Wonder Woman

FIRST and foremost, I want to point out the positives. It is way better than the 1970s campy TV series version starring Lynda Carter (currently airing over Warner TV) .

It is also way better than the first two films based on DC Comics superheroes, namely Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

Gal Gadot delivered a breakout performance as the iconic Wonder Woman aka Diana in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now that she has a film of her own, we get to find out more about this heroine before she appears again in the upcoming Justice League film.

The movie begins in the present day (after the events of Batman v Superman) in Paris, where she receives a package delivered by Wayne Enterprises.

This leads to a flashback about her past, where she spent her childhood on a paradise island called Themysciraa, inhabited by warrior women called Amazons.

Diana was shielded from the world by her overprotective mother, Queen Hippolyta (Nielsen), who tells her stories of how the Greek god Ares is responsible for the evil in man.

However, her doting aunt Antiope ( Robin Wright) secretly trains Diana in the art of combat, against the Queen’s wishes.

Things really start moving when the plane American spy Steve Trevor (Pine) is on crashes into the sea, and he is saved by Diana.

But Steve’s appearance brings along the German army pursuing him to break the barrier that hid Themysciraa from the world.

A fierce battle ensues between the soldiers (who have modern-day firepower) and the Amazons (armed with bows, arrow, and swords). No prizes for guessing who wins.

Later, Steve, under the influence of the ‘lasso of truth’, reveals his role as a spy to stop, as he describes it, the “war to end all wars”.

The idealistic Diana chooses to return to London with him to stop Ares, whom she believes is behind all the wars.

Together with a motley crew put together by Steve and funded by a British politician (David Thewlis), they set off to stop General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston).

Ludendorff plans to win the war by unleashing a poisonous gas created by his right-hand woman, Dr Maru (Elena Anaya), upon his enemies.

This story inspiring.

But by drawing a comparison between the idealistic young Diana in flashbacks with the Diana of present day, it also gives an idea of how an earnest young warrior wanting to help mankind eventually becomes jaded after discovering that humans are ultimately responsible for most of the evils in the world.

One downside to the film is that while the fight scenes are spectacular, they can be overly long.

Some aspects of the story are also a bit over the top, but then again, it is a superhero movie.

Overall, go watch it. Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, and Connie Nielsen Director: Patty Jenkins E-Value: 7 Acting: 7 Plot: 7 origin is