Overall this was an extremely good movie & I enjoyed it quite a lot. The cast was great, the cinematography was amazing, and the direction was top notch. This is the best film in the entirety of the DC Comics Cinematic Universe...though as a friend pointed out after the movie, that is not exactly a high bar to clear. It's not a perfect film, but it's in the top 5 superhero films of the last decade IMHO.
The Good:
- Gal Gadot is fantastic as Diana. She captures the wide-eyed amazement of Diana's first journey into the world outside of Themyscira perfectly. The earnestness and assertiveness of her portrayal are spot on for Wonder Woman. Her chemistry with her co-stars is electric.
- The actresses they cast to play younger versions of Diana (especially the youngest) were delightful to watch.
- The supporting cast were all very good, though a special shoutout goes to Lucy Davis for her portrayal of Etta Candy and Robin Wright as Antiope.
- The direction was wonderful. The interpersonal relationships between the various characters and the horror of war were conveyed very well
- The fight choreography was very well done. You really felt sorry for anyone who went up against WW because of how truly outclassed they were.
- Act one was overall the strongest part of the film. I wish there would have been more time spent in that part of the film, but the run time would have been rough...hopefully there will be an ultimate edition with more material in that part of the film.
- The World War I setting was a great decision. It is a much better fit thematically than WWII would have been...also, the trench scene was just so amazing.
The Not-So-Good:
- There were a lot of decisions made, I can only assume, in the writer's room that either feel lifted from other films or are completely nonsensical.
- Parts of the story feel like a mashup of the first Thor movie and Captain America: The First Avenger. These are not small parts or broad strokes either, but rather major plot points that feel just re-worked enough to avoid litigation. These occur exclusively in acts two and three, with those in act three feeling the most blatant.
- There is one scene towards the end of the film that actually diminished my overall enjoyment of the film because of how just plain dumb it was. It honestly felt to me as if they had a checklist of tropes and scenes to include. That could very easily be the handiwork of the studio executives rather than the writers themselves, but whoever made that story decision needs get into a new line of work, because they suck at movie writing.
- There were several plot points that weren't explored as they should have been. Subplots that could easily have made certain secondary characters much more interesting. There is one in particular with the Scottish member of the Howling Com...erm, Steve Trevor's rag-tag band of buddies that I think could have been a fantastic moment with Diana. I suspect that those wound up on the cutting room floor.
- The film appears to take place over 5 days. This makes the relationships feel rushed and forced, rather than natural.
I know it seems like I'm piling on, but the simple fact is that these flaws stick out to me so much because if they'd been avoided an already great movie would have been magnificent.
9/10 stars - I will likely see the movie again in the theaters.
