Wonder Woman (film)

***Wonder Woman*** is a 2007 superhero film, based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It is the third film in the DC Cinematic Universe and the third film of Phase One. The film was released on March 8, 2007 in the United States.

The film is directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Cobie Smulders as Diana Prince, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Pedro Pascal as Sebastian Ballesteros, Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva, Lucy Davis as Etta Candy, Ralph Fiennes as Paul Westfield, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, Adrian Pasdar as Maxwell Lord, and Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller.

## Plot

5,000 years ago, on the shores of Themyscira, Queen Hippolyta begs the Gods for a child, and suddenly the water and sand mix together to create Diana, a daughter. Hippolyta raises Diana, and quickly realizes that she has even greater abilities than the Amazons. Eventually, Diana leaves home to protect the mainland during World War I. Diana is an integral part in stopping the war. Afterward, she goes into hiding, saving people from the shadows.

In the present, Diana stops a train derailment, which is seen by Steve Trevor. The two make eye contact before she leaves. Steve is an agent of the Department of Extranormal Operations and reports back to Amanda Waller, informing her of Diana's presence. Waller, co-running the D.E.O. with Maxwell Lord, wants to recruit Diana, while Lord wants her dead. Elsewhere, Sebastian Ballesteros also discovers Diana's involvement in the rescue and informs Paul Westfield, the leader of Cadmus. Diana is living alone under the name Diana Prince, as a nurse. Trevor goes to recruit her, though she has no interest in joining the D.E.O. However, when Cadmus attacks her and Trevor, she is forced to get them out of there. In order to discover more about Cadmus, Diana agrees to work with Trevor for the time being.

At the D.E.O., Diana meets Barbara Ann Minerva, a clumsy but intelligent scientist, and Etta Candy, a skilled pilot. Waller briefs her on Cadmus, revealing it is secret organization that uses humans as test subjects in an attempt to create destructive machines. Diana uses this information to go after them on her own, but Trevor follows her. At Cadmus, Ballesteros wishes to be used in an experiment, but Westfield refuses to put him at risk, due to his usefulness. Ballesteros learns of the Cheetah program, in which Cadmus is trying to replicate the strength, speed, and agility of a cheetah, but used inside a human. Diana finds their base and attacks it, injuring Ballesteros in the process. Westfield fakes defeat, but they are able to kidnap Trevor and wade off Diana. Ballesteros is paralyzed from his injury.

Diana returns to the D.E.O., where Lord blames her for Trevor's capture and wants her arrested, but Waller stops him. Barbara is able to uncover the Cheetah files, and they realize they are using an ancient artifact to do so. Diana confirms it the artifact is Amazonian and decides to return to Themyscira to get answers from her mother. Etta agrees to fly her there. While they are gone, Lord nearly goes rogue to stop Cadmus on his, using his mind-controlling abilities, but Waller discourages him from revealing his abilities, especially to Cadmus. On Themyscira, Etta is astonished by the scenery, while Diana reunites with Hippolyta. Hippolyta reveals the Cheetah idol, from the Cheetah god, which grants its user the physicality of a cheetah. Diana thanks her, before she and Etta return to the United States.

Trevor is tortured for information on the D.E.O., but does not give anything. Diana goes in, with D.E.O. back-up, and takes on their failed experiments, after freeing Trevor. The duo discovers the Cheetah idol has already been used and find Ballesteros, who has now even taken on the appearance of a cheetah. Diana is vulnerable to Ballesteros due to the idol being magical, but working together with Trevor allows her to stop him. Before dying from the idol's influence, Ballesteros reveals he just wanted to more than his old self. Westfield is taken into D.E.O. custody, while Cadmus operatives all over the country are found. Barbara locks up the idol in the vault, but nearly becomes tempted by it. Diana officially becomes a D.E.O. agent, allowing her to learn of dangers well in advance, in addition to going public with her Wonder Woman identity.

In a post-credits scene, Waller is seen to have files on Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Arthur Curry, and Barry Allen. Lord finds her and reminds her of the time, as both of them enter a secret room, marked with the image of a chess piece.

## Cast

* Cobie Smulders as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
* Chris Pine as Steve Trevor
* Pedro Pascal as Sebastian Ballesteros/Cheetah
* Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva
* Ralph Fiennes as Paul Westfield
* Lucy Davis as Etta Candy
* Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta
* Adrian Pasdar as Maxwell Lord
* Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Wonder Woman* grossed $176.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $147.9 million in other territories, for a total of $324.4 million. The film had a domestic opening weekend of $69.7 million, and a four-day total of $85.1 million.

### **Critical reception**

Critical reaction to *Wonder Woman* has been mixed, with the film holding a 43% rating on review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 245 reviews with an average rating of 5.34/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Patty Jenkins's modern take on this well known hero offers some fine acting and a few gripping action sequences, but it's missing the thrill of adventure that made *Wonder Woman* a legend in the first place." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, rates the film at 53% based on a normalised rating of 40 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.

Smulders' performance as the titular character polarized critics and audiences. This, combined with Smulder's commitment to filming *How I Met Your Mother*, led to Smulders' and Warner Bros.'s mutual decision to recast the character going into *Justice League*.