No Amazon is fiercer or more protective than her mother, Queen Hippolyta ( Connie Nielsen). As a young girl, Diana enjoys the loving protection of the Amazons of Themyscira, a secluded island paradise created by the gods of Olympus. Written by Allan Heinberg, with a story also by Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs, the story uses a variety of inspiration culled from Wonder Woman’s 76-year history. It’s inspiring, evocative, and, unfortunately, a bit infuriating for the chances it doesn’t take. It is a sincerely good film in which no qualifiers are needed. In turn, “Wonder Woman” isn’t just a good superhero film. But more often than not she wears a bright, open smile that carries the optimism and hope that is true to the character’s long history as well as a much-needed salve from what other blockbusters offer. At times, her face is inquisitive, morose, and marked by fury. Through moments of quiet verisimilitude and blistering action sequences, Jenkins’ gaze often wisely returns to the face of her lead heroine, Diana ( Gal Gadot). It wasn’t the glimmer of a blade or even the picturesque shores of Themyscira, the utopian paradise Wonder Woman calls home. But early in the film I noticed the terrain that director Patty Jenkins turned to most often in order to create the emotional through-line. It’s arguably easier to sell Wonder Woman as a vengeful heroine in the vein of countless others, but less distinctive. As a longtime Wonder Woman fan, I worried her distinctive edges would be sanded off when it came time for her standalone film.

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