Film review: Wonder Woman is an entertaining and action-packed affair

Chris Pine, left, and Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman. Clay Enos / Warner Bros Entertainment via AP Photo

Wonder Woman

Director: Patty Jenkins

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, David Thewlis

Four stars

There’s a lot riding on this movie. It is the latest in the developing DC Extended Cinema Universe, and its predecessors have received mixed reactions at best – another flop could all but end the endeavour.

It is also the first major comic- book super-hero adaptation to be directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, and the first big-money adaptation of a female comic-book hero. It is being viewed under a microscope by critics, fans and bankers alike. So, no pressure then. For the most part, it works. Gal Gadot's brief cameo as Wonder Woman was one of the best things about the previous Batman vs Superman movie, and given a whole movie to herself she excels. Her titular hero is a strong female lead in every sense, and despite the obvious aesthetic merits of both Gadot and her outfits, this is always a powerful character, never an object. Having a female director at the helm probably helps, too.

The movie’s opening act takes place entirely on the idyllic island of Themyscira. This is where we see Wonder Woman grow up as Princess Diana, and it is also an island populated entirely by stunning Amazonian warriors without a male in sight. Jenkins plays things camp on Themyscira, for sure, but successfully stays on the right side of the ‘Carry on up the Aegean’ territory – this whole premise could have fallen into the wrong hands (though whoever handed out the memo on what an ‘Amazonian’ accent sounds like should maybe have taken that day off).

There’s plenty of laughs, too. Previous DC movies have been criticised for being too dark and bleak – not necessarily a criticism I entirely agree with, but one that either Jenkins, the studio or both have clearly taken on board.

In particular, the scenes following Diana's move from Themyscira to 1917 London have a much lighter tone than the previous movies. Our heroine is stunned and confused by things such as ice cream, time, clothing and, of course, men – this could be straight out of Crocodile Dundee rather than the DC catalogue.

Not everything is super. The plot, featuring some hastily concocted Greek mythology, the inevitable hero’s journey, and an evil German plot to gas the whole of western Europe, won’t be taking home any Pulitzers. The ongoing “will they/won’t they?” romance between Diana and Chris Pine’s American spy Steve Trevor, despite providing some more comic relief, somehow feels a bit forced in this genre – do we really want our childhood heroes falling in love with some wisecracking Yankee spy?

Meanwhile, the CGI-heavy final confrontation – once we’ve got past an unexpected but not altogether convincing twist – could have been pasted from any blockbuster super-hero vehicle of the last 10 years.

Nonetheless, for the most part, this is a winner. Gadot, as noted, seems born to play the part. Her ragtag band of sidekicks – including Charlie, an elite Scottish sniper who’s too scared to shoot (Ewan Bremner); Samir (Saïd Taghmaoui), an aspiring actor and master of disguise who never made it in his chosen profession as “my skin’s the wrong colour”; and Chief, a native American who, having had his own land stolen back home makes a living selling contraband to both British and German troops on the Western Front – are a huge breath of fresh air next to the usual super-hero super-groups we’re accustomed to.

Jenkins has no fear of breaking with conventions here. The one she does stick to is that super-hero movies need to be well over two hours long. It is unlikely fans will complain about the 141-minute run-time, but if this movie is the one to put the DC Universe back on track, the future one that clocks in at 119 minutes could be the one to bring audiences into theatres.