Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was bad. Suicide Squad was somehow worse. After all that, you could be forgiven for thinking DC Comics’ attempt to make their own version of the famously fun and lucrative Marvel Cinematic Universe was up the skyscraper without a cape. And you might not be wrong, but it sounds like they’re not going down without a fight just yet. DC isn’t allowing full reviews of Wonder Woman to be published just yet, but they are letting the few critics who have seen it tweet about it and early word is, the movie’s terrific.
Happy to report 'Wonder Woman' is a blast and @GalGadot is fantastic. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is magnetic. Absolutely recommended. pic.twitter.com/VPW4QW3IhM
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) May 19, 2017
Loved WONDER WOMAN. She reminds me of Christopher Reeve's Superman: true north superhero w/ no angst or cynicism, which is needed right now.
— Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) May 19, 2017
Wonder Woman is the DC movie I've been waiting for. It's exciting, inspiring, funny, and has some truly awe-inspiring action scenes.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) May 19, 2017
#WonderWoman is a flawless superhero movie. Loved every second of it. Amazing work, @PattyJenks! pic.twitter.com/UJMDI7Kb2k
— Jason Guerrasio (@JasonGuerrasio) May 19, 2017
My reaction to @WonderWomanFilm : exciting, powerful, bold, epic, simply wonderful and – best of all – absolutely empowering.
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) May 19, 2017
Now, there were some early rumors about Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad being good too, but most of those came from either Warner Brothers executives (who have a vested interest in spreading good rumors) or non-film critic fans (who are a lot easier to please than professional reviewers are) so this is new territory for a DC movie.
Most early reactions focused on Gal Gadot’s performance, and promised that the movie has plenty of warmth and humor—something sorely missing from the dour first few entries. More than a few tweets called it “the best DC movie so far” which isn’t saying a whole lot but regardless, this is sounding like something DC Comics has been in dire need of: a solid entry in their burgeoning universe.
The news is doubly good since this represents the first female-led superhero movie since the boom kicked off about a decade ago, and also the first female-directed superhero movie of the recent era. Patty Jenkins is probably most famous for directing Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning performance in Monster, but most of her directing work has taken place on television, with shows like The Killing and Arrested Development. Hopefully, this movie’s positive buzz encourages Hollywood to start bringing on more female directors and more female-led action franchises. We’ll know for sure when the movie debuts on June 2.
