Wonderful

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2017)

When Steve Trevor crash lands near Themyscira and is rescued by the 'most beautiful woman he has ever seen' he looks at her face and his first word is an understated "wow ". In another movie, another genre, he would have been the star. His character is that strong. But here, in this movie he is second fiddle, the love interest. And Chris Pine does that remarkably well. As handsome as he is there is someone who is more beautiful. As strong as he is, there is someone who is stronger. As noble as he is, there is someone more noble. And that is Wonder Woman and that is Gal Gadot. Their interplay, their falling in love, their remarkable adventure together is for me the foundation of this wonderful movie. What a treat, to see two dynamic performances work perfectly in sync with each other in such grandiose settings. It's funny. romantic and believable. As for Gal Gadot. Besides her undeniable beauty it is the innocence she brings to Wonder Woman that I was not expecting and is totally endearing. She doesn't even know what she is capable of. We learn as she learns. We learn about her as she learns about herself and the world. Like a child growing up, we relearn the world through their eyes. We also relearn the pain and suffering as she does. But Gadot also imbues the character with such passion and confidence that I, like her compatriots, began to question which reality was real, theirs or hers. Most everything in this movie is first rate. The action sequence at no man's land is one of the best I have seen because it was so believable. I didn't know she could do that and neither did she. The setting of WW1 was done very well. All the supporting characters were fine and of course this doesn't get accomplished without the very capable directing of Patty Jenkins. But it is the acting of Chris Pine and Gal Gadot that makes this a very special movie. Wow indeed!