I was quite disappointed when I learnt that they hadn't cast Alexandra Daddario as Wonder Woman, but I'm over that now (not really, but I am slowly coming to terms with it). In lieu of Daddario, I guess Gal Gadot isn't a terrible alternative, but I doubt that the film would have been great whoever played the title role: the story, by Zack Snyder, is a by-the-numbers exercise in superhero banality, while director Patty Jenkins goes for CGI-laden style over substance, her film reliant on flashy overblown set-pieces in which our heroine proves totally impervious to harm, whether it be poison gas attack or being hit broadside by a flying tank. With Wonder Woman able to withstand any onslaught, the film is totally lacking in excitement.

Having watched a handful of other DCU movies, including the recent over-rated effort that was Shazam!, I'm still waiting to be impressed. Casting David Thewlis as the villain definitely isn't the way to go...

4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb - Mindless generic popcorn superhero nonsense. Not totally unwatchable (Gadot being easy on the eye), but definitely unexceptional.

It's a pretty good movie, as you probably have already heard if you follow the reviews. I was a bit worried. DC has shown a.... shall we call it tendency? -- to darken every comic book character, to the point where Suicide Squad had everyone with a sad backstory. It made me miss the cheery disposition of Caesar Romero's Joker. Yes, I get it that you're a sociopath. Can't you enjoy it?

Wonder Woman avoids that. In the midst of the horrors of the Great War, there are real jokes, and moments of kindness and great deeds inspired by naive morality.

Visually, the movie combines the splash panels and covers of the Dark Horse era of DC, with some canny casting choices among the secondary characters. Lucy Davis looks like Etta Candy from the late WWII comics era; Ewen Bremner looks like Charlie from the same era; both push the comic book look to the edge, without falling over.

Miss Gadot turns out to be a very capable screen performer, with dark, expressive eyes. Chris Pine restrains himself as her leading man. If the screenplay sometimes falls into the current hackneyed tropes, it plays nimbly with others, like Chekhov's Gun. If the final battle is another round of Rock-Em-Sock-Em Robots, the earlier battle scene, fought in righteous anger, made me think about the Angel of Mons.

There's a lot that went into "Wonder Woman"; it's partially a romantic comedy, coming-of-age story, period action/superhero movie, but maybe above all, a love story. Diana Prince gears up ultimately out of love - which doesn't sound like something that'd fit very well in a war movie. Part of the reason this movie is so good is that it had big boots to fill. The DC movies haven't been stellar up to this point, and their inherent dreariness hasn't helped matters. And here's a movie with competent direction, gorgeous visuals and a lead actress that's fully up to the challenge. Gal Gadot instills in her character honor, innocence, and the necessary color to really bring a comic book movie to the screen.

In other words, it's everything I was hoping for in a Wonder Woman film. It doesn't feel like it was ground out of a sausage factory, and really manages to do everything right. Just to give context, this is coming from a guy who's pretty burnt out on the genre.

I loved this movie.

8/10