Does Wonder Woman live up to the hype?

Gal Gadot takes the leading role in the Patty Jenkins' film - Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist

It's nearly here! The much anticipated live action superhero movie, Wonder Woman, is out in the UK on Thursday. The film stars Gal Gadot in the title role and Chris Pine alongside as US spy Steve Trevor.

So what do the critics make of it?

Sheri Linden - The Hollywood Reporter

Had it really broken the mould and come in below the two-hour mark, Wonder Woman could have been a thoroughly transporting film. As it stands, it's intermittently spot-on, particularly in the pops of humour and romance between the exotically kick-ass yet approachable Gadot and the supremely charismatic Chris Pine as an American working for British intelligence, the first man the Amazon princess has ever met. With eager fans unlikely to bemoan the film's length or its lapses in narrative energy, Wonder Woman will conquer their hearts as it makes its way around the globe.

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Israeli actress Gal Gadot has also starred in the Fast & Furious films

Andrew Barker - Variety

Wonder Woman is the first major studio superhero film directed by a woman, and it shows in a number of subtle, yet important ways. As skimpy as Gadot's outfits may get, for example, Jenkins' camera never leers or lingers gratuitously - Diana is always framed as an agent of power, rather than its object. When she finally unleashes her full fighting potential in an extended battle sequence on the front lines, the movie comes alive in a genuinely exhilarating whirl of slow-motion mayhem, and Diana's personality is never lost amid all the choreography.

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Pine (left) is known for his role as Kirk in the Star Trek films

Steve Rose - The Guardian

Those hoping a shot of oestrogen would generate a new kind of comic-book movie - and revive DC's faltering movie universe - might need to lower their expectations. Like many people out there, I had no shortage of excitement and goodwill towards this female-led superhero project, but in the event it's plagued by the same problems that dragged down previous visits to the DC movie world: over-earnestness, bludgeoning special effects, and a messy, often wildly implausible plot. What promised to be a glass-ceiling-smashing blockbuster actually looks more like a future camp classic.

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Gal Gadot first appeared as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice last year

Robbie Collin - The Telegraph

Hit or not - and you'd better believe its box-office results will be scrutinised under a microscope - Wonder Woman is close to a knockout on its own ambitious terms. Patty Jenkins' film officially belongs to the DC Extended Universe, the same sunless and woebegone realm that brought us Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

In a genre where fanboy entitlement regularly calls the tune, Wonder Woman's feminism - in its eagerly daubed poster-paint strokes - feels like a rarity. Time will tell whether Hollywood is about to find itself in the thrall of a heroine addiction. But as the credits rolled, I was already craving another hit.

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Gadot is a former beauty queen - she was crowned Miss Israel in 2004

Kelly Lawler - USA Today

It's Gadot's film and she is electric as Wonder Woman, a role she debuted in last year's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to wide acclaim. Unshackled from that film's dreary baggage, the Israeli actress is able to shine as brightly in Wonder Woman's smaller moments as she does when she lifts a tank with her bare hands. Her expressive face is magnetic as she witnesses the horrors of the world for the first time. Her optimism is at times heartbreaking - we, unlike Diana, know how evil the world truly is - but it is also inspiring.

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Emma Simmonds - Radio Times

Although Jenkins doesn't avoid the traditional effects-swamped finale, she manages to work emotional impact into the climax.

Most importantly, she delivers a heroine who lives up to the majesty of her moniker and stands apart from her superhero brethren, not just in her gender but in her well-communicated ideals.

Wonder Woman reminds us that, at their finest and most enduring, such films inspire us to be all that we can be.

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