Great, if a little clichÃ© at times.

Rating: 8/10 (17 June 2017)

Finally got around to seeing it this afternoon. I went along with a friend who really wanted to see it. I wasn't too fussed, but I was pleasantly surprised. The character of Diana Prince was well fleshed out, even if her origin story was a bit rushed, and large parts of her upbringing were skimmed over, we saw enough to get a good picture of her as a person. I felt like they were in a bit of a rush to get her origin out of the way so the action could start. The real charm comes when she enters the realm of mankind and has to deal with the reality of the WWI world vs. the world she had been taught as a child to be the world of mankind, full of honour, love etc. but with pockets of corruption and war as a result of the god of war holding sway.
There are a lot of funny moments as she learns about how the real world differs from the stories she was brought up with, as well as numerous moments where the reality really hits home and she has to deal with the reality of mankind as a flawed, ambiguous species.
A few moments felt quite clichÃ©, such as the "NOOOOO!" bodyguard-jump-in-front-of-the-bullet moment in which her mother is killed early on, or the "the power was always in you, not the weapon" speech towards the end, but they're not too numerous.
There were also a few facepalm moments such as when the American soldier companion continually implores Diana that taking direct action against the Germans is "too dangerous", despite having, the previous day no less, witnessed her walk across no man's land like it was nothing and liberate an entire town almost single handed. Another large part of the story that felt unnecessary was the romance subplot between Diana and the American companion. Earlier in the story, Diana clearly stated that she saw little point in romantic relationships or sex, yet not a week later she seems to have completely changed her mind, and jumps into bed with someone who up until that point has lied to her, mislead her, and continues to question her abilities despite, as I said before, having literally just seen her stroll across no man's land with next to no difficulty and liberate an entire town. A feat which included crushing a tank like a beer can. Why would she be interested in him? He's a good character, and has great intentions, but I can't see how he would have won her over. I felt like her absolute morality and virtue, and the development of those qualities was for more interesting than the romance side of the plot.
On the good side, the action sequences were superbly shot and visually amazing. The character of Diana was charming and engaging as we saw her go from someone who saw only good in mankind, to someone who was faced with the dark reality of humankind, to reconciling that by seeing the good in people in a dark time and sticking to her convictions against great odds. The supporting characters were all unique and distinct in their characterization, with the soldiers Diana travels with providing some great comedic moments, as well as some very moving ones. The villains were a little more flat and cookie cutter, but they were presented and developed enough to form a solid disdain for. I genuinely didn't see the reveal of the true mastermind villain coming, and the final showdown was satisfying and suitably epic.
The conclusion was well presented and emotional, leaving me wanting more from this character, which I think is the goal with any movie of this genre. I hope to see a return from these characters, and feel there is a lot to work from moving forward, as Diana is a character with pretty much endless possibility given her nature.
Overall, I had a blast, and would definitely see it again. I'm glad to see DC putting out a movie more on the level of their peak during the Dark Knight series, and I'm hopeful to see continued high quality comic book action from them in the future.