Review of Wonder Woman (2017) by Vance F — 17 Nov 2017

I'm going to steal a thought Chris Pine shared during a late-night interview when describing Wonder Woman. I'm going to paraphrase. In a man's superhero world driven by getting revenge, or an eye-for-an-eye, or pride; a female led superhero movie offers a different perspective as seen through the lens of love. Throughout the movie you see Diana exhibit a naivety that's founded on love. You don't want to shake your head at her, you wish you could share her ideology. All this truly creates a unique and fantastic superhero movie.

We could go on for days how phenomenal Gal Gadot is as the Princess of Themyscira. She's strong but fragile. Determined but naive. Etta Candy said it right "..and she's suddenly not the most beautiful woman you've every seen?" Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman belongs in the ranks of perfectly cast roles such as Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man. And so what if she her hair never gets tangled and her makeup is always fresh? She's Wonder Woman, why wouldn't it be?!

Chris Pine's Steve Trevor is the perfect counter to Wonder Woman. A man who probably was just a naive, but the cruel world has made him jaded. Then it takes a great woman to bring out the best in him. This might have been Chris Pine's best role ever. Who knew he had such acting chops?! The audience instantly connects with him, as his journey in the movie helps guide us. His wit and humor, combined with a serious undertone is well balanced. He gives the audience time to chuckle when it's funny, and notice when it's time to get real. However, most compelling about his character, is under all the facade he really is vulnerable. You can really see this as he starts to fall in love for Diana, but then it's at the time his faith in humanity starts to renew. It's another great level to the movie in a world where Belle doesn't want to be vulnerable in "Beauty and the Beast" because it's to effeminate and weak. I say, who cares if it is? Who care's if it isn't? Being vulnerable is not a weakness, it creates the opportunity for strength and courage.

Visually it was great to see some color back in the DCEU. Thermyscira was breath-taking. And seriously, an entire island of women like Diana, can I go? The brightness is lost as we enter WWI and offers a nice juxtaposition. The plane colors makes sense in WWI, I just don't think it makes sense in Metropolis. I thought the balance between special effects and practical effects were mostly seamless.

I was amazed at how impressed I was at the action scenes. Nowadays every action scene gets bigger and bigger, we're oversaturated and hardly get impressed. But the fight on the beach is as beautiful and graceful as the women fighting it. Great blend of slow motion and action in the battle. The final fight scene does become weighed down by it's immenseness. It's huge and overly special effects driven, but the emotional gravity in the scene keeps us balanced. I'd be remise to not discuss the action scene we'll still be talking about 20 years from now: "No Mans Land." It is one of the best hero reveals of all-time. First off, Diana could have given us a cheesy "I'm no man." But instead she starts it off with "No, but it's what I came do to." You can feel hope rise as she pushes across the impossible battlefield, inspiring others for follow her. The score begins to build as well, giving the audience another layer of connection. Finally giving way to her iconic (yes iconic) Wonder Woman amazon battle score. That music makes me want to fight.

The villains are mostly forgettable. But that's really part of the movie world now. Scene time is rightfully dedicated to connecting the audience with the hero, the villain is not fleshed out. We know they're evil, and maybe that's all we need to know. It's not enough to bring the movie down. Overall, the well developed character leads, and strong supporting cast, combined with a fresh perspective place Wonder Woman near the top of great superhero movies.