Doesn’t the old adage go something like “leave it to a woman to clean up a man’s mess?” Whatever the case, we all need to thank director Patty Jenkins. Wonder Woman is an absolute spectacle on the silver screen. After Batman vs. Superman and Suicide Squad, I’ve come to happily verify that DC has finally, finally, got it right.
But before I delve deep into the lovefest that is Wonder Woman, I’ll get the few nicks out the way first. If you were looking forward to this following the comic series you’re going to be disappointed. Lasso? Yup. Invisible plane? Nope. Will you hear anyone throughout the film actually call her Wonder Woman? Nope. But do you get two hours and twenty-one minutes of Gal Gadot in 100% epic awesomeness? Yup. Does her outfit look exactly like it did in the original? Negative. It actually looks exactly like what we saw from Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Awesome female superhero movie? Yes. First female superhero movie? No, so stop saying that (pretty please). Lastly, while Gal Gadot was a sight to be seen, Chris Pine just didn’t do it for me. Not only did he put on a better performance in Star Trek, every time I saw him that’s all I could think of, Star Trek. As an actor I like him, but he was not the guy to play opposite Gal.
Now that we’ve got that out the way, let me start off by saying how pleased I was with the casting. Diana (Gal Gadot) is Princess of the Amazons on an island paradise (Themyscira) setup by Zeus to protect them from the outside world and the wrath of Aries, the god of war. We get to see an island full of bad ass women train, fight, wreck shop, break things, and ooze confidence left and right, and I’m all for it. Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, and Ann Ogbomo are shredded, sword-wielding warriors who train day and night to protect their island paradise. The Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) appoints her sister Antiope (Robin Wright) to train the mightiest of warriors on the island. One of the mighty warriors who participated in training Diana was Philippus (Ann Ogbomo).
This women-filled utopia is disrupted when two first name having spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashes his plane during World War I in a particular part of the ocean where he haphazardly falls through a type of portal. This transitions him to the island of Themyscira where he, still strapped inside his damaged plane, crashes into their waters where he begins to drown.
The very start of the film picks up where BvS left off, as she disappears from the public eye. The storyline does an excellent job intertwining the two films together as a sort of ‘continuation’ if you will, instead of a new, separate story. We learn how the Amazons came to be, their purpose, and that Diana is far more powerful than any of us (including her) could’ve imagined.
Even though the primary antagonist is a man (Ludendorff played by Danny Hutson), the secondary is a woman, Dr. Poison (Elena Anaya). The setting is perfect for this film since it’s WWI and women were still seen as less than thou. Then all of a sudden Diana shows up in the middle of a war in the early 1900’s going about as she pleases and having the audacity to tell men anything. Just like you’ll never hear anyone call her “Wonder Woman” you won’t hear anyone say “World War.” But you will hear terms such as “The Great War” and the “War To End All Wars.” That is how we know for sure that it’s set during World War I (those are both nicknames for WWI).
Before the film begins, you’re going to be blessed with a saucy trailer for Justice League. It’s very pleasing to know that DC has finally turned things around and are navigating the path they should’ve gone in the first place. I’m not sure about the obsession with Zack Snyder (who was a part of this, even though he didn’t direct it) but I’m glad he didn’t sway this film to ruin.
I give Wonder Woman an 8 out of 10. As I stated early on, the film is 2 hrs. 21 mins and you won’t have to sit through the first hour of nauseating character development (the first half of Alien: Covenant was a straight snooze fest). This one’s cool for kids since there’s no lovey-dovey mess in here and only adults will get the adult comedy. It’s not a Marvel film so there’s no need to wait through the credits. Once it’s over you may leave immediately and tell the world of the greatness you witnessed. It’s all the tank throwing, lasso pulling, shield smacking, forearm bullet blocking action you yearned for.
-Jon J.