Wonder Woman Review: 7 Ups & 4 Downs
The DCEU gets back on track.
As the DC Extended Universe struggles to right itself after three disappointing misses, what a relief it is to see critics falling over themselves to praise Wonder Woman as a stylish and entertaining origin story for the most iconic female superhero of all time.
The film holds a tremendous amount at stake considering the depressing lack of female-led comic book movies and what its reception will mean to movie studios going forward, so it's a relief that movie number four finally gives DC fans the film they were hoping for.
Sure, there are issues, but they seem positively minuscule in light of the DCEU's recent failings, and though it's still healthy to be skeptical about Justice League later this year, Wonder Woman at least provides more hope that it could end up striking the right tone.
Downs
4. The Villains Aren't Very Interesting
It's a frequently common problem in comic book movies that the villains feel underdeveloped compared to the heroes, and as generally great as Wonder Woman is, it's also no exception in this department.
The film has three main antagonists, the most interesting of whom is without question Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya), even if she's ultimately fatally underused. Then there's Danny Huston's General Ludendorff, and though Huston's clearly having fun with his hammy German accent, he's not as much of a fixture as you'd expect and entirely absent from the film for long stretches.
And finally, there's the big bad, the God of War himself, Ares, whose final form is a generic CGI mish-mash, failing to distinguish himself from the overwhelming glut of digitally-enhanced supervillains.
It doesn't sink the film by any means, but it's just frustrating that so many superhero movies don't feel the need to put much effort into their baddies, especially given the extensive rogues gallery that can be drawn from.