You'll be seeing lots of colorful wonders when you're with this Wonder Woman

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2017)

For the past 76 years, Wonder Woman has been such an iconic female character in the DC universe. She always proves that if men (superheroes included) can fight against the darkness, the women can do it too. With her sword, shield and Lasso of Truth, she fights for what she believes in and is always there to help those who are weak. Now the time has come for Wonder Woman to make her way to the big screen for the first time ever and the results are phenomenal. And if you remember Lynda Carter stepping into that costume and saving the day in the classic '70s show, then you will definitely remember Isreali sweetheart Gal Gadot as the feisty, tough and big-hearted superheroine. After her scene-stealing debut performance as the Amazonian princess in the flawed, but totally entertaining "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice", I say it's about time that a female superhero gets her chance to shine in her own film. After a year in waiting for this movie to come out, I can say this with a happy heart, this movie is the ride that definitely lives up to the hype. Deftly directed by Patty Jenkins, who gave Charlize Theron an unforgettable performance--and an Oscar---as the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster", "Wonder Woman" embraces its origin story with enough humor, heart and stunningly choreographed action sequences that it never drags or sags, it just comes alive in a real colorful way. Born in the all-female island of Themyscira, Diana (Gadot), daughter of Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), has always wanted to be a warrior just like her mother and her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright). In the years that followed, Diana has been training and preparing for action, but discovers that she has powers that are astonishing. Next thing we know, a young soldier named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) lands on the island and Diana is exposed to a more darker side of human nature where bullets are ripping out of their guns and lives are lost. Steve manages to warn these ladies that war is coming (the World War, in fact) with highly impossibly created weapons invented by Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) and General Lundendorff (Danny Huston). So Diana leaves her paradise home and travels to London with Steve to fight and to find the one God that actually caused it (I think you know what I am talking about). Part of the fun and heart of this movie is watching Diana exploring and learning about the good and dark side of life. As war causes pain, casualties, and emotions, they can sometimes bring us hope that the world can change, even if it's not as better as one would expect. Along the way, Diana and Steve got the help they need in some unlikely characters including Steve's smart assistant Etta Candy (Lucy Davis), a Scottish sharpshooter named Charlie (Ewen Bremmer) who is struggling with PTSD and a master of disguise named Sameer (Said Taghmaoui) as they fight their way into enemy territory with lots of surprises left in store for them. After the superb "Man of Steel", and the flawed, but somewhat good "BVS" and "Suicide Squad", "Wonder Woman" is the DC film I've been waiting for. Here is a rousing, colorful and heartfelt adventure that has big laughs, cool action, characters that you can actually root for and a climax that may be as typical as one might expect from a superhero movie, but it's filled with more emotional power that some might not see coming. The cast that Jenkins has managed to put together, including the awesome David Thewlis in a pivotal role you have to witness for yourself, is amazing. I've always been a fan of Chris Pine's work, following his best performances in the brilliant "Hell or High Water" and the "Star Trek" films. The cocky demeanor that he brings to Captain Kirk is actually quite useful in the role of Steve Trevor and he has an real undeniable chemistry with Gadot. Plus, the screenplay by Allan Heinberg gives us dialogue that crackles with sly humor (Most of the hearty laughs comes from Sameer, Etta and of course, Diana & Steve) and a lot of exposition that creates a more streamlined plot that is more reserved for a film like this. To end this review, let me say something about Gal Gadot. It's not easy to fill the shoes of Wonder Woman that was once inhabited by Lynda Carter. But she makes it look effortless and puts a lot of hard work into the character. She gives such a remarkable and endearing performance as Wonder Woman and I think this is the one that might actually make her a big star and the character that I can't wait to see again. She's wonderful. So is the movie.