Some good sequences but overall formulaic and ultimately sappy

Rating: 6/10 (2 September 2017)

I went into this movie with high expectations anticipating a creative "origins" movie in the class of Ironman and Batman Begins. Instead the movie lacked both the creativity and authenticity of these other films. While there are rather long sequences of supposed meaningful dialogue that attempt to give the film depth, I found them neither inspiring nor believable. Ultimately, the movie ends with a "message" that came across as corny and had me and others who watched it with me rolling our eyes in embarrassment.
The movie did have a couple of great sequences. The depiction of how the Greek pantheon ended up in the state they were in is very well done and was very engaging. And foxhole sequence was the most authentic in the movie and one that should have been the pattern for the entire film. The costumes are excellent as well.
But the movie lacks a grittiness and realism that makes other origin movies so enjoyable. Where it attempts to be gritty, it feels contrived. The world of the early 1900s created in the film feels computer generated and that made it difficult to lose yourself in the narrative (I found myself looking at the clock continually). I never got into "flow" with this film.
Finally, the story is too grandiose. The story should have been about Diana and the complex development of her as a hero. Instead the writers bit off far too much and attempt narratives on six other principle characters, a world war, the Greek pantheon, and an Amazonian society. They end up doing justice to none of them and end up less with a character study as they do a disjointed and shallow video game like experience.
While the movie is fine entertainment for family film night, unfortunately it doesn't have a place in the pantheon of the excellent origin films of recent years. Too bad.