Wonder Woman Review:

I'll admit that when I first heard that the latest DC movie, 'Wonder Woman', was coming out, my first thought was similar to many others who have been following films in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). That was that this was going to be another superhero movie whose writers are too afraid to actually deliver on anything that breaks the tradition of good guy fights bad guy in order to save the world from the deadly power of an otherworldly object. I think it's safe to say I was wrong as 'Wonder Woman' delivered an interesting story as well as a plot-twist that even I wasn't expecting. Gal Gadot's role in the movie provided a strong female character and an almost perfect example of what a superhero origin story should be.

Obviously, this review is going to be pretty spoiler heavy, so if you haven't seen the movie yet I would highly recommend going to and then come back and finish reading this. Also just so you know there is no after credits scene. You're welcome.

SPOILER WARNING!!!

The story opens with our protagonist, Diana, played by Gal Gadot receiving a photograph from Bruce Wayne, Batman, of her old friends in World War One. This photo was initially introduced in 'Batman Vs Superman' but was not given much explanation. 'Wonder Woman' acts as a prequel for Diana and explanation of the characters in this photograph. Other than this there were no other Justice League references. The film was not grounded in what's to come but delivers what's happening now which I liked.

As someone who has never read a 'Wonder Woman' comic, I came to this world, like most viewers, completely new. The film did I great job of explaining the myths and legends as well as the objects of power that fuel the island of Themyscira. The use of flashbacks and narrative voices in the first half an hour gave me all of the knowledge I would need for the movie, which isn't always the case in the superhero genre.

We are then introduced to the character of Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine. The interactions between Diana and Steve add a much-needed element of comedy to the film as the Diana is confused by the gender roles of the time and Steve is embarrassed by her.

The film then carries on very much in the style of the first Captain America movie, in that it is a superhero movie set in World War One whose protagonist must stop an extreme Nazi who is mutating himself with a drug, along with the help of their sidekicks who are experts in their respective fields. I mean Chris's character, STEVE, literally sacrifices himself in a plane at the end of the movie! I wasn't sure if the movie was supposed to be parodying this but I definitely felt that Steve was playing on Marvel's character Steve Rogers (A.K.A. Captain America).

It was at this point that I started to feel as if DC were playing it safe again as we had been given all of this back story on Ares and it never really came into play. That was until David Thewlis's character revealed his true identity of Ares and possibly the most epic battle in Superhero origin films ensued. This reveal caught me completely off guard. I knew that General Erich Ludendorff wasn't Ares but I didn't think Ares was going to be in this let alone that Thewlis could possibly be him.

I really liked Ares motivation in the story and his character had a point to make. Other superhero movies can often belittle their villains by making them evil just because their evil or because they are insane but 'Wonder Woman' did a great job of giving Ares a reason for his actions. I know other reviews have criticised Ares and I am not saying he was perfect, but compared to Lex Luther and Enchantress in 'Batman V Superman' and 'Suicide Squad', the villain of 'Wonder Woman' was much better.

The character development in the story was awesome as we see Diana transitions from someone who believes she can stop all war and end all suffering into someone who has accepted both her own and humanities flaws. This is symbolised when she spares Doctor Poison, played by Elena Anaya, at the end of the movie. The story did a great job about explaining her role in the Justice League, as Steve says 'someone who can save the world.'

I must admit that I found the ending of the story a little confusing when Diana dons her Wonder Woman outfit and jumps off a building. I assumed she was in Paris to find a member of the Justice League so why she was getting ready to fight at the end of this movie I don't know. Hopefully, this is something that will be explained in a later film.

My only major criticism with the movie would be that the romance between Diana and Steve felt a little rushed and unnecessary. I understand that it was in there to ultimately humanize Wonder Woman, who could otherwise be considered unrelatable, but there are other ways of doing this which I feel the film employed anyway. As well as, this for a movie that claims to be a 'feminist film' it fell under the same trope of the main female character falling in love with the first man she meets. I feel like they should have either added more romance interactions between them or not included it at all.

As far as the acting goes I felt that the casting choices were great. I love Chris Pine in pretty much everything he does and I feel is a pretty underappreciated actor in Hollywood so it was nice to see he get a role in this movie. Gal Gaddot, although not looking like the Wonder Woman from the comics, provided a very strong role model that both men and women can look up to because of her values and determination. David Thewlis's was also an interesting risk that paid off as he certainly wouldn't be high on my list when casting Ares.

As far as a sequel is concerned I don't think Ares is dead, otherwise, DC would have to explain away World War 2. I think Ares will definitely return but this time possibly played by Chris Pine if he can choose his form. This is Supported by the fact that Chris has signed on to do more than one film in the DCEU.

Overall Wonder Woman was a fantastic movie and an amazing example of how to do a superhero origin story. The movie proves that DC does not need all of the established comic book tropes, although I would tweak the story in certain places. Wonder Woman acts a great role-model for society at the minute, standing for doing something in the face of evil rather than nothing and not fighting out of revenge of selfishness, but for the good of people she has never encountered.

(Side note: I'm hoping to do more reviews like this in the future in order to practice on writing things for magazines and build up a portfolio. I don't expect anyone to read or like this post but if you did then thank you, that really shows who my real friends are. Feel free to let me know what you think. )