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Wonder Woman (2017) Review

Nic Castillo
Jun 5, 2017
3 min read

Be careful, might contain spoilers.

Diana, princess of Themyscira, has been waiting 75 years to be on the big screen, and while she debuted on last year's Batman V Superman, her 15 minutes were not enough.

On her first solo appearance, she hooks you instantly, tying her origin story with the little we knew about her from BvS, without the need of an unnecessary cameo.

Wonder Woman Still. Courtesy of Warner Bros.

The movie does a fantastic job introducing Diana (Gal Gadot) to a new audience, while keeping her essence for avid comic book readers. Wonder Woman, has a fantastic supporting cast. Gadot's Diana chemistry with Chris Pine's Steve Trevor, is the soul of the movie, a movie that is full of humor, hope and love. Connie Nielsen's Hippolyta portrays a mother whose apparent hardness is just her love and willingness to protect her daughter of any harm. And even with her limited time on the movie, Robin Wright's Antiope is an scene-stealer, as the strongest, most formidable soldier of the amazons.

Director Patty Jenkins delivered a film with amazing action scenes, without eclipsing the more quiet and comedic sequences. The movie centers on the innocence of it's protagonist, and her willingness to help those in need, at any personal cost.

Dir. Patty Jenkins alongside Gal Gadot & Chris Pine. Courtesy of WB.

Wonder Woman, marks a change on the direction DC had for their movies on previous installments of their new extended universe, being less dark and more comedic than the likes of Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Centering on it's hero and it's journey, instead of their villain.

The movie is far from perfect but it's protagonist and her tac team have so much heart, and their bickering back and forth is incredibly enjoyable. The biggest problem for the movie is on it's villains and the third act.

Ares, is revealed to be Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis) instead of the first suspect: General Ludendorff (Danny Huston), who happens to be an German general turned into a super strong meta-human via gaseous drug by Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) just for the sake of making Diana believe he is in fact Ares.

Anaya's Doctor Poison is incredibly underutilized, but her few scenes are very solid.

Thewlis does a fantastic job with his Sir Patrick personna, and even in his scene revealing Ares' intentions to rule the world with Diana by his side, he excels, but once Ares takes his comic book form, the CGI makes his performance dull, and his WWI era mustache ridiculous.

Diana and Ares' final fight takes a few more minutes than needed. But the emotional impact is incredible.

Diana dances with Ludendorff. Still. Courtesy of WB.

Gal Gadot gives a solid performance, and Director Patty Jenkins was very smart utilizing the actress great physicality, and despite various critics doubts Wonder Woman was all around Gadot's movie. She gives Diana Prince the needed level of innocence and hope and her chemistry with Pine is off the charts on all moments they are together on screen. They ground each other so much that at the end you believe wholeheartedly when he says those beautiful three words, before his ultimate and heroic end.

Lucy Davis's Etta Candy is another stand out, in her limited time on the screen, bringing a fantastic dose of humor, and camaraderie with both Diana and Steve Trevor.

Overall, Wonder Woman is a fantastic addition to the DCEU, the best film of them all in my opinion. Let's hope Warner Bros. learns with the success of this installment and change the way they approach their superheroes adaptations.

Score: 4.3/5