To say the least, I was very impressed by Wonder Woman. I confess that I was not impressed with the character in my younger days; I didn’t like the art and the stories were often ridiculous. (The character was created by the psychologist who invented the polygraph; those early comic book stories may reveal more about him than about Wonder Woman.) Only in recent years has the character begun to live up to her potential.
I vaguely remember the television series, but I did not follow it closely, but I know that many people have fond memories of it. The new movie should satisfy all those nostalgic for a return of the character; I was impressed by Gail Gadot’s performance as the Amazon princess determined to save mankind from itself. Fans of this film will not have to wait for Gadot to reappear; she will resume the role in this fall’s Justice League plans are underway for a sequel to this blockbuster.
The script does take liberties with the original concept; this Wonder Woman emerges in the last days of World War One, not World War II. Some elements of the story seem to be lifted from the pages of the 1930s pulp magazine; in that series G-8 fought an endless number of evil German scientists determined to win the war by creating monsters who could overwhelm American forces.
Gadot is very good as the slightly naïve Amazon trying to make sense of the world of 1918. Chris Pine is also good as Steve Trevor; that character was always ridiculous in the original comic book, but he is credible in this films. The special effects are very good and the final battle is something to behold. Even if you have never read any of the comic books, this film is worth seeing on a big screen.