Wonder Woman Review

Certificate: 12A

Running time: 141 minutes 

Directed by: Patty Jenkins.

What's it about: Based on the DC Comics character of the same name. This film is an origin story following Diana, an Amazonian princess, as she discovers her true destiny and becomes Wonder Woman.

The verdict: The DC Film Universe has been plagued with bad reviews and criticism. However, advance screenings of Wonder Woman were reported to being well received, with both critics and fans hailing Wonder Woman as 'the saviour of the DCU.' With that in mind, and having throughly enjoyed the trailers, I went to see Wonder Woman with high expectations. 

In terms of the cast, I believe Gal Gadot is well cast. She is endearing as the naive and moralistic Diana, but is also convincingly commanding and impressive when she's kicking ass as Wonder Woman. I really liked Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Chris Pine is a safe pair of hands in any role. He was likeable, and provided some light relief with certain lines. The supporting cast is strong but for me, no one else particularly stood out. Although I did enjoy seeing Robin Wright as Antiope, I'd completely missed the fact that she was in this, she plays strong women really well.

I really enjoyed the film's first act. This part was mainly set on Themyscira - the mythical island of the Amazonians. The location is beautiful, and I loved the mix of the storytelling of ancient myths and watching Diana grow up admiring the Amazonians. One of the best scenes in the film, in my opinion, is when the Amazonians go to battle against the Germans. The style of fighting and seeing an all female army was brilliant, and really engaging. 

Once the film moves into its second act, and Diana is thrust into a world that she's not familiar with, the film loses a bit of momentum for me. Diana spends a lot of time following Steve around and being flustered by how everything works. Although at times this led to some funny scenes, it felt like the film's focus had shifted slightly from being a strong female led film to just a superhero film. This also introduced a lot of focus onto Diana's looks. Whilst I understand why this was done - again it took away from being a strong, female centric film and being about Wonder Woman's powers, and became more about how beautiful Diana is. 

Another disappointing element for me was the lack of a post credits scene. The film ends in a way that means it could be a stand alone film, but considering the expansion of the DCU, it would've made sense to include a hint at this in a post credits scene. I was looking forward to a teaser of what was to come.

Overall I enjoyed Wonder Woman. I would say it was really good, but for me it wasn't amazing or 

mind blowing. This is possibly to do with the fact that I had such high expectations and I thought I'd absolutely love it. But it's definitely a step in the right direction for the DCU, and I think a lot of people will love it. I am looking forward to seeing the next instalment in the DCU, and what they come up with.

Should you watch this film? Yes. It's a good film to watch on the big screen, and it's interesting to see the DC Film Universe grow.