Wonder Woman
Starring Gia Gardot, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Said Taghamaoui, Elena Anaya, Robin Wright
Directed by Parry Jenkins
[rating: 4/5]
Reviewed by Michael Dalton
Action sequences to beat the band, great pacing, authentic period detail, and a star making performance by Gia Gardot. Wonder Woman, opening this week, is a superhero (superheroine?) film you’ll be hearing a lot about. Dare I say I’ve just about had it with them? Just before this DC adventure, directed imaginatively by Patty Jenkins, set sail, we were assaulted with the trailer for the upcoming Justice League (opening in November) that looks suspiciously like the deafening and pointless Suicide Squad. All the gang will be front and centre there: Superman, Aquaman (a warm- up for his adventure next year), The Flash, Batman and, of course, Wonder Woman. Fears she may get lost in that shuffle are sure to be allayed when you check in with her big screen debut opening this week. Gardot is sensational and Jenkins provides her with the perfect canvas.
After a prologue about Diana’s childhood years, her deep yearning to become a warrior and her intense training by her aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright), the magic membrane that protects their island Themyscira from the world is pierced by World War II spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and his pursuers that results in a battle on the shores of their refulgent utopia. Soon after, she’s borne aloft to London where she finds herself in the middle of The War to End All Wars. It’s quietly humorous watching her slowly adjust to the ways of this civilisation. She’s a stunner, a classic fish out of water with no sense of modesty (were you around for the spandex-clad Lynda Carter’s arrival back in 1975?) but it is a shortcoming Trevor’s coyly named secretary Etta Candy (Lucy Davis in a neat comic performance) quickly deals with.
Of course there’s trouble on the horizon. A deadly duo if ever there was one, General Erich Ludenforff (Danny Huston) and Doctor Maru, also known as Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya), have big plans for neutralising troublesome factions but fortunately Imperial War Cabinet official Sir Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis) shows support so Steve busily assembles his own little army, opportunist Chief (Eugene Brave Rock), sharpshooter Charlie (Ewen Bremner), and master of disguise Sameer (Said Taghamaoui), whose mission is a MacGuffin if ever there was one. They’re quite the group (they bounce off each other just right) and together they launch into the trenches of Belgium where Diana quite literally struts her stuff. It’s an entrance to end them all and it leaves both sides gobsmacked as she storms right into the epicenter of battle, using the indestructible power bracelets and the shield and her otherworldly ability to transcend gravity. It’s the centrepiece of this 140 minute extravaganza and the packed house I saw it with were swept away. It works because Jenkins makes us wait for it and lets Diana earn it. There’s detail here but better still is how lacking in irony her heroine is; Deadpool gave us enough one-liners last year thank you very much. The corny jokes and reality checks we usually expect of such a creature are missing in action. Jenkins stands back, dresses it all up just so, and lets Gardot have at it. Gardot indeed. As if to the manor born, she’s everything Wonder Woman should be. Powerful, instinctive, genuine, and sexy as all get out.
