Wonder why it took so long...
It took DCEU 4 attempts to FINALLY get it right - and this win couldn’t come any sooner, especially after the colossal failure that was Suicide Squad*.
Wonder Woman is a fantastic movie - going off tangent to narrate an origin story within the already established arc set up in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The back story is narrated in a manner which is neither too innovative, nor is too plain. Perhaps that's for good reason as well .
There’s a book i’ve always wanted to read - “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”. It’s been speculated - and indeed acknowledged by creators themselves - that this book & the “structure” it has outlined, are visible in many popular works of fiction (George Lucas in Star Wars, works by Neil Gaiman, Harry Potter, the TV series Lost - to name a few - and even musicians like Bob Dylan & Jim Morrison).
[The below review has practically no spoilers, but discretion is welcome!]
Early on we are introduced to the world of Themyscira - a mythical land hidden away from Mankind. It establishes very quickly who the Amazonian women are, and what is their essence. Young Diana is marked for greatness and everyone knows it - it’s just a matter of when & never if. Trained to become the greatest Amazonian Warrior by her aunt Antiope, Diana excels - even as her mother Queen Hippolyta is worried about her eventual fate because of the growing fear that the God of War Ares is looming over the world as we know it.
An encounter with Steve Trevor & a subsequent clash with soldiers in his pursuit makes Diana resolve to head into the World to defeat Ares once & for all. She gears up with her signature weapons - and head into London (following a brilliant boat ride scene!).
Once in the New World (of the World War 1 era) Diana quickly begins to question the ways of modern man, the (lack of) authoritative figures and flawed social & moral structures.
In the end she faces her adversaries, learns about how mankind isn’t a complete failure - and vows to protect the world as we know it.
Gal Gadot embodies all the values Wonder Woman stands for. She brings alive Diana’s wisdom, naivete and fierceness brilliantly. Fans of the comic have stated the long wait for seeing WW on screen has been worth it because of the stellar performance by the Israeli.
Chris Pine steals the show as Steve Trevor. His character arc is genuinely one of the best written pieces we’ve come across - i believe this even surpasses the limited pool of superhero movies and spills over to most movies we’ve encountered in our lifetimes.
The rest of the supporting cast does a strictly commendable job. The antagonist of this film comes across as a bit weak and unexplored - an issue which plagues superhero movies in general (bar only a couple of notable exceptions).
Patty Jenkins does a stunning job and narrates an above average tale efficiently yet deftly. i read there was no single “deleted scene” in this movie - such a level of control & perfection must be applauded heavily!
Special mention to the “No Man’s Land” fight sequence - it is SPECTACULAR!!
Hopefully the duo of Gadot & Jenkins come back to take this story forward in a future installment to lend more credibility to the much maligned DC Cinematic Universe.
i’ll rate this movie 7.5 out 10.
Cheers….
P.S. - in case you noticed - up until i’ve ensured that there are no comparisons to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to male superhero movies in general or highlighting the issue that Patty Jenkins is a woman.
I didn’t even have to try hard!
A movie like Wonder Woman merits judgement on it’s own - and comes up a winner very comfortably.
There have been some claims that the Themyscira segment is both too long/unnecessary & too short/under cooked.
It just proves that there is criticism for the sake of it, and not because it ought to be rightly raised.
This movie about a female super heroine directed by a woman is going to be judged more stringently from the get go. No matter how well made the film is, it’s quality & success are being questioned rather unfairly.
Despite being a Tier 1 super heroine, not all audiences across the globe will be familiar with Wonder Woman’s back story or her mythology. i found that segment just right.
To that effect - many Marvel Cinematic movies also suffer from the long drawn exposition & muddled origin stories. DC’s own film Man Of Steel couldn’t manage to avoid that pitfall.
Wonder Woman should rank right along side Captain America: First Avenger, Iron Man, Guardians Of The Galaxy & Sam Riami’s Spiderman as one of the definitive superhero movies ever made.
Which brings me to the * i added in the very first line - about Suicide Squad.
i feel Suicide Squad is one of the worst superhero movies made in the past few years - DC tried to rush through their own version of Guardians Of The Galaxy [lovable anti heroes, diverse star cast, emphasis on soundtrack, over the top visuals et al] and failed miserably at it. Critics panned it, it’s own stars had issues with the theatrical release [cue Jared Leto whining] and fans complained loudly about the terrible distribution of screen time across multiple characters (Joker, Waller, Boomerang etc.)
YET - that movie made a staggering 745 million dollars (approx) while WW is struggling to reach the 500 million dollar despite having practically no competition in the theaters right now (it’s closest blockbuster rival is… The Mummy).
FFS!!!