So... I'm sorry about the delay in getting this posted. I had another review that I was trying to get published before this one, but the summer has gotten a bit crazy, and I haven't been able to give that post the attention it needs. So I am going to throw out a quick review of Wonder Woman, an hopefully get that other post finished by next week. As always, spoilers for the movie, so if you don't want to know about the big plot twist at the end, don't read past the third paragraph.
There is always a bit of trepidation going into a D.C. movie these days. With the disappointments that were Man of Steel, Batman Vs. Superman, and Suicide Squad, D.C. fans have learned not to get their hopes up with this new extended universe. So, I went into Wonder Woman hopeful, but not necessarily expecting to much. What I got was actually better than I expected; a good movie that embraced the best parts of the comic book genre and character, while still remaining thoughtful and engaging. The cast was excellent, the story well constructed, and overall it took great advantage of the source material. While this film was not necessarily my favorite superhero movie of the year, it was the best entry into the D.C. cinematic universe so far, and went a long way in providing hope for future D.C. endeavors.
The story, effects, and characters all unite to make Wonder Woman a highly entertaining, enjoyable, and good film. As superhero origins go, it bears some striking similarities to the first Captain America movie. A period piece taking place during World War 1, Wonder Woman is able to embrace a nostalgic idealism and innocence that is often lacking in the more contemporary origin stories. The story follows Diana Prince as she leaves her Amazonian homeland in an effort to stop WW1 by destroying Ares, the god of war and (in Diana's mind) the inciting cause for the violence and bloodshed. The film is a heartwarming combination of fish out of water (Diana has never left her homeland and stands out awkwardly in 20th century London), female empowerment in a world of male oppression, and amazing superhero battles. While each of these elements is present, the story never feels bogged down needless philosophizing or social justice baggage. Instead, each of these elements is well balanced by thoughtful character development, personal interaction, and plenty of awesome fight action. Particularly compelling is the Diana's journey from London to the front lines, as she gets to know her companions and begins to realize that the world is more complicated than her upbringing had lead her to believe. This culminates in one of the most awesome battle sequences I have seen, when Wonder Woman marches into No-Man's-Land to save people whose village has been overrun by German soldiers. The whole arc is well constructed and well realized. and demonstrates the power that an emphasis on character and personal relationships can have in a superhero movie.
One of D.C.'s strengths in their cinematic universe has been the excellent casting, and Wonder Woman takes full advantage of this fact. Gal Gadot is fantastic as the Amazon princess; bringing a brilliant combination of innocence, idealism, and badassery to the roll. She always stands out; on an island of warrior women, she is exceptional, in the dirt and grime of early 20th century London she is an exotic beauty, and in the trenches of World War 1 she becomes a warrior goddess of hope and victory. And somehow, Gadot is able to shine in all these locations and situations; she is personable yet peerless, kind yet violent, idealistic and innocent. The mess of contradictions that make Wonder Woman so unique are all brought to life through Gal Gadot's superb performance. She is upheld by a stellar supporting cast; Chris Pine in particular is dazzling as Steve Trevor: WW1 spy and pilot, who balances out Diana's hopeful idealism with a realism that edges toward cynicism, but never quite crosses that line. Pine's Trevor does a great job taking Diana's idiosyncrasies in stride; balancing period prejudices with personal pragmatism and unadultered delight in the magnificent woman he is traveling with. The rest of the cast takes their cue from Pine, approaching Gadot's Wonder Woman with a mix of admiration, trepidation, and ultimately exhilaration at what she do.
If there is one casting weakness, it is the surprise(ish) reveal that David Thewlis's Sir Patrick is actually Ares, the god of war. I go back and forth on this choice. On the one hand, it was nice to see the film thoughtfully undercutting the audiences preconception of the character by having the pasty, wimpy British dude be the big bad god of war. It fit really well with the movie's theme that often times good and evil are not as clear cut as they might initially seem. Unfortunately, even with the aid of C.G.I. Thewlis simply does not embody the violence, the rage, the fearsome nature of Ares, either from mythology or from the Wonder Woman comics. While the character works fine for the story, I felt the casting could have been a bit stronger, and the finale suffered slightly for the choice. All three main villains have difficulty, as they all come across as slightly cartoon-ish and a bit melodramatic for my tastes. However, this is almost inevitable given Wonder Woman's innocence and idealism; oftentimes a hero that stands for a particular ideal ends up facing a villain defies those ideals, and consequentially is evil for evil's sake, which is less realistic and compelling than those villains who pursue good ends to an extreme or embody the same qualities as the hero but express them in a different manner. Unfortunately, both Ludendorf and Dr. Maru are simply psychopaths who delight in the pain of others, while Ares, while more philosophically complicated is so utterly non-intimidating that he loses power as a villain.
Along with the (mostly) excellent casting, Wonder Woman also goes back to the basics of the superhero. While Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of the motives of the main characters (more on that here), Wonder Woman unashamedly proclaimed the virtue of a hero who chooses that path because of her character, not her history. Diana wants to be a hero because she cares about people; she is not driven by the death of her parents or a similarly traumatic life event. She wants to be a hero because she wants to help others. Like Captain America in the M.C.U., Wonder Woman is a true hero, a hero who stands up for her ideals instead of against the actions of others, and this is what makes her such a compelling symbol and example to the people around her. Characters like Wonder Woman, Captain America (and in a perfect world, Superman) inspire others to be better, stronger, more hopeful because of their examples. While this type of heroism is less popular to our present, cynical movie goers, it is a necessary component for these extended superhero universes. Idealistic goodness inspires greater heroism, while the gritty, "realistic" pursuit of justice can only inspire admiration or fear, but not necessarily imitation. A heroic team needs idealism as much as it needs pragmatism in order to function, and Wonder Woman's innocence and essential goodness is a breath of fresh air in the D.C. world of gritty, angst ridden superheroes who are constantly questioning themselves and moping.
While I thought Wonder Woman was good, I don't know that it was as good as the hype has led people to believe. At times the story feels a bit rushed in places and predictable in others. While it was refreshing to have a female superhero starring in her own movie, that was the only "unique" aspect of the film. Otherwise, it was a pretty generic superhero origin film that didn't really do anything new. So while Wonder Woman was a bright and shining example of how to make a good D.C. superhero movie, it still fell short of all that we know a superhero movie can be. It is my third favorite superhero movie of the year so far, falling far behind The Lego Batman with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 narrowly beating it out for second (reviews for each of those here and here). Ultimately, what was so wonderful about Wonder Woman was that it was good enough; good enough to keep alive my hopes for the D.C. cinematic universe, and good enough to keep alive my hopes for future movies starring female superheroes, directed by talented female directors, that place women on an equal footing in a male dominated genre.
Well, back to reality.
