Diana (Gal Gadot) has lived all of her life with her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), on the island of Themyscira as the Princess of the Amazons. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American pilot, crashes in the ocean near Themyscira, and Diana rescues him. When she overhears him talking tells about World War I that's taking place, she assumes that it has to do with her nemesis, Ares (David Thewlis), the God of War, and agrees to tag along with Steve to London to take justice into her own hands with her superpowers. She dons a new outfit and carries the Lasso of Truth, and helps Steve to try to defeat the nefarious General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) who has been developing a poisonous gas for nefarious purposes. Steve's secretary, Etta Candy (Lucy Davis), assists Diana in fitting into society upon arrival in London.

      Wonder Woman boasts an enthralling and suspenseful plot along with a refreshingly witty screenplay. Screenwriter Allan Heinberg does a great job of introducing the audience to the character of Diana and showing them how she had developed her warrior skills during her childhood with the help of her aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright). The action sequences feel thrilling and exciting rather than exhausting, and the visual effects are superb. The dialogue pops with wit, double entendres and tongue-in-cheek humor while avoiding campiness. When it comes to the leading lady, Gal Gadot, she's naturally beautiful, graceful and charismatic, but when it comes to delivering her lines, she's not convincing enough on an emotional level. At least the solid acting skills of supporting cast compensate. Lucy Davis has great comedic timing as Etta Candy. She should've had more scenes. Danny Huston sinks his teeth into his role as the nemesis with aplomb. David Thewlis is terrific as usual as Ares.

      Director Patty Jenkins wisely avoids giving the audience a headache by not maintaining a fast pace from start to finish, and by avoiding choppy cinematography; there are a few slower paced scenes that let the film breathe for a change while allowing you to become more absorbed. Of course, there's some exposition, but it's not distracting or excessive. Jenkins builds some character development while allowing the characters to actually have conversations with one another in a way that doesn't lead to anemia or unevenness. Wonder Woman does feel slightly bloated because of its running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, but at least there's rarely a dull moment to be found. Jenkins manages to give the film some soul which in and of itself is quite an amazing feat. Compared to the latest slew of lethargic, mind-numbing, soulless blockbusters, Wonder Woman feels like a much-needed breath of fresh air. If only there were more filmmakers like Patty Jenkins who understand that a blockbuster can still be entertaining without assaulting the audience with CGI and one ad nauseam action sequence after another. Bravo to Patty Jenkins! Note to Hollywood: please hire more women to direct blockbusters.