Wonder Woman (Dir. Patty Jenkins, 2h 21m)

At last, after three films that run the gammut between uninteresting and overblown, (Man of Steel), preposterous, overwrought and a clunking mess (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice) and just downright unpleasant and more disjointed and confusing than a "build your own boa-constrictor skeleton" (Suicide Squad) it seems, with Wonder Woman, the DCCU has found its feet, and its voice. Filling in the background of Gal Gadot's ferocious but just demi-god Amazoness, and continuing to make her the most interesting character in the DCCU, Wonder Woman is a lighter, more emapthetic, and indeed more human-centric film than we've come to expect from the DC Cinematic Universe thus far. Whilst it has its flaws, Wonder Woman's first solo film in her 75 year history is undoubtledly more even, better paced and far more watchable than any previous DCCU film, and a rolicking ride of a film.

First, to Wonder Woman herself. Whilst Gal Gadot's bit-part role in Batman v Superman showed her as a capable warrior, a skillful investigation and a charming and potentially romantic foil for Ben Affleck's Batman, her role was sadly limited to observer and only occasionally combatant. Wonder Woman thus seeks to address her backstory, first hinted in the image found by Bruce Wayne midway through BvS, thus revealling that she fought in the First World War-it is, unusually to Synder's credit, and one of his few links to this film, stylistically, that this image acts as a hint, as well as a framing device, as it is delivered to the modern-day Diana, a slightly wiser, and clearly more world-worn woman than she was in the early 20th Century.
Much of the film, thus, revolves around the maturing of Diana from daughter of a warrior queen on a hidden island in the Agean, learning how to fight in secret with her aunt, to warrior protecting her island against German forces hunting down American spy Steve Trevor, to wide eyed innocent experiencing first the outside world then the horrors of war, as she attempts to bring the war to an end by defeating the rogue God Ares and dealing with a diabolical new weapon he has come up with, to a strong and determined warrior determined to protect the world with love.

What is also remarkable, greatly due to director Patty Jenkins' visual style, and the way in which action is shot and choreographed, is a strong, capable female protagonist-compared to the way in which, for example, Black Widow is shot and choreographed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the action is much grittier, Diana is an altogether more physical and more powerful warrior, and at no point are her fights scenes played to titilate, nor is her background as the "best warrior of the Amazons" undermined by a need for the character to rely on her male allies-several key sequences and fights highlight her ruthless ability, with the final showdown between herself and the two main villains of the piece bruising encounters that push her to her limit.

Yet, what sets her apart from most big-screen superheroes is her empathy-at one point, heading to the front lines, she comes across fleeing civilians and is almost dragged away from trying to aid each and every one of them by Steve-the denoument of the film adds another sense of her empathy, and underpins the key concept of the film-the idea that, for all its faults, humanity is worth saving, not by violence, or by killing those to try to destroy humanity, but by love-in another film, or perhaps with another actress, this message may have fallen flat, but here it is beautifully, and surprisingly simply delivered.

The supporting cast are also strong, for the most part-Chris Pine as Steve Trevor is a likeable foil to Diana, and it is once again to the credit of Jenkins that neither feels overreliant on the other-both are soldiers, both work well as a team, and whilst the film does kindle a romance between them, it's not only convincing but at no point feels shoehorned in-from their initial meeting, and the many conversations and debates they have in their travels, this is a well-written and believable friendship that naturally blooms into romance. Trevor himself is a world-weary but inherently good figure, trying to bend the rules to end the war.

Whilst the group of mercenaries that accompany them, comprising of shell-shocked Scottish sniper Charlie, Arab agent Sameer and Native American Chief, are a diverse example of the forces on the Allies side, and both Sameer and Chief act as suggestions to Diana that the world has a degree of injustice to it, even without the interference of Ares, Charlie is sadly a little underdeveloped. This underdevelopment underpins my main issue with the film, that the film's pacing could have been weighted a little more towards the Belgium/France sections, and a little away from those in Greece-this weighting is particularly notable in the development, or lack of development of the characters in these segments.

Both Diana's mother and aunt are well written and excellently acted roles, and share a great degree of the physicality of their child/niece, as well as providing a sense of the responsibilty that Diana will have to shoulder, as well as indiciating the toughness of the Amazons as a whole. Villains Dr Maru and General Ludendorff, meanwhile, act as suitably ambitious and dangerous villains, with Ludendorff introduced offing one of his officers, whilst Maru's love of destructive power is highlighted both in her tests and in a meeting between her and Trevor later in the film-they act as worthy adversaries, but it is as people, particulatly in the case of Dr Maru, against the plots of Ares to erase humanity from existence that they become most important, where mercy is weighed against vengence

And it is this theme, of the idea of man being inherently flawed, but worthy of love, that Wonder Woman is most strikingly different from many superhero films-whilst, in the MCU, there are suggestions of some villains being redeemable, this is something not usually extended to the average footsoldier of the villain-yet, as Diana herself  says, humans may be flawed but they are also so much more than that; Wonder Woman may be flawed, and in places, the film's pacing may be uneven, and some of its more minor characters a little flat, but compared to the rest of the haphazard DCCU, it's so much more than the films that have preceded it.

Rating: Highly Recommended