Wonder Woman is DC's destiny's child and Patty Jenkins hit this out out of the park

Rating: 9/10 (6 June 2017)

"Never send a woman to do a man's job" they said but, I believe that "If you want to get a job done right, get a woman to do it." This is true of the film's director Patty Jenkins and the lead actor Gal Gadot, two female bad-asses who showed DC in specific and Hollywood in general how a fresh superhero movie is done.
Wonder Woman fumigates some of the conventional superhero movies tropes and refreshingly tries something old-school, it has a simple origin story, and it brings in a female perspective on the genre by upping the emotional aspects and cuts down on the acidulous elements. As someone who is new to the character, I don't know the principles this superhero stood for. Diana was written and portrayed as a woman who is innocent, hopeful, caring, empathetic, uncompromisingly good, optimistic, and fierce on the battlefield and most of all she is what an ideal superhero should be: inspiring. Gal Gadot was perfectly cast for this role. Diana thinks that it's her duty to save humanity despite the cautions by her highly protective mother who shields her from ever coming in contact with humanity up to a certain point. But Diana is a destiny's child and she has to leave the Amazonian land eventually in search of her purpose in life.
I was unimpressed by Gal Gadot in BvS, probably because Ben Affleck stole the show in that film. But now that she got her first standalone movie as the Wonder Woman I am thoroughly impressed by her. She is stunning in the Wonder Woman bustier and skirt but beyond that, she has this infectious charm about her; be it her smile, accent, screen presence, she is a treat to watch. She's agile in the fight sequences, she does it so naturally and with emotion, I was thoroughly impressed by that. (On a side note, Robin Wright and Connie Nielson look very fit for their age; believe it or not, they're both pushing 50s now. These women sure have some fine genes.)
Chris Pine as Steve plays a foil to her, while she is naive in her approach towards humanity he is more street smart yet as dutiful as Diana and knows what Diana doesn't know, that humanity is flawed and may not be worthy of her compassion. As usual, Chris plays this charming guy who has a way of impressing with his words. He has impeccable comic timing, the pauses, and his facial expressions add to his enamoring presence. The chemistry Chris shares with Gal in this film is scintillating. It's one of the main reasons why this film works. You tend to root for them. I don't remember the last time I've hoped a couple hooked up in a superhero movie before. It felt organic and real. In that way, this is a superhero-romance movie. There are many elements of romance in this film which are not present in many (any?) superhero movie to date.
Patty Jenkins knows how to pace her movie. This film never felt rushed or too slow, the pacing was just right. The story was simple and it gave her ample time to build the characters the way she wanted. This lady can shoot amazing action sequences. The first confrontation of the movie between the Germans and the Amazonians was a blast but arguably the standout action sequence was when Diana jumps into the front line and takes on a barrage of bullets head on, in order to defend innocent people because she feels it's her duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It was somehow liberating to watch her find purpose in finally doing what she trained all her life for. The action choreography is stellar and there's a grace to it.
The reason why this film diverges so much from the other movies in DCU though is not that of the action sequence but because it gets some of the subtle character moments dabbled sporadically, making Diana believable. There's the hilarious conversation between Steve and Diana about human reproduction, Diana trying out her clothes in London, Steve telling Diana that maybe humanity is not exactly what she thought it would be, and my favorite of these sequences comes just before she enters the war zone when Steve treats her to an ice- cream and she relishes it like a child and appreciates the ice-cream vendor saying he should be proud of himself. Even in the middle of the war sequence, she's mindful of her friends and checks to see if they are alright. These are important emotions to make a character believable. Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad were so pompous and larger than life that they forgot what superheroes stand for; the people who pit their hopes in them.
The final fight is not as impressive as the rest of the film but still, there are a couple of character moments that I think ground the scene. At 2 hours 20 minutes this film may be long but it doesn't "feel" long due to the appropriate pacing. Maybe you may start feeling a bit of the length bearing down on you during the climactic fight.
The dialogues and the background music need to be mentioned specifically for elevating some of the sequences in this film. We do get to hear the iconic theme music but only after almost 70 minutes into the film and as it's her first decisive fight against people who are actually trying to kill her. I think this is the second superhero film this year after Logan where the conversations flow naturally. This film had THE best dialogues in the DCU so far.