Wonder Woman

Movie Name: Wonder Woman
Year of Release: 2017

Director: Patty Jenkins

Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Ewen Bremner, Said Taghmaoui, Eugene Brave Rock, Lilly Aspell, James Cosmo, Lucy Davis

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis:

The expansion of the DC comics universe continues, following the critically reviled "Batman vs. Superman" and "Suicide Squad". Director Patty Jenkins follows her celebrated debut "Monster" with a bigger canvas, one that showcases her vision for the iconic Wonder Woman character, that Zack Snyder introduced last year in "Batman vs. Superman". The film follows the story of Diana, who is brought up in a secluded island by the tribe of Amazons. While there, Diana is trained to become a resourceful warrior, something that is tested when a man crashes in the waters surrounding the island. The man turns out to be a spy, by the name of Steve Trevor, who is working for the Allies, during the first World War. Diana is convinced that the God of War, Aries, is in reality influencing humankind to create war. She, alongside Steve Trevor, go to London, and then Paris, in order to fight in the trenches, and get to the German General, she believes to be the main instigator of war (and secretly Aries).
Patty Jenkins has managed to create a smartly built adaptation of the Wonder Woman mythology. The film leverages the scenarios that were carved by the comic books, and even the original TV show from the 70s. The director builds the universe where these women exist for the first part of the film, allowing for the relationship between the lead characters to evolve. This relationship building continues through Diana's attempt at understanding the fabric of society and women's roles in the 1910s. These are the sections of the film that holds more interest, all the way through Diana's action scenes at the trenches. The final act of the film turns out to be the most generic, with the special effects overcoming the storyline that had been built before (and in a way, is very similar to the approach that Zack Snyder uses in his DC universe adaptations). The film is nonetheless entertaining for the most part, even if a bit campy when it comes to drawing out the villain characters (it also brings to mind Joe Johnston's "Captain America: The First Avenger"). The cast assembled is quite strong, with good performances from Chris Pine and Connie Nielsen. The cinematography from Matthew Jensen is beautiful, as are the costumes from Lindy Hemming. An interesting effort from an interesting director.