Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman does a few things well, but storytelling isn’t one of them. While star Gal Gadot is endlessly watchable in the title role, director Patty Jenkins lacks the visual acumen to craft a film as engaging as its charismatic lead.

The issue here is not that Wonder Woman is a bad film; it’s that it persistently feels like a lesser film than it should have been. It’s a sad commentary on contemporary culture that, given the glut of comic book adaptations currently plaguing cineplexes, a female-driven superhero movie hasn’t emerged until 2017 — sadder still that the only aspect distinguishing Wonder Woman from every other film in the genre is the gender of its protagonist.

DC Comics’ films have never quite been a match for Marvel’s, but they’re certainly giving it the old college try here. There’s a pervasive sense of familiarity running throughout Wonder Woman, and not in a good way. Do you miss the pseudo-mythology of Thor, or the Nazi-punching period setting of Captain America: The First Avenger? You’ll get both in spades (and in the bland blue/gray palette of previous DCU offerings).

The story, such as it is, plays Wonder Woman’s origin relatively straight, although it does shift the period from World War II to World War I for some reason. The setup has Diana of Themyscira, princess of the mythical Amazons, hunting down Ares, god of war, in order to fulfill the divine mandate of her people. Does any of this matter much? Not really. The point here is to establish Diana as an ass-kicking fish out of water, and to that extent, it largely succeeds — but you’ll have to slog through two hours of exposition before you really get to see her in action.

Jenkins, whose prior work includes the 2003 Charlize Theron-starring Aileen Wuornos biopic Monster, would appear to be an odd choice to helm a blockbuster CGI spectacle, and this suspicion is borne out in execution. Her talents are clearly more attuned to the movie’s character-driven moments, with the action set pieces that define most films of this ilk coming across as derivative and visually unappealing. The effects budget is clearly there, and the balletic fight choreography is at least moderately original, but Jenkins’ staging looks as if it might as well have been accomplished by transposing Gadot into frames from any number of earlier comic book movies. How many times do we need to see Wonder Woman stick a three-point landing before we get the idea that she’s the hero? Jenkins seems to think it’s at least a dozen.

Gadot is a blast to watch, and Jenkins has the good sense to let her carry the picture on her nigh-impossibly statuesque shoulders. Chris Pine is at his least obtrusive, and there are moments of sheer delight in watching the good-looking guy who would ordinarily be the romantic lead in a more androcentric film relegated to love interest/sidekick territory. But Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen are utterly wasted, and the less said about Danny Huston as the film’s primary villain, the better. One is left with the distinct impression that the cast was almost criminally underserved by the script, leaving us with a film that’s merely good when it could have been great.

Ultimately, Wonder Woman is far and away DC’s finest accomplishment to date — but that bar was exceedingly low, so take that superlative with a big grain of salt. That said, it’s undeniably refreshing to see a summer action tentpole that’s making substantial strides toward gender inclusivity, even if true parity still seems like a definite long shot. Hopefully, the film’s financial success will act as a clarion call to the other studios that have been so thoroughly neglecting female moviegoers. While Wonder Woman would have been an absolute game-changer had it premiered in 2007 rather than 2017, it’s still a step in the right direction. Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content. Now Playing at AMC River Hills Classic, Carolina Cinemark, Grail Moviehouse, Regal Biltmore Grande, Epic of Hendersonville.