Let’s Hear It for the Girls
By Skip Sheffield
Gal Gadot may well be one of the most beautiful women in the
universe. That’s all you need to know about “Wonder Woman,” which stars the
Israeli actress.
Most of “Wonder Woman” is back story, starting with the childhood
of Diana, who was raised as an Amazonian princess on an all-female island. Who
was her father? Who knows? It doesn’t matter because this is a DC Comics- based
story, and logic does not apply.
What does apply is that Diana grows up to inhabit the body
of Gal Gadot. In Roman mythology, Diana was goddess of the hunt. In this
retelling, she is protector of the universe.
After the prelude, an antique plane crashes into the ocean.
It contains one Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who is dressed in German military
uniform, but in reality is an American spy who has infiltrated the ranks. The
year is 1918 as World War I is reaching its climax. Diana has no knowledge of
the outside world, but she despises war. After she nurses Steve back to health,
he convinces her to travel to London, which is under threat of imminent German
attack.
This is the fun part of a two-hour-plus movie, with
beautiful Diana a fish out of water. With Steve a distinct second banana, she
comes in contact with Ludendorff (Danny Huston), a typically maniacal German
officer; the disfigured Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya), also known as Dr. Poison, and
the sneakiest of the lot, Sir Patrick (David Thewlis).
Along with her beauty, Gal Gadot has admirable physical
dexterity. Though she has bullet-proof arm shields and an old-fashioned combat
shield, her physical moves, though CG-enhanced, are most impressive.
I thought of my own three daughters when seeing this film.
They need a female hero and director (Patty Jenkins), and this movie does the
trick.
