Is The 'Wonder Woman' Movie Any Good? Here's What The Reviews Have To Say
DC has wisely forgone an ensemble flick this summer and is taking a shot at the Wonder Woman movie fans have wanted for decades. With Patty Jenkins (Monster) in the director's seat, Gal Godot (the Fast & Furious franchise) as our super-powered star and Chris Pine (Star Trek) as the sexy sidekick, has DC delivered a respite from their universe's usual grim-dark depression? Here's what the reviews have to say:
You're In For One-Part Origin Story, One-Part War Movie
It has a wobbly opening on a women-only island where hot chicks in fabulous Ancient Greek sandals appear to have wandered in from a Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign. This is Themyscira where the Amazon tribe have lived in peace for thousands of years[…] The island's tranquillity is broken by the arrival of a cocky American soldier played by 'Star Trek' actor Chris Pine, who is adorable.
[Time Out]
Ares, she's convinced, is the cause of the all-consuming conflict Steve's described to her — World War I. She believes the only reason "the war to end all wars" could be happening is due to Ares' influence, and that once she defeats him, the violence will be over.
[Buzzfeed]
Once back in England, Diana and Steve are forced to go rogue, since Steve's mission to stop German general Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and the deadly chemical warfare of Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya) would interfere with the pending armistice.
[The Wrap]
Gal Godot's Portrayal Of Wonder Woman Is Uniquely Hers
Gadot's Diana/Wonder Woman is brilliant but unsophisticated; brave but sometimes reckless; compassionate yet stubborn; idealistic yet capable of deadly force when there's no other choice; endowed with astounding powers but as yet unsure of how to harness and master all her gifts.
The film plays up Diana's naiveté (without making fun of her), and when she and Steve arrive in war-torn London, her stranger-in-a-strange-land schtick reaches charming heights.
Whether she's reacting to the unfamiliar sight of automobiles or constricting early 20th-century women's fashions, she takes it all in like a fish-out-of-water naïf. When she has her first taste of ice cream, she swoons and enthusiastically tells the salesman, "You should be very proud," as if he's performed some kind of miracle. Gadot sells the innocence and humor in these moments every bit as convincingly as Daryl Hannah in Splash.
Chris Pine And Company Are A Blast To Watch
Pine's been ill-served by blandsome hero roles in the past, but he looks perfectly comfortable here as the supporting character to a more luminous lead. (So comfortable, in fact, that I fear someone will see Wonder Woman and try to give Pine another Jack Ryan-style role.) He's charismatic in a way that makes it easy to understand Diana's fascination with him, and the script gives their flirtation just enough of an edge to make their romance seem genuinely sexy, not just sweet.
[Mashable]
War has yet to be eradicated from either the movieverse or the real one, so it's not news that the situation ends up being more complicated than she assumed. Which comes as a shock to no one but Diana herself, after she finagles a way out to the front with Steve and his trustiest mercenary friends — the silver-tongued Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui), the Scottish sharpshooter Charlie (Ewen Bremner), and the Native American smuggler Chief (Eugene Brave Rock). They're a seen-it-all crew who, of course, reveal their hearts of gold right when Diana's confidence is shaken and, along with it, her conception of mankind as fundamentally good unless tainted by forces of evil.
[Buzzfeed]
The Film's Pacing Isn't Perfect (Director's Cut, Please?)
The rest of the world realizes that it is Diana's duty to stand out, to preach the idealism that has been obliterated by the horrors of war. The film, however, takes forever to unleash her ass-kicking goddess within – and suffers for it.
It would be nice one of these days if some heroic editor just lopped off the last 30 minutes of all of these things.
Had it really broken the mold and come in below the two-hour mark, Wonder Woman could have been a thoroughly transporting film. As it stands, it's intermittently spot-on, particularly in the pops of humor and romance between the exotically kick-ass yet approachable Gadot and the supremely charismatic Chris Pine as an American working for British intelligence, the first man the Amazon princess has ever met. With eager fans unlikely to bemoan the film's length or its lapses in narrative energy, Wonder Woman will conquer their hearts as it makes its way around the globe.
There's Action, Spectacle… And Real Consequences
Jenkins and her team have great fun showcasing the Amazons' distinct fighting style, which emphasizes precision and agility over brute force (though they're also more than capable of packing a punch when the occasion calls for it). Her eye for action serves Wonder Woman well until its climax, which eventually and unfortunately devolves into the dreary CG nonsense we've come to expect from big-budget blockbusters like these.
[Mashable]
It's often said that there's no such thing as an anti-war movie, since combat is so cinematically exciting, but director Patty Jenkins ("Monster") gets closer to that goal than most: when we see war here, we see destroyed men who have lost limbs, devastated countryside, and yowling orphans who will never be reunited with their parents. And unlike so many 21st century adventures, the sacrifices here stick; there's no take-backs in the final minutes.
[The Wrap]
This Is The First DC Movie That Feels Fun
What's striking about her turn in the spotlight in Wonder Woman, beyond its milestone status as a female-centric studio superhero feature directed by a woman, is the movie's sense of elated lightness.
[Buzzfeed]
Wonder Woman is smart, slick, and satisfying in all of the ways superhero films ought to be. How deliciously ironic that in a genre where the boys seem to have all the fun, a female hero and a female director are the ones to show the fellas how it's done.
Watching Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, I felt that same sense of overwhelming good emitting from Gal Gadot's portrayal as I did with Christopher Reeve's Superman. Again, there's no hint of cynicism coming from Gadot's Diana (Jenkins — who we interviewed recently — thankfully doesn't even try to come up with a reason why anyone would refer to Diana as "Wonder Woman," so that title is never spoken) – we just know she stands for good. And, my gosh, is that a refreshing surprise.
[UPROXX]
TL;DR
"Wonder Woman" is as much about a superhero rising as it is about a world deserving of her, and Diana's hard-won insistence on battling for humanity (no matter how frequently they disappoint) adds the kind of gravitas and emotion that establishes it as the very best film the DCEU has made yet. There's only one word for it: wonderful.
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