Wonder Woman

Up to this point, it was hard to tell if the DC Universe films were getting better, even by the smallest of increments, or if it just seemed that way because each successive entry further lowered expectations. Ironically, this troublesome state of affairs turns out to be a plus for Wonder Woman, the first unequivocally good picture in the franchise.

Story-wise and structurally, it’s not much of a mold-breaker (except for the rancid, grim, overlong, unfun mold of the DC Universe prior). And yet, it remarkably feels…fresh, which is something for a genre that’s flooded the market for over a decade. Although, this feeling is not just a result of being better by comparison. At least as much of it is due to its notable firsts: the first big-screen starring turn for the character Wonder Woman, and the first woman-fronted superhero film of the extended franchise era (and arguably the first one ever made that the studio was serious about).

It’s a heavy role to fill, and Gal Gadot is certainly up to the task. She exudes a “no-sweat” certitude throughout, playing into the fish-out-of-water comedy, and alternately earnest or passionate in the serious scenes. And when embroiled in a big battle or one-on-one fight, she looks pretty damn super.

The film tells of the first adventure of Wonder Woman, real name Princess Diana of the Amazons. A prologue details Diana’s childhood and warrior training on her island home of Themyscira, populated only by women warriors and secluded from the world of man. But when American World War I pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes on the island, it becomes clear the Amazons no longer can ignore the outside world.  Diana and Steve then make their way to Europe to stop a German general (Danny Huston) from releasing a new nerve gas that could prolong the war.

So, the film hits a lot of the familiar beats of a standard superhero outing and origin story (also, the predicted similarities to the plot of Captain America: The First Avenger are rather apparent). And while Gadot makes the movie and Pine is a solid comic opposite of a sidekick, the supporting cast doesn’t get a lot of screen time to develop beyond bare bones archetypes, although an assembly of good actors (Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright on Themyscira, Huston and David Thewlis in the outside world) perform admirably. Also, while the action scenes are (FINALLY!) well-executed, the big final battle only seems about as weighty as a mini-boss fight.

Still, Wonder Woman is fun, thanks mostly to Gadot, and to an overall technical competence and visual decipherability that has, until now, eluded the DC films. Most surprisingly, this time the attempts at greater thematic meaning have a disarming sincerity. The mythic elements actually seem wondrous instead of pretentious, the “war is hell” imagery of the trenches fairly poignant instead of strenuous like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman’s 9/11 allegory. The state of the DC film Universe as a whole is still suspect, but it’s got its first quality standalone entry. Fourth time’s a charm, I guess.