WONDER WOMAN (2017) - A new hope for the DCEU and female-led superhero movies
Wonder Woman is a 2017 superhero movie directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. The film follows Diana Prince (Gadot) as she trains to become a warrior before meeting Steve Trevor (Pine) and deciding to leave her home island of Themyscira to fight alongside him in World War I.
It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been something of a cultural phenomenon ever since the original Iron Man released in 2008. It's also no secret that the DC Extended Universe has been doing everything it possibly can to catch up to the MCU's massive financial success, unfortunately with relatively little to show for it. The DCEU's previous three entries--Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad--have been anything from moderately successful to abject commercial and critical failures. The DCEU is in desperate need of at least one successful film to ready audiences for Justice League, to be released November of this year. In addition to this, female-led superhero films have been universally terrible, with the last attempt being 2005's Elektra (don't ask). Fortunately for all of us, Wonder Woman delivers its promise of a strong entry in the DCEU as well as the first truly good female superhero film.
The Characters
Gadot owns the role as Wonder Woman in the iconic character's first ever live-action adaptation on the big screen, breathing new life in the DCEU with a heroine that is radiant, uplifting, and relatable (a first for DCEU movies). A good portion of the film highlights her "fish out of water" situation as she adjusts to life in WWI-era London, and Gadot plays the part convincingly alongside Chris Pine's character. Her accent for the character is mostly good, even if it gets a bit distracting once or twice. While her performance as Diana Prince the character is very well done, her performance as Wonder Woman the warrior can be subpar at moments, lacking the intensity needed for some of the final battles.
Pine's Steve Trevor is a charming and charismatic English spy who has great chemistry with Gadot and gives an overall excellent performance, as does Robin Wright who plays Antiope, Diana's aunt. The rest of the cast give decent, but highly forgettable performances. Because so much of the film focuses on the core duo, characters like Etta Candy (Trevor's secretary as seen in all the trailers) and the three other members of Trevor's team ultimately become completely inconsequential to the story, with each having approximately a single line of dialogue to slightly flesh out their characters.
The villain is comparative to the subpar roster of MCU villains that can be summed up as "fine, but forgettable," though there is a twist that is somewhat interesting. Ultimately though, nothing to write home about.
The Story
"Above average Marvel movie" is perhaps the best way to describe Wonder Woman's plot--and this is really not such a bad thing. Previous DCEU films have either tried too hard to have a deep and complex story (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman) or completely threw it out the window (I'm looking at you, Suicide Squad). This film instead finds a healthy balance between the two; having a simple story that is fun and entertaining while also containing appreciable themes on the truths and terrors of wartime as well as the nature of evil. It's nothing Aristotle, but it does go a bit deeper than your average surface-level action blockbuster.
The pacing of the movie can be compared to that of Rogue One. While the action scenes are better spread out and the movie has a riveting final thirty minutes, a decent portion of the middle is slow and boring. A bit too much time is spent with characters we don't care much about, leaving the movie a bit watered-down.
Cinematography and Music
Immediately noticeable is how saturated, bright, and colorful the film is compared to the previous doom and gloom DCEU movies. Themyscira is an absolutely gorgeous sight to behold and Wonder Woman's beautiful costume truly shines as one of the best looking live-action superhero costumes I've ever seen. One minor complaint is that I wish they had kept the outfit a little more colorful in the war scenes, which has heavily muted colors (it is a war after all). The action scenes are fairly well filmed, though the frequent use of slow-motion can get a bit annoying at times. Music is pretty good but not great, with the Wonder Woman theme standing out as immediately memorable while (thankfully) not being overplayed.
Final Verdict
Wonder Woman is an overall well done origin story for the iconic character and marks the first strong entry in the DCEU's lineup, making me hope Justice League will be the massive success we've been waiting for. The film is gorgeous to look at with two good leads and a good story, though it suffers from a lack of memorable side characters and poor pacing. While probably not worth a second viewing, it is a good solid movie that will hopefully inspire even more female superheroes onto the big screen.
Score: B-
It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been something of a cultural phenomenon ever since the original Iron Man released in 2008. It's also no secret that the DC Extended Universe has been doing everything it possibly can to catch up to the MCU's massive financial success, unfortunately with relatively little to show for it. The DCEU's previous three entries--Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad--have been anything from moderately successful to abject commercial and critical failures. The DCEU is in desperate need of at least one successful film to ready audiences for Justice League, to be released November of this year. In addition to this, female-led superhero films have been universally terrible, with the last attempt being 2005's Elektra (don't ask). Fortunately for all of us, Wonder Woman delivers its promise of a strong entry in the DCEU as well as the first truly good female superhero film.
The Characters
Gadot owns the role as Wonder Woman in the iconic character's first ever live-action adaptation on the big screen, breathing new life in the DCEU with a heroine that is radiant, uplifting, and relatable (a first for DCEU movies). A good portion of the film highlights her "fish out of water" situation as she adjusts to life in WWI-era London, and Gadot plays the part convincingly alongside Chris Pine's character. Her accent for the character is mostly good, even if it gets a bit distracting once or twice. While her performance as Diana Prince the character is very well done, her performance as Wonder Woman the warrior can be subpar at moments, lacking the intensity needed for some of the final battles.
Pine's Steve Trevor is a charming and charismatic English spy who has great chemistry with Gadot and gives an overall excellent performance, as does Robin Wright who plays Antiope, Diana's aunt. The rest of the cast give decent, but highly forgettable performances. Because so much of the film focuses on the core duo, characters like Etta Candy (Trevor's secretary as seen in all the trailers) and the three other members of Trevor's team ultimately become completely inconsequential to the story, with each having approximately a single line of dialogue to slightly flesh out their characters.
The villain is comparative to the subpar roster of MCU villains that can be summed up as "fine, but forgettable," though there is a twist that is somewhat interesting. Ultimately though, nothing to write home about.
The Story
"Above average Marvel movie" is perhaps the best way to describe Wonder Woman's plot--and this is really not such a bad thing. Previous DCEU films have either tried too hard to have a deep and complex story (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman) or completely threw it out the window (I'm looking at you, Suicide Squad). This film instead finds a healthy balance between the two; having a simple story that is fun and entertaining while also containing appreciable themes on the truths and terrors of wartime as well as the nature of evil. It's nothing Aristotle, but it does go a bit deeper than your average surface-level action blockbuster.
The pacing of the movie can be compared to that of Rogue One. While the action scenes are better spread out and the movie has a riveting final thirty minutes, a decent portion of the middle is slow and boring. A bit too much time is spent with characters we don't care much about, leaving the movie a bit watered-down.
Cinematography and Music
Immediately noticeable is how saturated, bright, and colorful the film is compared to the previous doom and gloom DCEU movies. Themyscira is an absolutely gorgeous sight to behold and Wonder Woman's beautiful costume truly shines as one of the best looking live-action superhero costumes I've ever seen. One minor complaint is that I wish they had kept the outfit a little more colorful in the war scenes, which has heavily muted colors (it is a war after all). The action scenes are fairly well filmed, though the frequent use of slow-motion can get a bit annoying at times. Music is pretty good but not great, with the Wonder Woman theme standing out as immediately memorable while (thankfully) not being overplayed.
 |
| Probably my favorite shot in the movie |
Wonder Woman is an overall well done origin story for the iconic character and marks the first strong entry in the DCEU's lineup, making me hope Justice League will be the massive success we've been waiting for. The film is gorgeous to look at with two good leads and a good story, though it suffers from a lack of memorable side characters and poor pacing. While probably not worth a second viewing, it is a good solid movie that will hopefully inspire even more female superheroes onto the big screen.
Score: B-
nice la :D
ReplyDeleteSounds like an expert! Next time, final verdict should be short and more to the point. Sometime I just don't want to read the whole thing, and your final conclusion should give me a good light on me spending my momey in theater or not.
ReplyDelete