor into the waters off of "Paradise Island." Soon, Diana learns there is a War to End All Wars going on, that millions have died and millions more may die if a German General and his chemist "Doctor Poison" succeed with their plans.
Diana is soon leaving with Steve, bearing a sword, shield and armor, to London of World War I. She has been training her entire life for war, but is shocked to see how horrible it really is. She also is convinced the god Ares is responsible, and if she can just find him and defeat him, all war will stop.
What follows is funny, romantic, exciting, adventurous, thrilling, terrifying, chilling, amazing and remarkable. At the center of it all is Gal Gadot and she is just simply amazing as Diana Prince. She carries every frame of this movie like the titular superhero and does so amazingly well. She personifies Wonder Woman, and when she steps over the trench walls to face off against German machine guns in No Man's Land, if your heart doesn't race, sorry to tell you, but you've died.
What's remarkable is that the rest of the cast is great, too. I have liked Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, but he really shines as Steve. The rest of his motley crew of renegades and spies are also excellent. They are real characters, with backgrounds, stories, bad things and good things and we learn about them along with Diana.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, she remembers how fun superhero movies should be. While not drifting into the goofiness that beset the Superman movies, I feel this one compares the best to those Christopher Reeve outings that showed superhero movies could be exciting and make money way back in the late 70s.
Also - Wonder Woman still has the best damn theme music of any superhero now
This is the movie fans of the DCU have been waiting for. The World War I setting even works nicely in its favor. This is a war movie - with a superhero at its center. It has heart. It has emotion. It takes you on a ride and leaves you wanting more. Can we just have the sequel already?
Here's hoping Justice League continues this and doesn't slide back into the relentless grim that the other DCU movies have been mired in.
BWA