Seventy-four years. It's really taken
this long for Wonder Woman to have her own feature-length,
theatrically released, live-action film? Batman's had nine and
Superman's had eight (if we don't count Suicide Squad or The
Lego Movie), but despite being considered one of DC Comics' Big
Three, Diana Prince has had to wait until 2017 to finally have a
starring role in a movie of her own. So was it worth the wait? Let's
take a look!
Wonder Woman tells us the origin
of its titular hero from her formative years on the Island of
Themyscira to her first exposure to mankind in Europe during the
First World War. This makes for a pretty interesting and different
origin story (though it might just feel that way because we haven't
seen numerous on-screen re-imaginings of it). The overall story isn't
terribly original, but it's done with a new character we only had a
brief taste of in 2016's Batman v Superman, so I'm game. Plus
it takes place in WWI, which is awesome. Wonder Woman's
themes focus heavily on war, bringing to question the morality
and consequences of armed conflict amidst the backdrop of one of the
most morally-confusing wars in modern history. A good choice, I
think. The film isn't as joylessly serious as the other films of the
DCEU, but is still well-grounded with real life dilemmas. The whole
war theme feels fresh for a superhero movie and it makes it stand out
from any other DC film that I've ever seen – although there a
couple moments where the film strays awfully close to a “hero the
world needs, not the hero it deserves” line. There's also a couple
moments where the dialogue feels a little too Care Bears-y.
One thing I found to be a great relief
was that Wonder Woman completely avoids progressive and SJW
sentimentality. It doesn't shove toxic feminism down your throat. It
doesn't make its audience members feel ashamed or guilty about
anything. It doesn't tell you to hashtag BLM, revoke the 2nd
Amendment, impeach Trump, or any stupid crap like that. It's OK to
like this movie regardless of your politics.
Just don't expect a history lesson from
watching this movie. Most obvious thing ever, I know, but as a
student of history I was bothered by a few historical
inconsistencies. For example, the film takes place in the Fall of
1918 but it suggests that the Germans still have a chance at holding
out and prolonging the war. No mention is made of the German
Revolution. Hydrogen is presented as a viable ingredient in mustard
gas. And worst of all, Erich Ludendorff has no moustache!
Disgraceful.
Lots of people are going to be
comparing Wonder Woman to 2011's Captain America: First
Avenger so let's get this part out of the way now. While both
movies have similar plots and even scenes (WW's climax partially rips
off CA:FA's ending), the tone is pretty different. While First
Avenger feels like a traditional superhero movie Wonder Woman
feels more like a straight-up war film. WW deals with more relevant
themes, is slightly more life-like (relatively speaking; these are
superhero films after all), and has the main character actually
fighting Germans, something Captain America never did in his film.
Let's talk about the acting. It's
rather good. Gal Gadot does a wonderful job of portraying the
wonderful heroine with just the right mix of bravery, earnestness,
and naivete. In the role of American (of course) spy hero Steve
Trevor is Chris Pine, whose performance is just as good as you'd
expect; no surprises. There's also Danny Huston as Colonel Stryker, I
mean Colonel Stryker, I mean General Ludendorff, I mean Colonel
Stryker. And lastly we have Elena Anaya as the diabolical Isabel Maru
– AKA Dr Poison – who, while she isn't terribly interesting as a
character, does have a cool appearance.
And that's Wonder Woman, a
capable superhero movie for both WW fans and non-WW fans alike. It
manages to pull off the delicate balance of being both enjoyable and
serious enough to both entertain you and make you think, something
not easy to achieve for superhero films. It's easily the best –
some might say the only good – movie of the DC Extended Universe so
far, and as far as I'm concerned it went to the hero who deserved it
most.
And remember, just because you can't
see the invisible jet doesn't mean it isn't there.
Rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment