'Wonder Woman' is here to save us from summer movie doldrums

Wonder Woman may be one of the first mega-budget superhero movies to benefit from low expectations.

Although I am an enormous fan of the character, and felt that she deserved a big screen vehicle of her own, the project has languished for decades after fits and starts.

Making matters worse, after the critical and commercial success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, DC Comics inexplicably decided to hand over the creative reigns of all their major characters (and by extension franchises) to the polarizing director of Sucker Punch.

The first major production of this era -- Man of Steel -- hasn't aged well. Batman vs. Superman was a disjointed mess. And Suicide Squad looked like what I imagine a Four Loko tastes like, with just as much substance. So there was every reason to think Wonder Woman would be another brooding disaster.

Instead, the producers hired a female director, lightened the mood and the color palette, and have wound up crafting a delightful (if a bit overlong) summer movie which feels resonant and is actually quite funny once it gets going.

Yes, it's an origin story -- and the clunky opening (where the characters' from Wonder Woman's homeland all speak is vaguely Eastern European-sounding accents) had me worried that this was going to be another paint-by-numbers genre movie.

But once Wonder Woman is transplanted to modern early 20th century America, the movie becomes almost a full blown romantic comedy, pairing our hero alongside a plucky spy (played with immense charm and grace by the underrated Chris Pine).

It was in this middle section that I came to fall for Gal Gadot. I had previously thought she was all wrong for the part.

She had not impressed me in the Fast & Furious movies where she seemed more like a beautiful accessory rather than a fully-fledged person. And her puny frame just didn't feel right for an Amazonian warrior.

But once the movie lets her tap into her comic skills and allows the proto-feminist character to show a welcome bit of righteous indignation in the face of misogyny, her performance and star power come alive. Now, after watching this film, I can't imagine anyone else playing this part.

In a way, she reminds me of Christopher Reeve as Superman. A lot of actresses would look silly acrobatically flying through the air and strutting in slo-mo, but she just convinces you that this fictional person is really plausible by the sheer force of her earnestness and sincerity.

And she is aided mightily by Pine, who here does what he also does in the Star Trek films, show a vulnerable and self-deprecating style of masculinity that is simply missing from movies nowadays. It's unfortunate that his first name saddles him with getting confused with the other hunky Chris's -- Pratt, Hemsworth and Evans -- because I actually think he is the most interesting actor of the bunch.

In its prolonged, CGI-heavy third act, this film does succumb to some of the pitfalls of previous superhero films. The villains aren't that strong and the stakes don't feel high enough, but Gadot and company have earned enough good will in the proceeding two hours that I will forgive this movie's many shortcomings.

If nothing else, the movie has value for its subtle commentary on how we perceive gender roles and how that hasn't really changed all that much in over 60 years. After heading into a summer full of disappointing options at the movies, I think that's something worth standing up and cheering for.