Directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster), Wonder Woman takes a page from, dare we say it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe playbook by telling a mostly straightforward origin story. While it is somewhat predictable in its basic structure, the movie also provides the kind of satisfying narrative and character arc missing from its predecessors. And for possibly the first time since the DCEU officially started with 2013’s Man of Steel, the movie features a lead character who unambiguously embraces the call instead of refusing it with aspects of that character’s own personality and history creating more organic conflicts later on. There is also genuine warmth in the relationships that the movie sets up, creating the kind of empathy that was sorely missing from the more nihilistic BvS and Suicide Squad. Jenkins directs Wonder Woman from a screenplay by Allan Heinberg (The O.C., Grey’s Anatomy), which is in turn based on a story by Heinberg, Jason Fuchs, and Zack Snyder; Warner Bros. commissioned several competing scripts for the film, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to learn that this one was fashioned by a number of writers (some of whom probably remain uncredited). In a similar vein, the movie doesn’t stick strictly to one published origin story, moving Diana’s initial interactions with the world to the first Great War instead of the second one and changing other character details as well. But what remains is a Diana who is faithful to the spirit of the comics and the first female superhero: She’s a woman imbued with compassion and kindness, and one who loves the world with all its flaws and wants to save it through the power of that love. She is more than ably supported by Pine as Steve Trevor, with this often underrated actor and Gadot generating a natural chemistry. Pine himself also provides a more complex than it seems mix of decency, all-American heroism, and weariness. Trevor is a man trying to keep his moral compass and perhaps even his sanity in a world of horrors like no one at the time had yet experienced. His version of the Howling Commandos, for lack of a better description, has Ewen Bremmer, Said Taghamoui, and Eugene Brave Rock teed up at a moment’s notice for solid comic relief. Back on Themyscira, Nielsen and Wright make the most of their relatively brief screen time by offering impassioned work as the two feminine pillars in young Diana’s life. Wright — so brilliant in her stillness and restraint on House of Cards — shows a whole new side of herself here as a fierce, relentless fighter during one extended battle scene. On the villain front, Danny Huston as German general Erich Ludendorff and Elena Anaya as Dr. Maru are both striking enough with limited material to give them the edge over previous DC enemies — and even Marvel ones. The biggest influence of Zack Snyder, who has functioned as something of the unofficial overlord of the DCEU, is in some of the visual choices: The movie retains a lot of the darker color palette of the previous movies in the series while the climax goes all-in for a big CGI blowout. Jenkins handles the material quite capably throughout the movie’s 141-minute length (which seems a tad long) and while some of the action carries the feeling of being already pre-visualized to a fault, the director never lets go of the human element of her material — a lesson that some of her male colleagues could learn. There are several extraordinary sequences in Wonder Woman, but at one point halfway through the film there is a scene (you’ve seen part of it in the trailers) where Diana rises into battle and we see her stride onto the field for the first time in her full costume; I want to see the movie again just for this shot, which gave me major goosebumps. This is a moment 75 years in the making where the hopes and dreams and fantasies of millions of little girls and adult women finally crystallize into one transcendent image that is proud, defiant, more than welcome, and a long time coming. Women are, in so many ways that are never acknowledged, the true superheroes of the world, and it’s both a profound relief and joy to report that the first fictional one has come to the big screen with pride, respect… and love. Wonder Woman is out in theaters this Friday, June 2.
