Let's Hear It for the Girls!

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2017)

(RATING: ☆☆☆☆ out of 5 )
GRADE: B
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Another superhero movie with some style and a willingness to establish its characters first and let the action follow.
SYNOPSIS: The legend of Wonder Woman and a new film franchise is born.
JIM'S REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017) owes so much of its success to two women, one in front of the camera and one behind the lens. Their contributions make this the first of many entries into a profitable future film series.
Gal Gadot play Princess Diana, daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, and she is perfectly cast as our Amazon warrior. She is terrific in this role. The Israeli actress has star power personified and she also displays some nice comic timing too. Patty Jenkins, her director, does a remarkable job of focusing on the human story while staging the action sequence with real flair. She does not sacrifice the hand-to-hand combat expected in this type of movie and plays up the relationship between the goddess and the mortal.
That mortal is Steve Trevor, played winningly by Chris Pine. This charming actor can play the dashing hero and WWI aviator without much challenge, but he brings along with him a sweet vulnerability and slight goofiness that makes his character endearing. The chemistry between him and Ms. Gadot, dare I say, makes this film work wonders and elevates it above the rest of the stereotypical DC or Marvel universe of superheroes.
The screenplay by Allan Heinberg establishes the action scenes amid more quieter moments that fortify the relationship of the mismatched lovers. It creates a strong role model and allows Diana to play the role of a stranger in a strange land, that place being WWI Germany. As she comes to terms with the cruelty of war and mankind's choices to perpetuate this violence, the film makes its heavy-handed message, at least, more intriguing. Unfortunately Wonder Woman's golden lariat can break free of the standard formula of the comic book superhero genre, beginning with the mythological origins of our heroine and ending in a typical slam-bang showdown of overproduced CGI. Fortunately, in between, is that tender love story that ropes in the moviegoer's interest.
Supporting characters never achieve much depth. The bad guys are so obvious (even a twist here and there, lacked an element of surprise). The good guys are stock misfits that aren't given much to do. Still, Danny Huston, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, David Thewlis and Lucy Davis bring some needed class to the movie.
Ms. Jenkins has created a well crafted film and, unlike so many of the recent action flicks, stages the battle scenes clearly. Thankfully, there is little upfront close-ups and jittery camera moves. (Credit goes to cinematographer Matthew Jensen as well.) One can actually see the action, a rarity with action-fantasy blockbusters these days. Especially effective is her vision of Diana's war in No-Man's Land set piece, the film's highlight. (Although it seems more realistic to conclude that Diana's form-fitting WW outfit and bare skin may have unified the Allied forces more than her warrior skills leading them to victory.) entertains
Wonder Woman may not be very original or ground-breaking, but it does enable women to take the reins in the usually all-male dominating world of filmmaking and deliver one of the better comic book superhero blockbuster in quite a long time. Hear them roar!