Wonder Woman is the latest film in the DC extended universe. DC has had a tough road the past couple of years. Their first few entries into their new cinematic universe have been extremely divisive amongst fans. Even if Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad were all financially successful, I think they left a lot fans very disappointed. All that combined, left Wonder Woman with the huge task of reinvigorating some life back into the DC universe. Regardless of my thoughts on the movie, it seems as if it definitely succeeded in that front with tons of praise and big box office returns.

     The first act of the film takes place in Themyscira (Wonder Woman’s homeland). While it wasn’t my favorite part of the movie, it had some pretty cool elements in it. The world they created felt very much like epic sword and sandal films like Troy. There’s some beautiful scenery and it immediately separates itself from other superhero stories by placing itself in a completely different environment. There’s also a really well done sequence that describes the mythology of the story. It’s a strong start to the movie 

     The second act is definitely the best section of the film. There’s still some problems with it but you get a ton of emotion and action that they make feel meaningful. I was glad to see that the fight sequences never felt over the top. I love period pieces and the World War I elements of Wonder Woman's 2nd act really succeeded. Unlike most superhero movies I’ve seen recently, I felt invested in the story. I cared about what was happening and I wanted to see how the story was going to play out. There’s also a female villain that gets introduced and I thought she was great. If you know anything about the history ofWorld War I, they incorporate her character with the spike in chemical warfare that went on during that time and it works extremely well. I just wish she was a bigger character in the story.

     Wonder Woman does a lot to justify its praise. However, there are some definite flaws that drag it down from standing out of the pack. The movie starts and ends terribly in my opinion. Right before you see Themyscira, the movie opens up in the present-day. It’s basically a way to connect itself to the larger cinematic universe. The movie really didn’t need it though. We know that Wonder Woman is in Justice League. I didn’t need a scene reminding me of that and taking me out of the main story. The first shot in Themyscira also had some noticeable CGI. Luckily, it wasn’t a problem in any other part of the movie.

     There are some more problems that come up once Wonder Woman gets to London. They touch on it a little bit later, but I felt that people too easily bought into where she came from. What I mean by that is that this mysterious woman suddenly shows up with all these powers and stories about her being a god born from Zeus. It’s something that should be absolutely ludicrous to the characters surrounding her but it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. As Wonder Woman arrives in London and discovers all these new things about the world, the film opens itself up to a lot of humor. Unfortunately, I think there’s too much of it. Not all the jokes landed for me and it began happening so often that I was taken out of the story. That problem soon gets resolved by the second act.

     I know it’s not always good to compare but I can’t help but watch any superhero movie without thinking of The Dark Knight. The reason is because that movie proved to me that you can transcend the superhero genre when it is done right. The Dark Knight is an amazing crime movie that happens to feature Batman. Wonder Woman could have done the same thing by transforming itself into a World War I drama. Even though it has glimpses of that, it doesn’t always succeed. There’s too much that stops it from transcending the genre. There’s a lot of slow motion sequences that didn’t work for me and when Wonder Woman jumps and punches things, it feels and looks too fantastical. It’s sometimes very effective but overall detracts from the movie. Gal Gadot truly embodies Wonder Woman. However, she lacks what I think a good character needs and that’s to have flaws. She has the same problem I had with Captain America. They both feel too much like a boy scout who holds the moral high ground and never strays from it. If she had some emotional or moral conflict to overcome, she would feel like much more of a well-rounded character. It’s more of a fault in the writing than in Gal Gadot’s performance. Also, the events in this film happen in what seems like a couple of days. However, that made it feel very unrealistic to me because the characters’ journey seems like something that should take months to accomplish. It also makes the relationships and connections between the characters feel kind of contrived and unearned. 

     Despite those flaws, I was still really liking the film. Then, the 3rd act hit and it kind of lost me. The second act ends very powerfully and I was hoping the 3rd act could build on that. Unfortunately, a lot of the power and meaning of the second act gets lost in the final battle scene and also even seems to be contradicted to a point. Again, they go too big scale and it feels even more out of place since the rest of the movie is a lot more grounded.

     I think the more overarching point I want to make with Wonder Woman is that I was worried at the end of the first act where the movie was going. Then, the 2nd act really impressed me, introducing and tackling some very relevant and important themes. That being said, I felt that the build up in the 2nd act made it necessary that the 3rd act delivered. Unfortunately, it had a clear vision and then fell flat and for that reason, I think a lot of what was previously established lost its meaning.

     Wonder Woman has a solid 1st act, a great 2nd act, and a 3rd act that falls apart. I was enjoying what it was building up towards but it never reached the level I hoped it would. I give it 6.5/10