![Movie Review: Wonder Woman](uploads/images/film_wonderwoman_600.jpg)
Movie Review: Wonder Woman
I'm going to say this straight away: I love
this movie. Given the turbulent history of the DC Expanded Universe (DCEU)
since the release of Man of Steel in 2013, there was the overwhelming concern
that it could not get things going with any of its films. In effect, the DCEU
has been flailing in the dark, while "rival" comics giant Marvel
keeps churning out hit after hit. Wonder Woman can now at least make the claim
of being the first universally beloved DC superhero film since 2008's The Dark
Knight.
Now, Wonder Woman doesn't have the epic crime
drama scope that The Dark Knight had, but at least it keeps the central focus
on its title character. Plus, it throws in a few tweaks to the standard
superhero origin story. Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) is an Amazonian princess, a
demigod product between the union of Greek god Zeus and Amazonian Hippolyta
(Connie Nielsen), molded out of clay to be the greatest of all Amazonian
warriors. The women live on an island paradise called Themyscira that's
shielded from the rest of the world so it can be hidden from the villainous
Ares, the infamous god of war. All of this sounds ridiculous on paper, but
onscreen, there's a gravitas to the whole story of the gods and how the
Amazonians are involved that makes it less cheesy than it has any right to be.
Like Man of Steel establishing itself by
staying on Krypton for its beginning, the sequence in Themyscira takes up the
whole first act to ground the movie and let the audience get to know Diana and
her relationships with some of the Amazonians. That peaceful world is shattered
when an American pilot named Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes off the coast,
and is rescued by Diana. He tells the Amazonians that he's been fighting World
War I against the Germans, and his mission is to stop the evil Ludendorff
(Danny Huston) from launching a mustard gas attack on the Western front. All
sorts of politics go into this, including a crucial armistice agreement to be
negotiated between the British, led by Patrick Morgan (David Thewlis), and the Germans.
Trevor has to lead a mission to stop Ludendorff from deploying the mustard gas,
using a small guerilla force with Diana tagging along to help.
Things play out that way until it all goes
backwards. The usual motions of say, developing a romance between Diana and
Steve, are reversed. Diana is the lead character, and Steve supports her most
of the time. Once Diana reaches the real world, the "Man's World" as
it's called in Themyscira, the film plays light with a fish-out-of-water
scenario. Diana is direct, and doesn't understand the ways of the human world.
That includes social niceities and the subjugation of women in the early 20th
century. The film makes commentary on these subjects without appearing to
lecture its audience. Diana is the audience's lens to seeing how ridiculous
social morays were in 1918.
Once the team reaches the Western front in
Belgium, the film really kicks into gear. Diana, who had been told to cover
herself up in order to blend in with humans, is eager to stop the war and
destroy Ares. There's a spectacular, showcase, centerpiece, multiple
cheer-worthy sequence in the trenches of battle where Diana shows off her full
Wonder Woman costume/armor and takes the lead across No Man's Land, right in
the middle of a barrage of German gunfire. The men are so inspired by this
crazy action that they charge right up the line and re-take a Belgian town from
the Germans. That sequence was so much better than her reveal in Batman v
Superman.
I will admit that I had my share of doubts when
Gal Gadot was cast as Wonder Woman for Batman v Superman. She was the best part
of that movie, but now, she has shown that she makes this character, arguably
the third most beloved and well-known of superhero characters from DC Comics,
her very own. The most ridiculous aspects about the Wonder Woman character,
like her Lasso of Truth or her "God killer" sword are integral parts
of her character. More than the weapons and shields she carries, her purpose is
noble and true. She believes in a cause greater than who or what she is, and
the film is, amazingly, not bogged down by exploring any of that. They aren't
cheesy slogans that function as plot exposition, but rather a part of her whole
belief system. She aches that war can cause so much death and suffering. People
forget about the toll that World War I had on the world. Unlike its
larger-in-scope successor, there was no definition of success. The enemy was
not clear, a topic explored very well in this film. And people simply just died
while they were on the battlefield. Civilians were completely displaced from
their homes with little to no hope of the war stopping any time soon. The
much-discussed armistice would not even guarantee that the world would go to
war again.
There's weight to death in this superhero film
that isn't always present in other films. It's the essence of being a hero,
more than just defeating the villain; It is her duty to safeguard the lives of
every innocent being on the Earth. Diana knows this better than any superhero
that's been onscreen before. Superman and Batman before her were brooding and
dark heroes because they always questioned what their ultimate purpose was.
Wonder Woman is clear and concise about her desires and goals and how best to
achieve all of them.
That philosophy reflects in the film itself.
There are no dead spots; The film doesn't drag or have any extraneous subplots.
The framing device and plot structure is similar to Captain America: The First
Avenger, but connects to more of the DCEU without calling too much attention to
it. Outside of everything else, this is a film worthy of praise and cheer. DC
fans have been yearning for this for some time, especially as Marvel continues
its long run of success. They've finally found a film that works just as well
as, if not better than most of, the MCU.
- Flips a number of superhero tropes on their head in the best way possible
- Gal Gadot gives a solid performance that builds tremendously on her previous appearances
- It only serves to make the rest of the DCEU films look worse by comparison
TigerClaw
CONCURRING OPINION