One of the better superhero flicks

Rating: 7/10 (10 April 2018)

Although Wonder Woman is, together with Batman and Superman, one of the most iconic of all comic-book superheroes, she has not featured very much in Hollywood's long-running love-affair with the superhero movie, an affair dating back at least as far as the original Christopher Reeve "Superman" from forty years ago. This is surprising, because some much more obscure characters (Electra anyone?) have been dredged up from the Marvel and DC universes and given their own films. Hollywood has even taken to inventing its own superheroes, like Black Scorpion who was a film character first, a television one second and a comic-book one third.
I have heard two possible explanations for the neglect of Wonder Woman. One is that, although she was originally intended as a symbol of female empowerment, her skimpy costume has made her more of a male fantasy-figure, and film-makers have been afraid that they will be accused of sexism if they allow her to keep that costume and of political over-correctness if she is forced to exchange it for something less revealing. The other is that the character is too closely associated in the public's mind with Lynda Carter from the seventies TV series for them to accept any other actress in the role. In "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" from 2016, however, she was given a supporting role, and now she takes centre stage.
Superheroes fall into three categories. There are those like Batman who have no actual superpowers and rely upon a combination of athleticism and hi-tech devices. There are those like Spiderman and the Hulk who are born normal humans but acquire their powers by accident. And then there are those who possess superhuman powers because they are not actually human, like Superman who is an alien from the planet Krypton. Wonder Woman falls into this last category. She is an Amazon, one of a race of demi-goddesses created by Zeus to defend the world against the evil war-god Ares. (This is a version of Greek mythology which might have been unfamiliar to the Ancient Greeks, who generally regarded the Amazons either as mortal women or as daughters of Ares). Among the Amazons Wonder Woman goes by the Latin name Diana whereas all the others have Greek ones. Some might claim this as a goof, but this was her name in the original comic strip, and the film-makers doubtless wanted to respect tradition. In any case "Diana" is more familiar to English speakers and easier to pronounce than the likes of "Hippolyta", "Antiope" or "Melanippe".
The story is set in late 1918, during the closing days of World War One. If Zeus charged the Amazons with watching over the world they seem to have been asleep on their watch because, isolated on their hidden island of Themyscira, they have been blissfully unaware of the war raging in the rest of the world until Steve Trevor, an American spy, crashes a stolen German aircraft on their shores. When Diana, as Wonder Woman is known on Themiscyra, learns from Steve about this dreadful conflict she leaves her home to try and end it and to thwart the machinations of Ares. At first it seems that Diana's task will not be too difficult because the German General Staff, convinced that the military situation is hopeless, have persuaded the Kaiser to sue for peace. The fly in the ointment, however, is General Ludendorff who believes that the war can still be won with the aid of a new type of poison gas invented by a brilliant but evil female scientist. (This plotline may owe something to the sixties movie "Fraulein Doktor").
I must admit that I deliberately missed this film when it was shown in cinemas, largely because I had less-than-fond memories of the aforementioned TV series. Carter was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful young actresses of the seventies, but her talent did not match her beauty, and her fellow cast members were no better; I was surprised when Debra Winger, who played Carter's equally scantily clad little sister, later emerged as a successful, gifted and rather serious Hollywood actress. The plots, whether Wonder Woman was helping the Allies defeat the Nazis or assisting with law enforcement in contemporary America, were dull and predictable.
Fortunately, the film is a lot better than its television predecessor. The statuesque Gal Gadot not only has the looks needed for the title role but also has the acting skills to go with them. There is another good performance from Chris Pine as Steve, initially a rather cocky, headstrong young man, but one who proves himself capable of courage and self-sacrifice.
The relocation of the story from the 1940s to 1918 caused some controversy, but I felt it was the right idea. Wonder Woman in World War Two was always going to be a warrior in a partisan cause, fighting for our side (good) against their side (evil). Here Gadot plays her as a fighter for peace, someone who is not only strong and courageous but also loving and compassionate. Her enemies are not the Germans, but anyone of any nationality who rejects peace and seeks to prolong the conflict, and this characterisation gives the story a greater moral depth and power than would have been possible with a simple goodies-against-baddies storyline. This depth is emphasised by director Patty Jenkins, who gives the film a surprisingly dark and sombre visual tone, about as far from the cartoonish look of the television series as you can get. Superhero flicks have not always been my favourite film genre, but this is one of the better ones of recent years. 7/10
A goof. The idea of producing a new poison gas by replacing the sulphur in mustard gas with hydrogen just would not work, scientifically speaking.