While Wonder Woman is not exactly a cinematic masterpiece, nor does it manage to transcend the superhero genre as The Dark Knight or the even more transcendent, barely-a-superhero-movie-at-all Logan, it does stand head and shoulders above all of the so-called 'DC Expanded Universe' movies (if you haven't been keeping track: Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and (Academy Award Winning!) Suicide Squad ). Not only that, after Batman (1989), Christopher Reeve's first two Superman outings, and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy, it is the best offering from DC to date (granted, after those films, the standards are pretty low).
Full disclosure: I've never been a big Wonder Woman fan. Apart from watching the Linda Carter show as a very young child, I've never really had all that much interest in the character. In fact, I was more eagerly anticipating Marvel's first female led entry, Captain Marvel (featuring the wonderful Brie Larson in the titular role). However, as Wonder Woman is THE female superhero (she's not quite the first as there are a couple of other much more obscure characters that can claim that title), it is only fitting that she got there first. And, get there she did!
Granted, the bar has been set pretty low for the DCEU movies and my own expectations for the movie were quite low but Wonder Woman is exactly what it needs to be: good 'ol fashioned summer blockbuster fun. Of course, in terms of the action, Zack Snyder is still producing, so there's a lot of slow motion, 3D ready posing; however, Patty Jenkins keeps it to a minimum and it isn't quite as fatiguing as it has been in many recent films. It also keeps a lighter tone in contrast to the dreariness of Snyder's entries in the series and, in fact, is the most hopeful and optimistic of the films (something which all superhero fare should strive for; superheroes are about aspiration, not grim realism).
Most importantly, unlike Snyder's Ayn Randian Superman and alcoholic Batman who uses guns (even if it's only in dreams), Wonder Woman is absolutely true to the ethos of the character. Wonder Woman goes back to many of Charles Moulton Marston's original ideas for the character (while, thankfully, avoiding the creepy, bondage/S &M overtones): she is a warrior for peace who seeks to teach mankind to love instead of hate (Marston was a feminist who believed the world would be a better place if women were in charge).
Gal Gadot is perfect in the role. In addition to the more superficial qualities of simply looking the part, she achieves the ideal combination of compassion and fierceness that the character needs to work. Chris Pine, meanwhile, is clearly content to sit back and be the eye candy for the audience.
Wonder Woman takes it cues from the best in terms of superheroic origin stories; both Superman: The Movie and Batman Begins were clear influences. Those films take their time to build their characters, waiting until about an hour into the film before we get to see the hero finally don their iconic costume and leap into action, so does Wonder Woman (in fact, one could argue that it is kind of slow, but only in terms of the breakneck pace established by most recent action films. So, in this case, that isn't exactly a bad thing).
As Diana, Princess of Themyscira, has a lot more in common with the Man of Steel than the Dark Knight, it's fitting that some of the most blatant homages are to the former rather than the latter. Note the similarity of the following two scenes in which Clark Kent catches a bullet before it can hit Lois Lane from Superman: The Movie and Diana, wearing an outfit not dissimilar from Clark's---complete with glasses, deflects a bullet from Steve Trevor.
Superman: The Movie
Wonder Woman
It may have taken her 75 years to get there, but Wonder Woman finally has a big screen adaptation that is worthy of the iconic character. It may not have been the first female lead superhero movie, but it is clearly the best.
