Wonder Woman

Empowering!

"Long ago when time was new..." Are the first lines uttered by Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) to explain a preschooler Diana of Themyscira (Lilly Aspell) how war changed the world forever. Before women followed a separate path from men, the almighty Zeus went into a war against Ares, his own son who grew jealous of mankind and poisoned men with deadly sins, thus unraveling a deadly war between God & men. 

Directed by Patty Jenkins & written by Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg & Jason Fuchs, Wonder Woman is a cinematic triumph that comes 77 years after the conception of the first fully independent female superhero of all time. 

In a world of peaceful women...

...There's no place for men.

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, William Moulton Marston AKA Charles Moulton (creator of Wonder Woman) wrote: "Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

Today, in 2017 we're living in a world that is always in motion with social issues and the fight for equality still has a long way to go for the final blow. Wonder Woman is the very first live action film about a super heroine (let's just not count that awful 2004 Catwoman flick that had nothing to do with comic books) The last known interpretation of the character was the cult 70's series starred by Lynda Carter & Lyle Wagoner from 1977 to 1979. There was an aborted attempt at a 2011 WW series and besides animated DC Comics film, the industry is beginning to pay a long overdue debt with female audiences. 

Diana, the most powerful amazon.

More than meets the eye.

We join Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) at the Louvre. She tells us a little about her past and her mixed views on mankind. She's working at her desk when representatives from Wayne Enterprises come into her office. They come offering gifts however and Diana accepts the briefcase they give her. Inside is the original photograph of her and her compatriots: Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), Sameer (Said Tagmhaoui), Charlie (Ewen Brenner) and The Chief (Eugene Brave Rock). They fought together in war-torn Belgium during the First World War. With the photo comes a note from Bruce saying that "someday Diana has to tell Bruce her story". The photo is precious to Diana and she begins to fill us in on what happened to her so long ago.

When Batman v Superman featured the same photo I figured the WW film had to be the story behind the picture. Obviously, that was the WW1 setting which brought a unique backdrop full of interesting moments like Wonder Woman's fight across No Man's Land. WW1 is rarely covered in Hollywood and they make connections to real WW1 issues like the introduction of gas attacks into warfare. I thought it was impressive that they capitalized on such a strong concept, I have to credit the writers and director Patty Jenkins for doing such an excellent job.
 

"I'll help you find Ares Diana".

Fitting in.

It wasn't that long ago that Warner Bros. and DC were hearing tons of complaints about Gal Gadot being cast as Wonder Woman. Crap like "She's not American", "She's no actress" and a long list of fanboy nonsense proved the world (of haters at least) wrong and proved Gadot right!. WW was never American! She's an Amazonian! and her Israeli English accent is fitting for the role. Unlike what Lynda Carter did earlier in the 70's. After all, she was 1972's Miss World America. Gal Gadot's WW is strong yet vulnerable and completely holds up her end as Diana from both dramatic and action oriented standpoints. They made a good call casting somebody of Pine's caliber beside her. He has a cool character to work with but he also balances his character's responsibilities as a spy and a guide to Diana for this new world she's experiencing. Danny Huston and Elena Anaya are both good but they're undercut by their characters in the end. I really liked the other members of Diana's crew even if they're not as central to the plot as they make them seen. I especially thought Said did a good job, he helps sell some of the nuanced emotional moments. Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen are also really good, the stuff with Diana's past could have been hokey but they handle it so well that it actually works.

Wonder Woman includes everything you want in the superhero genre. The action is well shot, it's not necessarily anything mind-blowing but there are a few nice set pieces. It joins Deadpool and Captain America: The First Avenger in being one of the few superhero movies where they have a romantic subplot that actually works. There are also some funny moments, most of them at Diana's expense of not knowing what the world was like in the 1910s. Lucy Davis is largely there as comedic relief as Etta and she does a decent job helping keep things light.

Good woman.

Bad woman.

For all the glowing reviews Wonder Woman, its not perfect. They do a great job setting up the villains and they even throw a curve ball at the end. But I didn't think they were very memorable and you're not going to remember Wonder Woman for their characters. They also gouge a few of the background villains pretty badly to lend some credibility to the main villain which wasn't my favorite choice. The ending wasn't poorly done but it devolves into the same fight we've seen in a dozen other superhero movies. I get we need a big finish but the rest of the movie deserved a better finale.

I've been a little more forgiving of some of DCs franchises so far (I thought Man of Steel and Suicide Squad had their moments) but this is easily DCs best movie since Christopher Nolan was in control of Batman. They take advantage of an underused setting, Wonder Woman is a great protagonist and the cast (specifically Gal Gadot and Chris Pine) deliver strong performances. The movie isn't flawless however and I think the hype train has gotten a little out of control. It actually falls victim to some pretty typical minor issues for the genre. We should celebrate the fact that DC gave us a well-made and satisfying origin for Wonder Woman, if you have a chance to go see it, I would recommend it. 

Here's the movie trailer: