Striking a welcome note of hopefulness and positivity, Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air among the otherwise relentlessly grim DC cinematic universe. It is similar to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in the art of big-screen superhero storytelling, and is greatly elevated by a richly potent sense of feminist empowerment.
After a brief prologue in the present day, the film flashes back to the early 20th century, where young Amazonian Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) grows up on the ladies-only island of Themyscira. Guided by her trainer, General Antiope (Robin Wright - House of Cards), Diana is hungry to fulfill her destiny as a great warrior, but shielded from the harsh realities of the modern world by her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen - Gladiator).
After an American spy named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine - Star Trek) crashes on the beach and Diana learns about the then-raging World War I, the Amazonian Princess defies her mother and leaves with Trevor to go into battle.
Something of an unknown quantity when she was first cast, the statuesque Israeli model-turned-actress Gadot is simply astonishing in the title role - bountifully projecting equal amounts of tenacity, warmth, humour and overall awesomeness. The film draws a huge amount of power from the character's response to her surroundings, for which Gadot proves a fruitful vessel.
Gadot and Pine bounce of each other with witty dexterity, and the film has a lot of fun with Pine's take on what might traditionally have been the female's role in the story.
