Wonder Woman

I have read many reviews citing poor acting, poor writing, shoddy camera work... As a made-for-television pilot, I found all of these to be acceptable. It isn't a feature film after all.

I also had no trouble seeing Adrianne Palicki in the role. She has the right proportions, figure, and face to closely match the classic DC comic heroine.

But where it all falls short - profanely so - is in the complete abandonment of her Story. They seem to have ditched her Greek Mythology origin and made into some kind of female version of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Even her bracers (forged by the god Haephestus for her mother, Hipolita) and lasso aren't divine artifacts, but technological gadgets paid for by marketing clothing lines and action figures.

The show would probably have been picked up if they had used a different outfit and name, but the outcry from the comics community was loud and clear - Don't break the story!

This version of WW has turned her from fighting Nazis to being a Nazi. Call that hyperbole if you like but the fact remains that they have cast aside every shred of honor that DC heroes have with this drivel.

In the movie Hancock, Nancy Grace chastises Hancock by saying "Nobody is above the law". In this series they have her praising WW for her illegal and unconstitutional actions. When the police ask her to give over the suspect the first line we ever hear her say is "If I give him to you he will 'lawyer up'".

DC heroes never interfered with the criminal justice system. They groused about it but they realized that couldn't replace it. This version shows us a Wonder Woman who will happily adopt the Guilty-until-proved innocent, no due process approach of the Nazis she used to fight.

It sickened me to watch this garbage.

It's the modern world. Diana/Wonder Woman (Adrianne Palicki) fights crime in costume out in the open as the head of a large corporation with Henry Johns (Cary Elwes) and Etta Candy (Tracie Thoms) working for her. She discovers that Veronica Cale (Elizabeth Hurley) is experimenting her new drug which is killing people and causing horrible mutations. She tries to bring Cale to justice while skirting the law herself. She has also carved out a 'normal' secret life for herself with her cat while pining for Steve Trevor (Justin Bruening). At the end of the pilot, Diana finds that he's married.

I like Adrianne Palicki as an actress and she's a good possibility for Wonder Woman. She's definitely better as an actress than Gal Gadot. The problem is that the show is pulling in wildly disparate directions. In her secret life, she's a single gal alone with her cat. I'm not sure that's a good idea. The worst idea is to make her the head of her own corporation. I just don't get it. There's a scene where she berates her people for making a doll with big boobs. I actually don't know if I like it but it was weirdly compelling. The most interesting aspect of Wonder Woman is that they made her a violent vigilante sorta like Batman. The fight at the end is deadly fun. I find that part filled with possibilities. The other interesting aspect is the lack of an origins story. Other than Steve Trevor and the Greek decor, there is very little about her earlier life. I think that's a mistake. It needs the origin story even if it's only flashbacks. Lots of people talk about the costume. I don't particularly like it but it's not a deal breaker. They also changed it for the ending giving her the stars bikini bottom. The costume needs a little work but it's not ridiculously bad.

Wonder Woman must stop the head of a pharmaceutical company's illegal experiments for financial gain.

Opening with the horror-stricken images of a boy with bleeding eyes, Wonder Woman quickly moves to a foot chase though the streets. There's no origin story which some have highly criticised. Personally I'm a exasperated with origin stories, these superhero characters have become a part of pop culture and can seem some what unnecessary.

The pilot establishes Wonder Woman as a known face in the real world, a vigilant of sorts, with a reputation for knocking down doors, invading privacy, assaulting people and the videos uploaded to YouTube.

Adrianne Palicki is surprising good as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, and oddly the promotional pictures for the show didn't do her justice. She's tough, rough, sexy and sulky. The plot features a standard Cary Elwes performance as her marketing CEO and Elizabeth Hurley plays the antagonist head of a pharmaceutical company.

It's quite amusing that (in the world of the pilot) she has become marketable merchandise property and makes a remark that the comic version of her is incorrect with Diana stating that the Wonder Woman doll is insulting and she want's it redesigned. "These breast are ridiculous." "Wonder Woman isn't vulgar." "Wonder Woman is perfect, perfect t*ts, perfect ass, perfect teeth." It is apparent that Diana's/Wonder's crime fighting technology is funded by Wonder Woman's merchandising success which is an interesting titbit (no pun intended).

There's establishing flashback for Diana's love interest and some good camera work and effects from director Jeffrey Reiner, the contemporary music is dramatic and adds to the tension in the dialogue scenes. David E. Kelley's story explores briefly the problem of superheroes heavy handiness being unlawful and forever under legal scrutiny.

Wonder Woman is reminiscent of 'The New Adventures of Superman' (1993- 1997) although it does have a darker tone and sleeker look. It moves away from Superman's studio feel and while not particularly true to the comic, Wonder Woman's shot on location look and Kelley relevant poignant dialogue adds to its allure as much as Palicki's costume.

The only big action scene is at the 30 minute mark and is the highlight of the pilot with Palicki's physical prowess and wire-work being most impressive.

Overall, Adrianne Palicki equals Lynda Carter's incarnation and while not spectacular or highly engrossing it's no lesser than other mediocre TV productions that have been given a chance and a longer run. It may have evolved and brought a live action Wonder Woman to another generation but I suppose we may never know, that is until some else has a stab at bringing DC's female flag character to life.

Quite frankly when I heard that they cast Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman and that it wasn't written by Joss Whedon, I was disappointed because I was really excited to see Joss' vision of the iconic heroine. Then photos of Adrianne in costume were released and it made me cringe a little bit because it didn't look that great. I just couldn't see Adrianne as Wonder Woman and, after the disappointment that was Bionic Woman, the future had looked dismal for this reboot from the get-go.

When I saw the pilot, it totally blew me away. It was well-written. It had decent character development with a lot of action and humor. It didn't try to be dark or edgy, nor did it try to be some kind of serious origin story, it was simply Wonder Woman in 2011---a charming and successful, albeit short-tempered, beautiful woman that just so happened to be a superhero.

Adrianne Palicki was a real revelation for me. She made an incredibly believable Wonder Woman. I couldn't help but cheer for her because this Wonder Woman is awesome. She's beautiful, sexy, fierce, confident, self-assured, loving, noble, stubborn, impulsive, and, at the same time, a total bad ass.

The new Wonder Woman is wonderfully complicated while staying genuinely charming. I am sad that this wasn't picked up by a major network because I believe that the world would have loved this Wonder Woman. I think this is THE Wonder Woman for the new generation.