‘Wonder Woman’ Stuns Critics: ‘One of the Best Superhero Movies of All Time’
Film starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine is also being called “electrifying” and a “breathtaking cinematic achievement”
Beatrice Verhoeven | May 30, 2017 @ 7:40 AM
Last Updated: May 31, 2017 @ 5:01 PM
Warner Bros.
“Wonder Woman” is stunning critics, who are calling the film “electrifying” and a “breathtaking cinematic achievement” that makes it “one of the best superhero movies of all time.”
The film starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 96 percent — that’s 52 “fresh” reviews, with only 2 “rotten.”
“Amazing performances, pulse-pounding action, and outstanding visuals make it one of the best superhero movies of all time,” Forbes’ Mark Hughes wrote, while The Associated Press’ Lindsey Bahr added “it’s enough to give you goosebumps.”
“‘Wonder Woman’ is smart, slick, and satisfying in all of the ways superhero films ought to be,” Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty wrote. “How deliciously ironic that in a genre where the boys seem to have all the fun, a female hero and a female director are the ones to show the fellas how it’s done.”
“Gal Gadot’s turn as Princess Diana of Themyscira was a refreshing standout amidst the sludge of ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,’ and she’s as good if not better headlining her own solo adventure,” he wrote.
“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. This is a superior popcorn movie, no matter what the genre.”
Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film also stars Chris Pine, Robin Wright, David Thewlis and Connie Nielsen. It hits theaters on Friday.
Overall, critics seems to agree: it’s the best DC Comics movie to date.
“‘Wonder Woman’ feels like the real deal, a rollicking action adventure in the tradition of ‘Indiana Jones’, with a fully functioning sense of humour and the year’s most lip-smackingly evil baddie.”
“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. Director Patty Jenkins’ film is so threaded with sincerity and goodness it’s a wonder how it got past the pugnacious minds responsible for what’s come before. ‘Wonder Woman’ evokes not only the spirit of Richard Donner’s ‘Superman,’ but also Joe Johnston’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger,’ while still being its own thing. Just look to the image of Gal Gadot confidently striding out alone onto an unwinnable battlefield with only a shield, a sword and a mission — and prevailing. It’s enough to give you goosebumps.”
“‘Wonder Woman’ is a departure from most superhero films you’ve seen. It’s a female superhero film — which is revolutionary enough by itself — but it’s also a genuinely surprising film that plays with genre and throws out the now very tired superhero movie formula. It’s an action film, a romantic comedy and a coming-of-age story and a period piece and a war movie all in one. Above all, it’s a hopeful story about humanity. ‘Wonder Woman’ is the best movie Marvel rival DC Comics has put out in its own cinematic universe, and unlike the recent parade of bleak superhero tales from both studios, it makes you feel good while you watch it.”
“From DC Films and Warner Bros., ‘Wonder Woman’ renews hope that the DC Universe can match the quality of Marvel. Gal Gadot proves she has the right stuff. Her ‘Wonder Woman’ is every bit the hero and feminist icon fans deserve. The film is by no means perfect, but a needed step in the right direction. The Justice League has a solid foundation to build on. The producers just have to remember that respect for the character’s history, sophistication, and moments of levity are key to the success of comic adaptations. Make a run when the credits roll, there aren’t any additional scenes.”
“‘Wonder Woman’ is an electrifying, breathtaking cinematic achievement sure to win the hearts and minds of audiences around the world. Amazing performances, pulse-pounding action, and outstanding visuals make it one of the best superhero movies of all time. You’ll love it, and you’ll walk out wondering how soon you can go back to watch it again.”
“Almost as much an anti-war drama as a summer popcorn romp,’ Wonder Woman’ takes its time putting its title character centre stage in all her Amazonian splendour. But when it does get down to superheroine business, this latest DC Comics ‘extended universe’ outing packs a decent punch and, in Israeli model Gal Gadot, introduces a star with real franchise potential.”
“All in all, ‘Wonder Woman’ is a cohesive and gripping comic book-adapted origin story that gives the most famous female superhero a live-action entry worthy of the character’s legacy. There weak spots in those brief moments of impossible-to-miss CG and Ares’ character development, but even with those flaws, ‘Wonder Woman’ is exceptionally strong. Arriving at the time it does, ‘Wonder Woman’ faces immense pressure both within the context of the DCEU and, to a larger extent, Hollywood as a whole – but Gadot and Jenkins rise above expectations to deliver an incredibly exciting and inspiring movie.”
“As Diana, Gadot is excellent, a rocking electric cello riff in human form. ‘Dawn Of Justice’ proved she could handle the kicking and the punching. Here, she gets actual honest-to-goodness dialogue, and invests Diana with excitable exuberance, bristling defiance and a disarming belief in doing the right thing. She’s also funny, particularly when she goes full bumbling Clark Kent.”
“‘Wonder Woman’ is smart, slick, and satisfying in all of the ways superhero films ought to be. How deliciously ironic that in a genre where the boys seem to have all the fun, a female hero and a female director are the ones to show the fellas how it’s done.”
Every DC Comics Movie Ranked From Worst to Best, Including 'Birds of Prey' and 'Joker'
Marvel may be the dominant force in comic book movies at the moment just through sheer numbers, it's actually DC Comics that has the historical edge. Films based on DC properties go back nearly a century to those ancient Batman and Superman serials, while Marvel didn't really get things going until this century. That's a lot of history -- how do the recent "Birds of Prey" and "Joker" stack up? Let's take a look.
36. "Jonah Hex" (2010)
Despite the efforts of Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender, this is one of the worst comic book movies of the modern era.
35. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)
Christopher Reeve is by far the best Superman. But "Superman IV" is a bomb in every sense -- partly because of its heavy-handedness about bombs. Nuclear bombs. The film finds Superman trying to eliminate the world's nuclear threat, but his best intentions run afoul of a silly, badly dated villain named Nuclear Man.
34. "Supergirl" (1984)
We had a female-superhero movie in 1984, and it was pure cheese. But hey, at least they tried. The best thing I can say about it is there are worse things in life than this movie.
33. "Suicide Squad" (2016)
Less a movie than it is a fever dream of unrelated sequences and montages that somehow end up using more than two hours of your time. Totally incomprehensible experience.
Best known as "the one Shaq was in back when he tried acting," "Steel" is pretty bad. But the fun kind of bad.
31. "Justice League" (2017)
Warner Bros has continued to innovate in how to make bad DCEU movies, with "Justice League" managing to be terrible in a totally different way from "Batman v Superman" and "Suicide Squad."
30. "Man of Steel" (2013)
Could have been worse, I guess. But it's still morally gross and has a plot that doesn't make sense. That it's very pretty to look at doesn't override those things nearly enough to make it watchable.
29. "Joker" (2019)
This is not a good characterization of the Joker as a human being, and aside from that it's just a soulless, meaningless experience.
28. "Catwoman" (2004)
Thoroughly horrible, but somehow amusing even so. Sad that it's seemingly been swept into the litter box of history.
27. "Batman & Robin" (1997)
Rightly hated, but it's tremendously entertaining here and there. Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzeneggar are going so far over the top I can't help but admire them.
26. "Superman III" (1983)
Featured a brilliant corporate rip-off -- one later referenced in "Office Space" -- but the attempt to funny things up with the addition of Richard Pryor didn't gel. There was also a weird bit about a weather satellite creating bad weather, which isn't what weather satellites do. Seeing Clark Kent fight Superman was pretty cool, though.
25. "Green Lantern" (2011)
Overreliance on cartoony visual effects during a period when big blockbusters were moving away from that aesthetic meant this was a movie nobody liked. Not that it was especially horrible. It just looked like a dumb cartoon and is hard to watch.
24. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012)
Probably wasn't intended to be a grim and gritty Shumacher Batmovie, but that is indeed what it is. This is Nolan going full Hollywood, smashing plot points into place by sheer force of will rather than because they make sense. An extremely theatrical Tom Hardy as Bane is amusing front to back, and a nuke with a countdown clock on it will never get old.
23. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (2016)
A total mess that hates Superman and turns Batman into a total maniac. None of those things are good. Ben Affleck can't save the thing, but he's excellent nonetheless and gives it a huge bump it probably doesn't deserve.
22. "Watchmen" (2009)
I have no particular affection for the revered "Watchmen" comic the way a lot of other nerds do, so my distaste for this adaptation isn't personal. It just doesn't add up to nearly as much as it thinks it does.
21. "Batman" (1989)
Fondly remembered mostly because it was the first Batmovie in a couple decades. It isn't actually very good, though. The reveal that a younger version of the Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents is as hamfistedly dumb as it gets in a "Batman" movie.
20. "V for Vendetta" (2006)
Felt nothing watching this. I tried, OK. It's impeccably made, though, and very watchable.
Giving this its own slot because it fundamentally changes the narrative of the movie and the character of Superman in the DC Extended Universe. This version is still not great (especially at three freaking hours), but it's a monumental improvement over the theatrical version.
17. "Red 2" (2013)
Did you even know these were comic book movies? Whatever, it's a great cast in a serviceable action movie and everybody's having a good time. Hard to remember, but fun.
16. "Red" (2010)
Better than its sequel, but they're basically the same.
15. "Batman Forever" (1995)
Hits just the right tone for what Joel Shumacher was trying to do with the two films he directed. Tommy Lee Jones, as Two Face, is doing stuff in this movie that is hard to believe even today, given his perpetual sour face in nearly every other movie he's been in.
14. "Superman Returns" (2006)
Actually a pretty decent attempt by Bryan Singer to do a Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie in the present day, but Brandon Routh couldn't pull off the charisma it takes to be the Man of Steel. It was his first movie, so that's not surprising. But it's a shame, because Routh has gotten much better in the years since.
13. "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" (1993)
Remember that time they released a "Batman" cartoon theatrically? It gets lost amongst all the live-action ones, but "Mask of the Phantasm" is better than most of them.
12. "The LEGO Batman Movie" (2017)
Funny, sweet and self-deprecating -- exactly what we needed in the wake of the disaster that was "Batman v Superman."
11. "Superman II" (1980)
Made kids everywhere cry as they watched Superman give up his powers for a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). There are different edits of this movie, and we frankly can't keep them straight. But the sight of a powerless Clark getting beat up in a diner made Superman as sympathetic as he's ever been.
10. "Wonder Woman" (2017)
Has the standard origin movie problem of "too much story, not enough time." And the standard DC Extended Universe problem of "We gotta have a nonsensical CGI battle at the end." But despite those caveats it's an enormous delight, and a big step forward for the DCEU.
9. "Birds of Prey" (2020)
This film is sensory overload, but (mostly) in all the right ways. And it's got the best action we've ever seen in any DC or Marvel movie. This would be a top 5 DC flick easily if the storytelling wasn't such a huge mess.
8. "The Dark Knight" (2008)
Should be way shorter, but Heath Ledger's Joker is far and away the best villain in any of these movies. Ledger elevates what would otherwise be just another self-indulgent Christopher Nolan exercise into an endlessly watchable picture.
7. "Batman Returns" (1992)
One of the best of the franchise because it's really just a political thriller. The Penguin emerges from the sewer and runs for mayor of Gotham! It's great stuff, especially as we continue to watch the rise of Trump in our world.
6. "Shazam" (2019)
It’s just so much fun! It’s a blast to watch, and is just a really nice celebration of the good parts of humanity. “Shazam” is a movie that simply feels good to watch.
5. "Constantine" (2005)
A happy balance of serious and ridiculous, manages to find exactly the right tone for this weird religious fantasy and a cast led by Keanu Reeves. They all seem to get it.
4. "Aquaman" (2018)
It's not often that we get a comic book movie that is: full on ridiculous; loves how ridiculous it is; and is made with skill by a legitimately great filmmaker. James Wan's "Aquaman" is all of that, and it's just a wonderful experience.
3. "Superman: The Movie" (1978)
This is the gold standard of Superman movies, and was the best superhero movie bar none for many, many years. John Williams' score soars, and so does the believable and compelling romance between Superman and Lois Lane. The film convincingly blended camp (in the form of Gene Hackman's wonderful Lex Luthor), an epic origin story that actually felt epic, and funny lines. The scene in which Supes and Lois fly together is one of the most beautiful metaphors for new love ever captured on film.
2. "Batman: The Movie" (1966)
Has a timelessness that none of the other films do, and it's just a delight from beginning to end thanks to Adam West's winking Batman and the coalition of villains who can't stop cackling maniacally. Watching it again recently, I found it functions almost perfectly as a parody of the super-serious Christopher Nolan Batfilms, which is incredible.
1. "Batman Begins" (2005)
The most complete film, on its own, in the entire live-action franchise. It's just, like, a regular movie... except it's about Batman. It has actual characters and everything, and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne even has emotions. It's weird.
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How does the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe fare in our rankings?
Marvel may be the dominant force in comic book movies at the moment just through sheer numbers, it's actually DC Comics that has the historical edge. Films based on DC properties go back nearly a century to those ancient Batman and Superman serials, while Marvel didn't really get things going until this century. That's a lot of history -- how do the recent "Birds of Prey" and "Joker" stack up? Let's take a look.
