It could have done with some trimming here and there, but there are some fun moments

Rating: 6/10 (4 November 2017)

Diana (Gal Gadot)is living on a remote island paradise and has spent years training as an Amazonian warrior; all her training is so that she is prepared in case Ares (the god of war) returns to attack her and her people - the remote island was created by Zeus after he defeated Ares as a means of protecting them and also in order to make it difficult for Ares to find them. When a pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine)crashes into the sea close to the island, Diana rescues him and attempts to find out who he is and what he's doing there? It turns out that Steve is integral in bringing a major war to an end and Diana feels that it is her duty to help him...
I'm a complete newbie to Wonder Woman so this film is literally my first experience of Wonder Woman and the end result for me was a film that was fairly satisfying, but one that contained some weaknesses...
Every superhero origin film needs a backstory and Wonder Woman does indeed have a backstory, but in this film it does take up quite a large chunk of the film; is it superhero filmmaking lore now that a superhero film cannot run for less than 2 hours? To it's credit, I didn't feel particularly bored at any point, but it's safe to say that the film is better when Steve and Diana arrive in London so perhaps that's why the first half of the film suffers by comparison.
Once Steve and Diana arrive in London then the film certainly becomes more enjoyable; there are plenty of fish-out-of-water jokes which are amusing and both Pine and Gabot have a nice easy-going chemistry which also helps to make the film enjoyable. The story is OK, but the light-hearted tone goes a long way and it's a film that you feel is constantly winking and nodding at its audience.
Although the story is OK and just about has the legs to carry the film there are other elements to the film that are rather weak; the villains are underdeveloped, their plan/scheme isn't really given the focus that it deserves and some aspects of the plotting are absolutely ludicrous, but as I've said these weaker aspects are overshadowed by the overall sense of fun that is on offer here.
There are no real standout performances here, but the main cast all muck in together and are all good in their own right. Lucy Davis was the only surprise here as she is barely recognisable in her respective role - in fact I think it was well over halfway into the film before I realised it was her (and I only recognised her on a close up shot).
Wonder Woman is entertaining and enjoyable and for much of the second half of the film it does have its tongue in its cheek. However, an overlong backstory, underdeveloped villains and some absurd plotting hold it back slightly meaning that it isn't as great as it could have been. On balance though, it's a pretty fun ride and a relatively enjoyable piece of escapism.