Good cinematography, weak story line.

Rating: 5/10 (26 November 2019)

I love superhero movies. My dad raised me on Mr. Reeves' incomparable "Superman", and I've always enjoyed "good triumphs over evil". I thought Christian Bale's take on Batman was amazing, and have devoured most of the MCU movies.
That being said, after being disappointed in "Aquaman"'s ho-hum plot, I had high hopes after hearing the rave reviews "Wonder Woman" received. The beginning kept me intrigued - the cinematography was stunning, and the plot kept me engaged. But the story line started to get muddy for me with the introduction of Chris Pine's character, and never really recovered.
I found the plot to be easily guessable, including the villain. On top of that, the villain's transformation into his true form, and the final fight scene, were so unbelievable it was almost comical. That was a poor casting decision - even the CGI couldn't get me to believe he was an all-powerful god.
Additionally, I couldn't figure out the "truth" about Diana that her aunt and mother kept talking about. Even after watching the whole movie, I had to come here to read the synopsis to figure out that plot line.
In terms of Diana's arc, there were missed opportunities from the beginning. When she accidentally created the power expulsion from her arm braces near the beginning, better plot exposition could have been done to keep the audience hungry. Instead, I was waiting for the whole dang movie for her to do it again as some big reveal. Nope.
I know in the comics world, it's a friendly rivalry between Marvel & DC. As a writer myself, I believe the MCU team has done a better job crafting their stories individually, and intertwining them, and making their fantasies believable. When you compare this with other strong female characters and their motivations/development (Captain Marvel, Agent Carter, Okoye, Nakia, Shuri, Maria Hill, Black Widow, Valkyrie to name a few), this movie doesn't do it for me.
Litmus test: I won't be buying it.