Review of Wonder Woman (2017) by Kosta V — 10 Jun 2017

To say it's the best DCEU movie so far isn't really praise at all, but Wonder Woman is, fortunately, much better than just the best of a bad bunch. Despite being set in one of the most disturbing and horrific periods of human history, it still manages to be more upbeat than MoS or BvS, because Diana is an optimist, and doesn't get all sad about being more powerful than everyone else, like Snyder's crybaby Clark does. She knows she was meant to help people, so she just steps up and does it - no tedious navel-gazing.

I've read comparisons to Captain America: The First Avenger and Richard Donner's original Superman, but they aren't really accurate beyond the superficial. WW is about the horror and moral murk of war, while CA is about punching Nazis for Uncle Sam. Diana is raised away from the modern world, and so has a realtively unbiased view of it, while Clark was raised The American Way (I like that Gadot has an accent other than American - makes the character more...global?). Diana doesn't care so much about winning the war (apart from her personal war with Ares) - she just wants it to stop, however that can be achieved. You could also say it's a bit like Thor, I suppose, in that it depicts an ancient nonhuman in a fish-out-of-water situation, but that's as far as the similarity goes.

My point is that, in an era saturated with superhero movies, it manages to be unique in many respects, not only because the lead character is female (which shouldn't be unique, or even rare at this point, but sadly is).

Come to think of it, I also got a bit of a Highlander vibe. Which is, obviously, something every movie should aspire to.

Some have complained that it's yet another origin story. But, unlike, say, Bats, Supes and Spidey, it's not one we've ever seen on film before, and it's a different kind of origin story. No dead parents, no radioactive whatevers, no performance-enhancing thingos. Even Thor was forced into action due to his banishment, while Diana volunteers.

The story has real depth, as do the characters and the relationships between them. It's rich and compelling, suspenseful and satisfying, more so than pretty much any recent superhero movie I can think of. The Marvels, while fun and entertianing, are mostly pretty superficial, with the occasional exception. This goes further than any of them, but is equally fun.

Gal Gadot is magnetic, and effectively renders Diana's strength (of body and character), naivety, vulnerability and compassion. She also looks completely badass at all times. Chris Pine is as charming and cool as we've come to expect from Captain Kirk, and also balances the light and the heavy with skill. The chemistry between the two is obvious, and the romance between the characters entirely believable.

The supporting cast are mostly fine as well, though Danny Huston, who I've never been super impressed by, gnaws on the scenery a bit. Even Ewen Bremner's go-to 'wacky Scotsman' has more depth than previous iterations, and he plays it well.

Some of the action scenes perhaps overdo the CGI a bit, but no more than any other modern superhero movie. And at least the action is VISIBLE, despite much of the movie being set at night, due to a welcome lack of greengrassing. The camera moves, sure, conveying a sense of chaos, but actually allows you to see the fight choreography, unlike a lot of modern actiin flicks. The Snyder-like variable speed (slowing down for cool hero shots in fight scenes) is maybe overused a bit, but is forgivable. One upside of the dim days and long nights is that the lasso really pops on screen - it looks cool.

Jenkins > Snyder.

Overall, Wonder Woman is far more thoughtful (in the right way), fun and satisfying than the Snyder/Ayer DCEU efforts so far, and a great first-ever cinematic outing for both WW and (at least in the last decade or more) superheroines in general. As good as, though quite different to, the top-tier Marvel films.

So...when do we get a sequel?