Wonder Woman: 10 Reasons It's Actually Overrated
8. Wonder Woman Plays Second Fiddle To Steve Trevor For Way Too Much Of The Film
Gal Gadot is fantastic in Wonder Woman, and she brings warmth, charisma, and humour to the role of Diana Prince. It's a shame, then, that after the first act the movie abandons her as a main character in favour of Steve Trevor.
Because the moment Diana and Steve get back to London, Diana essentially switches roles with Chris Pine's plucky hero, who is left to take the reigns. He's the one telling her what to do, where to go, what to wear. Sure, you could argue that Diana is in a brand new world and therefore needs a guide, but the film begins to learn on Pine as its anchor instead of Gadot. Basically, he keeps usurping her as the movie's main character because he's the one leading the mission.
Wonder Woman very nearly shift its weight in Trevor's favour the moment he's first introduced, and slowly he's given more and more to do: more juicy dialogue sections, more of the best lines, more of the emotional cues. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman gets some great action scenes, but we, the audience, are put in Trevor's shoes. He even gets to be the "hero" in the end, preventing the war. In any other film, an action as huge as that would only ever come from the lead protagonist.
Given how much of a milestone this movie is, it's something of an irk that the writers couldn't work out a more even dynamic for the pair. It's great that, for what is essentially a sidekick character, Steve gets to shine so brightly, but frequently his being there throws the balance off... and he keeps accidentally hijacking the film.