Over-rated superhero film - watchable but neither novel nor special

Rating: 6/10 (27 July 2017)

At the risk of being accused of misogyny, I didn't think 'Wonder Woman' was a particularly good movie. The opening sequences, albeit colourful, were slow and, in the context of subsequent events, made little sense (why learn to shoot arrows and wield swords when your destiny is to fight an indestructible God who wields lightening?). The standard fish-out-of water scenes as Diana first experiences London were OK, but the movie went downhill as the pace picked up. There were a number of plot holes (commented on at length elsewhere) but my biggest problem was the inconsistency of Wonder Woman's 'powers', which seemed to fall into the sloppy writing trap of being whatever the plot requires at the moment. Early on, we see that she can be hurt by a grazing bullet (but heals quickly), yet she can climb a stone wall by smashing handholds into the rock with her bare hands without as much as breaking a nail and later runs through a hail of bullets, shell fragments, and flying debris without even a nick). Similarly, we establish that she can jump great distances but at the climax of the film she seems to be able to fly (or at least hover). The movies is full of freeze frames during fights, dramatic poses (presumably for lobby cards), the clichéd superhero ground-shattering three-point landing, and some scenes that are just silly (Godot looks stunning in the blue gown she steals but the implication that she is still wearing her "Wonder Women" outfit underneath the dress is ridiculous). Gal Godot is fine (and has the looks for the part), Chris Pine is serviceable, and the rest of the cast play their generic 'characters' adequately (except David Thewlis, who is a great actor, but as Ares, God of War, was about as menacing as an Ewok). All-in-all, 'Wonder Woman' is a routine superhero movie that covers much of the same ground as the far better (IMO) "Captain America". The movie would have benefited by tighter writing and more attention to details and consistency (i.e. set whatever rules you want but then play within them) and less cartoon-physics (presumably if you hold up a 30-ton tank, your feet will sink into the ground or at least crack the pavement). I suspect that much of the acclaim for this film reflects a hesitation to criticise a female-superhero movie directed by a women and in fact, 'Wonder Woman' supports the idea of gender equity by demonstrating that a woman can direct an over-blown, 100 million dollar, mediocre action film as well as a man can.