Lebanon ministry calls for ban of Wonder Woman film

A woman waves for taxi, as she stands in front of a digital billboard promoting the 2017 Wonder Woman movie, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 30, 2017.

Officials at Lebanon’s Economy Ministry did not return calls seeking comment.

Once the hero leaves the island, the film falls into superhero movie conventions with Wonder Woman’s powers and principles tested as she attempts to unravel a German plot.

However, the ban has not yet been enforced, and a representative of one Lebanese cinema chain stated that a premiere as been planned. Talking about it in length, he said, “Wonder Woman proves to be an emotionally resonate film that won me over with its refreshing take on the superhero formula that featured something we haven’t seen in the DCEU yet: a true, bona fide hero”. But none of those things are surprising for a superhero movie, nor is the overlong two hours and 20 minutes running time, though the movie is fairly well-paced. This week the long wait for a live-action feature version of Wonder Woman will finally come to an end, more than 40 years after Lynda Carter played the Amazon warrior princess in the classic TV series from 1975-79. Just look to the image of Gal Gadot confidently striding out alone onto an unwinnable battlefield with only a shield, a sword and a mission – and prevailing. She later apologized and said the Israeli photobombed her selfie. Unknown sources suggested to Hollywood Reporter that she had in fact been “unceremoniously dropped” from the film following a similarly unknown dispute.

Although it could not hope to shoulder the full weight of 75 years of expectations, no qualifiers are necessary: Wonder Woman is an exciting entry in the superhero movie genre.

Especially after she showed public support for Israeli troops as the country led a military offensive in Gaza back in 2014.

“We don’t separate art – even romantic movies – from the role of the artist and the intellectual on the ground”, he said.

Wonder Woman opens June 2.

Wonder Woman is far from the first film to face the prospect of a ban in Lebanon. Gal Gadot was well-received as Diana Prince in Batman v Superman, it’s set in the past, focusing on one character after two ensemble pictures, and both Patty Jenkins and Geoff Johns add directorial and comic credibility, respectively.

Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed.