Wonder Woman
/"You have been my greatest love. Today you become my greatest sadness. Be careful, Diana. They do not deserve you."
Filmology Rating: 3.2 out of 4
I don’t think anyone could understate the importance of Wonder Woman. I would argue that Wonder Woman is one of the most important characters in popular culture; if you asked someone on the street to just name superheroes I’m willing to bet they would say: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and then Wonder Woman. She is the only member of the Trinity to not have her solo movie; in fact, for a character who has been around for over seventy years, she has been left to only 70s television and direct to video animated films. The film community has been hungry for a female-centric superhero film and DC has finally delivered something that is worth watching with Wonder Woman.
For thousands of years the Amazons have lived on the tropical paradise Themyscira protecting the human world from any problems they might create, but everything changes when The Great War breaks out. Spy Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, crash lands on the island carrying secret information that will change the tide of the war. Trevor needs a way to get back to the world of Man and Diana, played by Gal Godot, decides to take him back so she can find and destroy the god of War, Ares.
I haven’t been able to wholeheartedly endorse a film lately: Alien: Covenant and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 are both films that are rather good but I still didn’t leave the film with full confidence in the film. I left Wonder Woman with more hope than I have had for any other film this year. Wonder Woman is what every comic book fan has been wanting DC to do: make an entertaining story about a character who we can root for. Wonder Woman isn’t full of the grey scale color that inhabited the world of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, nor does it have the tonal issues that Suicide Squad has. Wonder Woman is a complete vision which stays true to the heart of the character and most importantly is incredibly entertaining.
One of the big reasons that Wonder Woman is as successful as it is, is because of the stars: Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Godot was the only good aspect of BvS and this film is able to completely capitalize on her outstanding performance as Diana. The script, written by Allan Heinberg, is great at trusting the actors and not explaining every situation with dialogue but letting the actor sell the story beats with acting. A simple facial expression can give a clearer reading of the character a lot better than a line of dialogue could. One of the best examples of this in the film is when Diana is training on Themyscira and she is about to be defeated but she uses her bracelets to defend herself, setting off a powerful force that defeats her trainer. Godot gives the look of astonishment and fear in a matter of seconds, you quickly realize that she is the only woman on the island who has this power and she begins to question her place among her people at that exact moment. Not a single line needed to be spoken yet you understand her motivation for why she does certain things for the rest of the film just because of that little moment.
As for Chris Pine, I have been convinced since I first saw Star Trek that he is an actor who is greatly underappreciated and elevates every single film he is in. Pine could have easily played the role of Steve Trevor as the brainless handsome buffoon but he brings some deep dark pathos to the role. It’s one of those characters where whatever backstory you give the character, he actually had it worse. The chemistry that Godot and Pine have in this film is fantastic and you feel that they have known each other for years with the ways that they interact.
A review of Wonder Woman couldn’t be complete without talking about the No Man’s Land sequence. Without giving the entire sequence away, it moved me to tears. The act of heroism and selflessness is one of the most moving acts I have ever seen on the silver screen. The performance from Godot, the score by Rupert Gregson-Williams, the cinematography by Matthew Jensen, and the direction from Patty Jenkins all work seamlessly together to create a cinematic marvel. The sequence alone is worth the price of admission and I would argue reason to watch the film again and again.
Wonder Woman only has one slight fault and that comes in the third act when the film goes into conventional superhero film mode. Just like every other DC film, the film ends with a giant battle with the hero and the villain trying to punch each other to death, and in some films that battle works but in this film the ethical debates are what should be the highlight of the scene. Nature vs nurture, love vs hate, war vs peace; those concepts are rather complex and interesting to talk about but the film goes into rockem sockem robots mode and makes those concepts the secondary purpose of the climax. While I still found the end result to be moving, I can see those who did not have the Wonder Woman rose colored glasses on to find it on the weaker side.
After the lackluster films that Warner Brothers has made within the past five years with the DC characters, I thought I was never going to be able to enjoy a film. I’m excited to say that Wonder Woman is one of the best films in the superhero genre and one of the most hopeful films I have ever seen. Everyone needs to grab their lasso, bracelets, and shields and head out to see the latest warrior on the silver screen.
Rating: See It
-Jonny G
Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that's raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.
I finally saw this movie! I have been eagerly awaiting this film since the first trailer because it actually looked like it had a lot of promise. So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please stand up and give a round of applause because DC (extended universe) finally made a good superhero film! And who knew that it would have only taken a female director (Patty Jenkins) and a female lead (Gal Gadot) to make it happen, both of which Hollywood automatically assumes won’t be as successful as male lead and directed films….
I have to say that this was one of the best origin stories out there (other favorites are Christian Bale’s Batman and Ironman). What makes this film so great is that it takes its time. “Wonder Woman” is 2hrs. 20min long, a lot of it is storytelling and character development. It is this character development that was so great! Gal Gadot was absolutely perfect for this role. She nailed the look, had the Wonder Woman feel, and also was extremely powerful in her approach. There many times that I was getting chocked up and even in tears based off her emotional performance and the sheer humanity and bravery she had. Chris Pine was the perfectly pairing for her. He had excellent chemistry with her and together they created some electric moments, a very subtle love story, and some very funny moments. With these two characters, come two very different worlds. At different times of the story, they are in each other’s world where everything is new to them. These moments create really great scenes were things are so obvious to the other while the other is figuring things out and trying to make sense of everything. What I loved most was Wonder Woman in the human world experiencing the devastation that people do to one another. This part of the story opened up many different aspects of racism, hate, and lack of humanity at times, all of which were really moving.
Now there was a lot of dialogue and character development but there was also a good amount of action as well. When the action came, it brought it with full force! These were some of the best action scenes I’ve seen in a superhero film, specifically the beach battle on the Amazonian island and the frontline trench warfare sequence. Both of these were incredible! The action felt like the movie “300” with its slow motion sequences (don't worry, it was really well done) that created many epic shots. The ending does have a lot of CGI and did get a little more big scale than the rest of the prior action. While I didn’t have any problems with the CGI, I did think there was a switch of tone in the action. I wish they would have kept it a little more small scale for the big finale but once again, a very very minor thing.
With recent failures such as “Batman v Superman”, “Suicide Squad”, “Wonder Woman” will hopefully be the start of what DC can actually do. Keep it simple! Focus on a well written characters and a well thought out plot! That’s what those films were missing and that is what this film delivered. I really hope this success roles over into “Justice League” coming out later this year.
Rating: See It
-Nick