This character has a lot of things going for it as far as I’m concerned. I’ve always like the idea of the Amazons, a group of badass female warriors, what’s not to like? And whenever I’ve watched a DC animated movie she was often a stand out. As for her portrayal by Gal Gadot, I might have been a bit worried when her casting was announced for two main reasons: one, I’d only ever seen her in sexpot roles so I didn’t know how useful of an actor she would be; the second one, she didn’t seem strong enough, even after pictures of her in costume came out. However I very much liked what they were going for with casting, between Gadot and Jason Momoa it was clear that there was some apt out of box thinking. I also liked what I saw of Gadot in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the trailers.
Directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster), this movie also stars Chris Pine (Into the Woods), Robin Wright (House of Cards), Danny Huston (The Constant Gardner), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Connie Nielsen (The Following), Lucy Davis (Shaun of the Dead), Elena Anaya (The Infiltrator), and Saïd Taghmaoui (The Kite Runner).

Premise: When a pilot crashes on the secret island of Themyscira and tells the Amazons of the conflict in the outside world, Diana, an Amazonian warrior in training, leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.

Review: This movie is beautiful and classical looking in a way that works well with the superhero genre. The esthetic is there and it’s stunning, from the beaches of Themyscira to the trenches of World War I the cinematography is on point. There are also a lot of references to other movies in Wonder Woman that added to the experience, because whether you realized it or not these were familiar and iconic moments from cinema history mirrored in this movie in a newish none rip-off way. I was surprise at the comedy laced throughout the film. It was racier than I expected and well used.

Gal Gadot is so effortless in the role that it’s impressive, that doesn’t mean that the acting doesn’t falters at time. She’s not trying to be pretty in the film, she just is but that doesn’t take away from her skills. Often in action movies women are either pretty first than somewhat skilled or very Manish but there’s a nice middle ground here. Diana might have the pretty clothes and nice hair but she’s not afraid to get down and dirty. She sold the action. Chris Pine is also amazing in this movie, portraying a great character, and working in tandem with Gadot, which made their banter excellent.

As for the story, it is a little rushed and in need of tightening. The third act isn’t as smooth as the rest. They smartly gave the Amazonians a distinctive accent and esthetic yet I have no clear idea of their history. It was minimal. The same goes for what Diana’s powers are in the film. This could be explained away because Diana herself doesn’t know for sure, but there’s another character, who should at least have similar powers and know what they are but he didn’t seem to know either.
The odd thing about this movie is, as good as it is it has low re-watchability, in my opinion. Like books, I tend to re-watch scenes action or otherwise instead of watching the whole thing. The problem with this movie is that 90% of the film is so tightly woven that watching chunks of it doesn’t really work because the feelings, the pay offs are not the same. To feel the same level of excitement for a scene I like, I’d have to commit to the whole thing.