Movie Review: Wonder Woman

That. Was. Awesome.

Based on the DC comics, Wonder Woman stars Gal Gadot as the titular character, along with Chris Pine, Connie Nielson and Robin Wright and was directed by Patty Jenkins. Diana, Princess of Themyscira, daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Nielson) lives on her island populated entirely by a race of woman known as Amazons. She trains under General Antiope (Wright) until a soldier from WWI is shot down from the sky. The soldier, Steve Trevor (Pine) takes Diana with him to London in her wish to stop the war. According to her legends, Ares, God of War is the reason why Mankind started to fight, so she is determined to find him and put a stop to it.

I love the character of Wonder Woman. I like how she's allowed to be strong, yet still show her emotions and a more feminine side. She is upset when her mentor dies and cooes over a baby on the street. I also like how the men don't question her skills, once she's proved herself. The few times she's asked to stay behind, it's more because her skill set isn't right for this particular job, then any judgement on her fighting capability. And I feel like there has never been an actor who has enjoyed playing a role as much as Gadot enjoyed her role here.

One thing I didn't like as much was the villains. German villains are almost too-easy, and it felt like they were following the standard formula for WWII, despite WWI being different. Ares, for all his buildup, is pretty usual for a villain in a comic book movie. I was actually hoping that the German chemist Isabel Maru would get more attention!

This movie absolutely does show that darker comic book movies can work. It does not gloss over the reality of war. I also like that it focused on WWI, since many movies have focused on WWII before. However, it never fails to show it's lighter side, either. The dialogue is in places comedic in nature, and the characters are fun when they're not showing their more serious side.

I feel like this movie must have been a costume designers dream. From the fighting outfits of the Amazons to London in WWI to a fancy German party, the costumes are a treat. The island of Themyscira is also beautiful. Using a brighter colour pallet than previous DC movies works so well for this one.

I recommend this movie to any fan of superhero movies, even if they haven't enjoyed other DC comics movies. In places this movie did feel more like a Marvel movie to me, but that will probably not be everyone's opinion.