The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Politics and controversy aside, Wonder Woman – the first female-led comic-book film to be released in theatre for over a decade – has managed to surprise everyone. Burdened with the pressure to deliver what the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) most recent misfires couldn’t, the film is a hugely entertaining and provides a gripping origin story for the iconic female superhero, that has both the skills and the heart to put you under its powerful spell.

Following a brief prologue set in modern-day Paris, the story then takes us all the way back to the very beginning where the young Amazon princess Diana (Gadot) is living a rather happy and a sheltered life in Themyscira with her loving and protective mother, Queen Hippolyta (Nielsen). Raised and trained by her aunt, General Antiope (Wright), Diana was always to become an Amazon warrior and she soon gets a chance to use her skills when, after crashing into Themyscira, an American Captain and spy, Steve Trevor (Pine), comes into her life.

After rescuing him from drowning, Diana soon learns of the horrors of World War I and soon decides that it is her duty to put an end to the conflict – despite her mother’s protests – which, of course, she is convinced is caused by her archenemy Ares. Travelling to London, Diana and Steve soon meet up with his secretary, Etta Candy (Davis), and their ally, Sir. Patrick Morgan (Thewlis) and soon set out to locate General Erich Ludendorff (Huston) and his lead chemist, Isabella Maru – a.k.a Doctor Poison (Anaya) – in order to prevent them from unleashing a new deadly chemical weapon.

 It’s hard not to be swept up by the sheer beauty of the story and its mesmerising and genuinely exciting visuals and vigorous action set pieces. Directed by Patty Jenkins, who just so happens to be the first female director to be given reigns over a heavily budgeted superhero movie, the story takes place roughly a hundred years before the DCEU, which managed to provide plenty of room for screenwriter, Allan Heinberg to explore the titular character and the world around her, rather than fitting the character into a an already exisiting world without any context. The action is compelling and seeing Diana’s Amazonian fighting skills on the WWI battlefield is truly exciting, whilst watching her make sense of the world and strange customs around her is the biggest contributing factor to the story’s comedic side.

In the face of the tremendous criticism received when it was first announced that the Israeli-born actress will be taking the role, it’s seemingly hard to imagine anyone else for the part. Exuding beauty, strength and an enormous amount of charisma, Gadot is truly a vision whilst the chemistry with co-star Pine, who was just as strong, is almost palpable. Unfortunately, it’s the villain of the story, Ares in this case, that gets a little short-changed in the process with very little character development sitting under his belt.

However, this little misstep doesn’t take anything away from the overall experience;  thrilling, visually stunning and surprisingly heartfelt, Wonder Woman is the real deal.