Diana Prince saves mankind from WW I Germany with help from male Brit.

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2017)

A package from Bruce Wayne sets this narrative going. That adds a popular culture level of mythology to the original two: the life of the gods and the life of mortals. In the former our heroine was born when Zeus infused life into the clay doll her mother had shaped. In the latter the Amazonians live their man-free warrior existence in splendid isolation until discovered (attacked) by German soldiers at the end of WW I.
Of course Diana Prince (WW) bridges all three mythologies. Her evil counterpart only is Ares, the god of war, who visits earth in the opposing bodies of the German officer and the British traitor. War transcends religion, politics and philosophies because the murderous spirit is innate in all of us, the option that the better eschew. This Ares steps into the comic mythology when he becomes a shape-shifting Transformer beast in the final fight.
The film's presiding spirit, though, is feminism, as we might expect from a woman superhero and a woman director. What's interesting is the breadth of values this feminism propounds.
First, it's not Woman Good, Man Bad. The evil woman scientist — popularly known as Dr Poison — proves you don't have to be male to be evil. Though, of course, it helps. Dr. Maru's marred face, with its plastic cover-up, turns the convention of cosmetics sinister.
On the other side of the ledger, Steve Trevor — who's such a good guy he gets two male first names — has the kind of compassion, courage and decency we'd normally expect in a woman. In fact he's the one who makes the Ultimate Sacrifice to save the world from a planeful of poison gas. He gives Diana the most impressive First Sighting of a Man since Miranda's in The Tempest.
Steve is feminist enough to joke about his manhood. When he tells Diana he's "above average" its an estimation of his overall qualifications. In the film's best joke, when she sees him full frontal, Diana wonders why men let their lives be dictated by that silly, small little thing. No, dear reader, the reference is to his watch, passed on from his father and which he passes on to her as his loving keepsake. We're doubtless intended to respond wrong.
This feminist hero is certainly strong, with superhuman skills, flight and strength. Her command of 100 languages also gives her a bit of an edge over the Old Boys bumbling through the British government. From Steve she learns the respect for human potential that keeps her from joining Ares.
Finally, this feminism extends beyond women to the marginalized and suppressed of any nation or gender. Hence her quartet of comrades at the end include three stereotype personae: the amorous little Frenchman ("voila"), Spud from Trainspotting and the alien Indian (Will Sampson's image played by Eugene Brave Rock). Diana Prince is a woman for all seasons.