Not only does Wonder Woman provide the belated first female-superhero-led film of the current cycle, but it also turns out to be by far the best and most enjoyable of the new DC Extended Universe films. The film is a strong and efficient origin story, with the opening act set on the hidden all-female island of Themyscira proving to be surprisingly nuanced and interesting, beautifully shot and with a couple of arresting action scenes, notably a beach battle that makes no compromises for younger viewers. As Diana meets Chris Pine's charmingly smooth but tough American spy (with Pine ideally cast and effective here) and the action moves into 1918 London and on to the World War I trenches, the world of a century ago is realised wonderfully and a whole host of gender/political/ideological issues are cleverly touched upon with wit and sharpness largely through our (super)hero's initially naïve, honest and principled eyes. Gal Gadot gives a remarkably good performance in the title role, proving to be an engaging and magnetic screen presence throughout, and Patty Jenkins direction uses pace and fluid camerawork extremely well. The ending is a fairly generic superhero vs villain CGI slugfest (and why does DC always seem to set them at night?), but it is presented with greater impact and clarity than, for example, the frantic finale of Batman v Superman. Wonder Woman establishes the character fully with a well-written arc in a strongly-made film, so we can only hope that this is evidence of lessons learned for the ongoing DCEU.
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