Directed by the first female director in the DC Cinematic Universe, Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman tells the origin of the Princess of Amazons, Diana.
Diana (Gal Gadot) wishes to become one of the warriors in her mother’s Amazonian army, but the queen (Connie Nielsen) forbids it as she fears for her child’s safety. Eventually, Diana is allowed to train with the Amazonians and quickly realizes who (or what) she truly is. As soon as Diana realizes her true potential, a pilot (Chris Pine) crashes on her island of Themyscira during the “war to end all wars”. Diana vows that the war is her destiny and leaves home to fight in it.
Praises
Acting
Gal Gadot is fantastic in her portrayal of the incredible Wonder Woman. When Gadot was first cast, there was much backlash. She wasn’t an actress that many people were familiar with and she hadn’t truly ‘wowed’ the people who knew who she was. I, for one, was iffy with the selection of her as our Diana Prince. I didn’t know her all too well outside of the Fast and Furious saga, and she wasn’t amazing in those movies either. By the time Batman v. Superman released, I was sold. She was a badass during her small role in that film and convinced me that she could play the part. Anyway, she stole the show in Wonder Woman. She was perfect and delivered all her lines, although sometimes cheesy, perfectly. I can’t see anyone else portraying the Amazonian princess after her amazing portrayal.
Chris Pine was fantastic as Diana’s love interest, Steve Trevor. Pine has to be one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie of his where he was less than fantastic. The guy knows how to act and does incredibly well in this film. He was hilarious when he needed to be, but was a true badass when it came time for him to be one.
Story Telling
Unlike any other DC movie so in this universe so far, Wonder Woman was truly inspiring. That’s what truly sets it above the rest of DC’s movies. From start to finish, the story inspired the viewers to become a greater version of themselves as they joined Diana on her journey to discover her true meaning. The pacing of this well thought out, but simple, story was executed to near perfection. There were a few moments where it felt dragged on, but those moments were essential to the story and I understand why they were there.
Computer Generated Images (CGI)
I’ve heard a lot of negative comments on the CGI used in this film and I have to say, WHAT? This had to be the best looking DC movie yet! There was never a time during this film where I thought the CGI was done poorly. In fact, there was so much CGI incorporated in the third act of this film, but it was never an issue because it looked so beautiful.
Humor
Ever since the start of this universe, everyone has been complaining about the lack of comedy in DC’s movies. Although I agree that comedy should be a part of comic book movies, I worry that DC will overdo it like Marvel often does. Thankfully, they got it perfect in Wonder Woman. The comedy wasn’t too overdone, but was as apparent as it needed to be. However, I still worry that DC will get too crazy with comedy and turn Justice League into a big budget action/comedy movie like The Avengers.
Feminism
It’s obvious that this movie is centered around a female lead and, given the history behind female led superhero movies, was destined to fail. It didn’t. Why? A small part of this movies success is definitely thanks to Patty Jenkins’ open mindedness on the issue of feminism. Unlike much of the past female led superhero flicks, Wonder Woman doesn’t go out of its way to bash men and praise women. It simply presents a very strong female lead with the help of very strong male leads. Thank you, Patty Jenkins.
Polishes
Villains
General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya) were typical comic book movie villains. They were generic in their mission objectives. I never cared much about the General throughout this film. He was weakly written and, surprisingly so, weakly portrayed. Also, Dr. Poison was hyped up as almost a Scarecrow-type villain for Wonder Woman, but she was such a weak villain. It was very frustrating to see her character flesh out and then just get dumped by the writers. By the time Ares comes into play, Dr. Poison is almost forgotten about.
Ares, the God of War, was very weak. At first, he was intimidating and frightening, but like all superhero movies: he eventually dumbs down. A veteran and war hardened Wonder Woman needed help from Batman and Superman to kill Doomsday during Batman v. Superman. However, Doomsday is an ant when compared to Ares. That being said: somehow, Wonder Woman (in her first ever battle) easily destroys… yes, DESTROYS Ares. It was awesome to watch, but very frustrating when I think back to it. Ares deserved more respect than he ever got during the third act.
Verdict
Overall, Wonder Woman is the best DC Universe movie yet. It is the first truly “fun” movie in this universe and brings joy and inspiration to the viewer no matter the gender.
87%
DC Cinematic Universe So Far…
Wonder Woman (2017) – 87%
Batman v. Superman (2016) – 78%
Man of Steel (2013) – 76%
Suicide Squad (2016) – 70%
