Movie Review: Wonder Woman (2017)

Directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster), Wonder Woman is a 2017 superheroine-action movie based on the DC Comics character of the same name. Following her, frankly abhorrent treatment in the mess that was Batman v Superman, Gal Gadot returns as Diana Prince, an Amazon warrior princess who travels from her home of Themyscira to London in order to aid Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) with his goal to stop the first world war. Believing the war to be of Ares’ doing, Diana attempts to locate the top German General Erich Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and his ally, deadly chemist Isable Maru (Elena Anaya), known to her enemies as Doctor Poison. Diana has been trained in combat since a young age, under the guidance of her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), and believes that killing Ares will stop all war.

+ as an origin story for Wonder Woman, a character we have officially already seen in Batman v Superman, and technically a prequel to that movie, this was perfect. The early life portions as a child and young adult on the island of Themyscira really helped fleshed out the motivations and ideologies of the third member of DC’s top trinity, and Diana’s (through some great Gadot acting) reactions to casualties and victims of war are almost heartbreaking
+ the human cast, led by Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) was fantastic. Scottish sniper Charlie (Ewen Bremner) was a personal favourite, and I want to know more about the whole team Diana and Steve work with. Though they were only together for a very short time, Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), Chief Napi (Eugene Brave Rock) and Charlie were all compelling characters. Trevor’s assistant/secretary Etta Candy (Lucy Davis) was similarly enjoyable, but underutilised
+ this absolutely felt like it’s own movie, and not an advertisement, either for a film to come later the way Batman v Superman did (for the upcoming Justice League), or toys and costumes, like Suicide Squad (which seemed solely to get Deadshot and Harley over to the masses for their eventual film appearances)
+ the incredible “Is She With You?” track from Batman v Superman has been extended into a whole soundtrack for this film. While I would have liked some more memorable music to go along with the same theme, I can’t deny I got a bit pumped every time it hit

wonderwoman_2.png
Using the photo, previously seen in Batman v Superman, was a particularly clever framing device for this movie to explore Diana’s past.

– I still don’t like Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. I am not necessarily faulting her acting, but in a similar way as Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, I simply still don’t buy her as her character. It is a combination of her accent and look (yes, including the “figure”, if you will, but not entirely). I did, however, like how tall she was, in comparison to the other characters, as you’d expect an Amazon to be
– too much slow motion action, especially from the amazons early in the film. It would have been better if they did these superhuman movements without drawing attention to them, as if they were just normal for these incredible warrior people

> Personally, I would have gone with a different attire, and done the long blue pants rather than the skirt. Hopefully they go that route in the future, but that is just a personal preference

Should you see this film: Yes. This is far and away the best of the DC movieverse so far, and while that might not be saying much, this is a good enough movie to stand on it’s own. There were some issues, in over-the-top action and plot pacing (and casting, as a personal issue) but these are very easily overlooked, which overall make for a movie anyone can enjoy.

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