A solid superhero film, anchored by the strong performance of the film’s star, Gal Gadot. We got a brief taste of her portrayal of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince in”Batman V Superman.” We didn’t learn much about the character and we didn’t see a whole lot more than action sequences. Here, Wonder Woman finally gets her origin story. Gadot nails everything that she needs to for this character. The beauty, the physicality and the iconic look are just natural. But, it’s Diana’s personality that drives the film. Her passion, her resolve, her compassion and her warrior spirit bring together everything that is great about Wonder Woman. Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor is an excellent part of the film. His humanity and humor are what you would expect from a leading man, but it’s not so much that he outshines the star. The rest of the cast is fine. They bring just enough to the table to propel things along. Disappointing was the Etta Candy character. Trailers implied that she would be major comic relief, but her role is actually very small. The villains were uninteresting. Typical Nazi-like bad guys that are mostly bland, and when they do show character, come off a bit silly. This is where the plot falters. The hero’s journey is riveting, but the final showdown is somewhat messy. (It also doesn’t help that I read what turned out to be a big character spoiler before the film came out.) Also, there is no mid-credit or post credit scene. When the credits roll, that’s the end of the movie.
***1/2 out of *****