The First Reviews for Wonder Woman Are In
If there's one thing that the DC Comics Universe really needs, it's a well-received film that finally shows how spectacular their characters can be on the big screen. "Man of Steel" (55%, 6.2/10) had been a bit of a disappointment, while "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (28%, 4.9/10) and "Suicide Squad" (25%, 4.7/10) had been outright disasters. With so many let downs in recent years, you can see why it would be hard to get hopes up for "Wonder Woman," but then a funny thing happened. Early word-of-mouth for the film were called it stunning and the best DC movie yet. Granted, the latter wouldn't be that hard to accomplish, but it was still an intriguing reaction.
Late last night, the review embargo finally broke, revealing what everyone has thought of the film in full thus far, and if the consensus is true, it looks as though DC fans might finally get the great film they've been waiting for for years now. At the time of this article, 55 reviews have been published on Rotten Tomatoes, with only two of those being negative, giving the film a remarkable 96% and, more importantly, an average score of 7.8/10.
Take a look at what critics have been saying thus far:
"Wonder Woman is smart, slick, and satisfying in all of the ways superhero films ought to be." - Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
"[Wonder Woman] isn't just a triumph for women, it's a triumph, period. This is grand entertainment with rousing action, sparkling humor, a romantic streak and a titanium-strength debut from Gal Gadot in the title role. - Rafer Guzman, Newsday
"Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman provides a welcome respite from DC's house style of grim darkness with star Gal Gadot proving an inspired choice for this avatar of truth, justice and the Amazonian way." - Andrew Barker, Variety
"Jenkins' feature flips back through time to deliver an origin story that functions beautifully on its own while also bolstering excitement for the franchise's future." - Kate Erbland, indieWire
"It's a film that not only improves upon many of the seemingly built-in shortcomings of superhero movies, but also mixes smarts, sentiment and adrenaline in the best Hollywood style." - Alonso Duralde, TheWrap
"Like the heroine at its center, Wonder Woman the movie rises with powerful grace above the noise. It's not perfect, but it's often good, sometimes great and exceptionally re-watchable." - Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
"It gives us the kind of hero a lot of us fell in love with back in those 12-cent days of truth, justice and the American way - and the kind of movie we haven't seen since Christopher Reeve first flew into our lives." - Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
It certainly sounds like DC has finally done right by one of their characters thanks to director Patty Jenkins and screenwriter Allan Heinberg, but will the public react just as strongly? We'll just have to wait and see when the film finally opens this Thursday night. I'll be screening the film tonight, so be sure to check back tomorrow morning for my review to see if it lives up to the incredible hype.
Follow me on Twitter @BeckFilmCritic.