I am really surprised that I waited so long to write this. I saw Wonder Woman after a long drive during opening weekend. I don't have a good reason, but I'm here now!
So, Wonder Woman. This is the DC movie we DESERVE. Finally, the powers that be saw fit to give us a movie from the DC Universe that is legitimately good. After suffering through Superman Returns, Green Lantern, Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman and Suicide Squad, DC finally gets one right. You'll notice I didn't include the Batman movies, even though I will gladly throw Dark Knight Rises under that same bus.
Anyways, this was a great movie. It is a bona fide super hero movie. Gone is the angst that DC brings to their movies. We finally get a movie that is full of color. Literally, it's not steeped in gray tones.
Since I've only watched this movie once and that was a few weeks ago, this might be shorter than normal because I'm working on what is a faulty memory. It's my own fault. I read and watch too much stuff that has rotted my brain.
Right out of the gate, we spend a good thirty minutes or so in Themyscira. Sorry if I gush a bit, but there was sunshine and lush greens. You have to understand, we just don't get this in a DC movie. I wanted to be on this island and NOT because it was full of Amazonian women. That comes second.
We get a taste of some of the kind of battle sequences that are to come with the rest of the movie. The slow motion shots that is used in a lot of action movies is one of those trite movie tropes that has become over used. When used correctly, it is an effective storytelling technique. It was used quite a bit in this movie, but I surprisingly never found myself sick of it. I think that speaks to how wrapped up I was in this movie.
Basically we get Wonder Woman's origin story, told for the benefit of those that do not know it. Now Wonder Woman has one of the more ridiculous origins, so thankfully they modernize it as best they can. We still have to accept she's a demi-god, but at this point, I should not be arguing with the realism of a comic book movie. After our time with Themyscira, we join the real world, already in progress.
One of the things I liked about this movie was the attention paid to Wonder Woman. Side note, Gal Gadot was fantastic. What I mean is she was layered. She's naive to the new world she's visiting, but she's not an idiot. They play up her fish out of water story a little, but they don't make it distract from the story. Thankfully they touch on it a little bit and then move on. Gal also tempers her with so much humanity, compassion and a warrior's spirit.
I liked that for most of the movie, they play up the gods as if it is something in Wonder Woman's mind. You spend the whole movie questioning whether she is crazy or not. Was everything she was ever taught a lie? I like that they play with this and have us doubting the validity of any of it for a while. Sure, she can do fantastic things, but you assume that is part of the training she went through and the gauntlets she wears.
In the middle chapter, there is a scene where she crosses, "No Man's Land" and it is one of many moments where you get really pumped up and find yourself cheering for Wonder Woman. I know I was! It's a feeling that is all too rare for me when I watch movies. I loved that I was feeling this way.
I really liked that there were not a lot of cameos to distract us here. The focus was on Wonder Woman where it needed to be. I liked Chris Pine's Steve Trevor and I think he had a believable chemistry with Gadot.
For all the great action sequences, I think the only thing I didn't really like was the last fight scene in the movie. I am a big fan of hand to hand combat because of all the choreography that goes into it. When you have people shooting laser beams at each other or just throwing stuff, I get bored. This movie had a lot of that kind of stuff in the end that I do not want to see. This movie felt more grounded and semi-realistic. Seeing this last fight undercuts that a bit.
I won't rail on this too much, but I also hate the use of CG Stuntmen. Every comic book movie has it because you just can't have people doing some of the things that the characters do. It's why I simultaneously love and hate action sequences in the Spider-Man movies especially. I want to see a person doing these stunts. Not some bad (in my eyes) CG. They never move realistically. It takes me right out of the movie.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the great orchestrated score in this movie. Wonder Woman's theme is still one of the best in the business.
Good for DC and good for Patty Jenkins. The whole time I was thinking, "If I man had made this movie, it wouldn't have felt as authentic and I bet they would have really leaned into that fish out of water arc for Wonder Woman". I hope we get more like this and more female directors get a shot at these big budget comic movies. I think there is a place for different voices in our comic book movies. They are popular enough that you can start playing around in the genre more.
I am glad that not only can I say that this is a good comic book movie, but that it is just a good movie in general.
