A 'Wonder' Woman Saved DCEU

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2017)

Ask and you shall receive a few years later but it was worth the wait. For years, DC fans have asked for a superhero movie to push DC up a level. And Wonder Woman did it. Patty Jenkins did it. Gat Gadot did it. Women did it. It's really hard not to gloat especially when for years the narrative was that women aren't into action movies or superhero movies. That women can't direct them and a woman as a lead can't appeal to the audience.
Well, how about that?
Coming out of the cinema, and barely two hours after the Wonder Woman premiere, I can barely find the words to describe the experience. Because that's what it was. Last year I was in awe to see Batman and Superman on the same screen. I didn't care for the quality of the movie or the fighting that didn't happen between them; I'm a fan who's easily pleased and just seeing them on the screen together was enough. Martha ridiculousness put aside. But the moment Wonder Woman appeared out of nowhere in the middle, shield on one arm and sword on the other, I was sold. Diana became a bright spot in this dark and gloomy universe to look forward to and boy did she deliver.
No matter how many times I'd seen the trailer nothing could possible prepare me for the places this movie would take me.
Origin story? Check.
Coming of age story? Check.
Badass action scenes? Check.
Unbelievable character growth? Check.
Humor? Check check check check.
Love story? Check.
WW1? Check.
Mythology? Check.
It checks all the freaking boxes. Wonder Woman is a movie DC fans can be proud of and actually scream it from the rooftops, DC DID THAT! The movie starts as an origin story of Diana, I didn't expect there to be so much of her background, yes for future movies the character had to be properly set but this went deep and it felt amazing to be in their world and see the Amazons training and fight, they were majestic, so beautiful and out of this world – literally. And it moves to a coming of age story as Diana realizes her powers are unlike her fellow Amazons. Enter Steve Trevor, a spy who crushes on her island.
As Diana arrives in London ready to stop the war that will end all wars, WW1 becomes the center of the story. It did remind me a lot of Captain America: The First Avenger, and that's a huge compliment. WW allows the character's arc to slowly build up and especially during the second act, Diana takes a huge step as Wonder Woman and reveals her true identity, walking into No Man's Land.
Apart from the color that was greatly lacking in the previous DC movies, color matters people use it, WW managed to give each character the amount of screen time required to make me care for them. Diana wasn't just WW, kicking asses and being a God among people. Steve wasn't just her romantic partner, he brought a lot to this movie, and the sidekicks each brought something small that in the third act mattered a lot.
If I had to nitpick and say something negative, that would be the villain, sure by now I'm used to villains being a little over the top and so dramatic.. could it have been better? Sure. Did that make the movie less wonderful than it was? No. Is it re-watchable as a standalone superhero movie that covers multiple genres? Yes!
With a run time of 2h 21min and even with my OCD, there's not a minute to spare on this one, every second was captivating, every scene valuable, every character irreplaceable. Kudos to Patty Jenkins for finally bringing us a memorable DC movie, kudos to the cast for delivering top- notch performances.
There's a scene where Queen Hippolyta stays to Diana, be careful in the world of men, Diana, they do not deserve you. And we truly do not.