Wonder Woman – Film Review

Audiences have been aching for a strong female lead superhero for a long damn time. So, when Warner Bros and DC announced that Wonder Woman would have her first feature film ever, I was super excited. In truth, I have not liked many DC films. I didn’t like ‘Suicide Squad’ and don’t even get me started on my thoughts of ‘Batman vs Superman’. Unpopular opinion, I don’t even like the Dark Knight series. But in Batman vs Superman, Wonder Woman’s cameo was pretty much the best thing about the entire film which gave me hope that the ‘Wonder Woman’ film would be something special. This hope inspired me to pull heaven and earth to attend the Wonder Woman Melbourne premiere, which I did.

In the ‘Wonder Woman’ film we are taken on a journey to Diana’s past on how she came to be the hero that she is today. It starts off with a subtle link to ‘Batman vs Superman’, but you really don’t need to watch that film to understand what is going on in ‘Wonder Woman’. Diana played by Gal Gadot, is raised on a hidden island paradise as princess of the Amazons. As the only child on the island, she has no friends to play with and longs to be a warrior like the other Amazons. However, Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyta played by Connie Nielsen treats her differently and is against training her. Of course, eventually Diana is trained to fight and is trained by the greatest warrior on the island, her aunt General Antiope played by Robin Wright.

Despite being now a trained warrior, Diana is still treated differently and is still very childlike, pure, innocent and lost. This all changes when Chris Pine comes crashing into the island (pun intended) as his character, an American pilot and spy named Steve Trevor. Steve informs the Amazons that there is a world war raging on outside the island that they are oblivious to. Diana believes that Ares, the god of war is behind this and chooses to go with Steve into battle, leaving the island and changing the course of her life forever.

Gal Gadot is incredible in the role as Wonder Woman. She does an amazing job of portraying Diana’s strength and passion, but also her humility and humanity. Even though she is mighty, you really feel for her with everything she is experiencing for the first time; with her transition from girl to goddess. Chris Pine honestly had me speechless. His portrayal of Steve Trevor was impressive, but when Steve goes undercover and his accent changes, flawless. Steve and Diana’s chemistry was great too. At first they bicker and banter a lot, but their friendship and relationship consistently grows as their characters develop.

Robin Wright as General Antiope, holy shit! That’s Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride! That itself is amazing because Princess Buttercup was so fragile and always needed rescuing. So as a fan of fantasy films, it’s amazing to see Robin Wright play a role of a kick-ass general who Diana inherits her tiara from.

Wonder Woman is not only a superhero film, but is full of relatable insight and morality for audiences as the film is also about equality, justice, sacrifice and love. I really do think DC finally have accomplished creating a masterpiece. The cinematography, the special effects and costumes – oh my god, they were incredible! Every single scene was impressive and beautiful to watch. But I think the best part of this film was that the storyline was solid. It’s no surprise the film was directed by a female director; the now legendary Patty Jenkins. Not once did I feel Diana was objectified or dumbed down. More films need to follow the example Patty Jenkins has lead for the portrayal of strong women in film.

I found Wonder Woman to be intelligent, inspiring and I felt empowered long after the movie had ended. I also found myself totally fangirling over Gal Gadot. I love her now! I really can’t wait for the next Wonder Woman film whenever it will be released, the wait will be worth it.