‘Wonder Woman’ Reviews: Here’s What the Critics Think

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After 75 years of waiting, Wonder Woman is finally in theaters tonight. The film has earned surprisingly strong reviews and could undo the damage Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice did to the DC Extended Universe. Read on to find out what critics have said about the film, plus when you can finally start seeing the movie.

The official release date for Wonder Woman is Friday, June 2, but as is the custom today, screenings will start at 7 p.m. local time tonight, June 1. You can purchase movie tickets at Fandango and Moviefone. AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas and other theater chains also have tickets available at their websites. The film runs 141 minutes.

Wonder Woman has earned near unanimous praise. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film has scored a 93 percent fresh rating after 130 reviews counted. Of those, 121 were classified as “fresh,” while just nine classified the film as “rotten.”

It’s worth noting that even the fresh reviews don’t give the Gal Gadot-starring movie a full positive rating. Most critics do have some reservations about it. Many of the positive reviews note how the film’s third act becomes a big action set-piece that feels ripped from other comic book movies.

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Scott Tobias – NPR

In his review, NPR’s Scott Tobias compared it to the 1978 Superman movie, in how director Patty Jenkins (Monster) introduces Princess Diana (Gadot) and her world before Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) enters the picture. Tobias does note that the film becomes a little less unique towards the end, during a big battle with Ares.

Even in its weaker moments, Wonder Woman honors the scale of a superhero who stands alongside Superman and Batman in the DC lexicon, but has never had a vehicle worthy of her. Jenkins and Gadot do the hard work of properly establishing her stature on screen for the first time. She can go anywhere from here.

Richard Roeper – Chicago Sun-Times

The Chicago Sun-Times’ Richard Roeper praised Jenkins for packing the film with “heart and empathy” and for Gadot’s “endearing performance.” He gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars.

When Diana DOES spring into action, “Wonder Woman” rocks. It’s as if we’re learning exactly what she’s capable of at the same time Diana is discovering the depths of her powers.

David Edelstein – New York Magazine

David Edelstein at New York Magazine wrote one of the reviews Rotten Tomatoes deems “rotten.” However, he did at least have praise for Gadot’s performance. He wasn’t a big fan of the rest of the movie.

Alas, much of her fighting is computer-enhanced, and there are too many of the kind of slo-mo leaps and midair freezes that got old at the time of the third Matrix movie. Jenkins is no visual stylist, and the battles are a hash.

Angelica Jade Bastien – Roger Ebert

Angelica Jade Bastien of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars. Bastien admits that she is a longtime fan of the character, so she was nervous about how the film would come out. Thankfully, she enjoyed the movie, even if the last 30 minutes were bombastic action overkill.

Despite its flaws, “Wonder Woman” is beautiful, kindhearted, and buoyant in ways that make me eager to see it again. Jenkins and her collaborators have done what I thought was previously impossible: created a Wonder Woman film that is inspiring, blistering, and compassionate, in ways that honor what has made this character an icon.

Anne Hornaday – The Washington Post

The Washington Post’s Anne Hornaday notes that Jenkins does embrace Wonder Woman’s comic book roots and praised the casting. Aside from Pine and Gadot, the film is filled with wonderful actors like Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Lucy Davis, Danny Huston and David Thewlis. She gave the film three out of four stars.

Cool, solemn, her eyes often welling with tears at the human waste and destruction she witnesses, Gadot’s Diana is the very opposite of a cartoon character: She’s soulful and utterly credible, even when she comes out bracelets blazing, effortlessly scaling a tower that might have imprisoned a princess like her in another story, at least until the right hero came along. As a young woman just coming into her superhuman powers, Gadot finds the right balance between doelike naivete and determination. Constantly told that she can’t stop all war, she tries to ignore the instincts that tell her otherwise: Still, she’s persistent.

Lindsey Bahr – The Associated Press

Lindsay Bahr of The Associated Press wrote that the film turned her into a Wonder Woman fan, even though she didn’t like the film’s framing device. (Apparently, the movie starts in the present day, with Wonder Woman flashing back to her past after getting a note from Bruce Wayne.) Bahr gave the film three stars out of four.

Jenkins keeps the look and feel of the film classical, as it breezes through a strong second act. But, being a DC film, “Wonder Woman” can’t help but devolve into a blurry, concrete-busting third act that feels dispiritingly like all the rest, not to mention a baffling reveal that negates most of Diana’s growth. It’s not enough to negate the good, though, and much of that is Gadot’s doing.