Wonder Woman

***/****

By Jason Wiese

I am not going to lie: I was not looking forward to seeing this movie. With the DC Extended Universe, lately, serving as the bane of a movie goer/comic book fan’s existence, I was prepared to walk out of Wonder Woman feeling far from wonderful.

Now, in retrospect, within the divisive consequences of the DCEU, the one thing that brought most of us in agreeance was Gal Gadot’s performance as the Amazonian warrior princess given the live-action treatment on the big screen for the first time ever in last year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Her brilliant blend of intimidation and elegance, relentless, gravity-defying fighting style, exquisitely designed outfit and heart racing theme music by Junkie XL was almost enough (but still really not enough) to convince you to give BvS a pass. In only seven minutes of screen time, Gadot made audiences excited to see the iconic character in her own film. As dazzled as I was by Gadot’s performance, she still did not make me “excited” to see the solo film. This is why:

Gadot, as I have mentioned, was perfect casting for Wonder Woman. Ben Affleck proved to be a great choice for Batman, in my opinion. Henry Cavill is the spitting image of Superman. And of course, my favorite thing about Suicide Squad (if not the only thing I could stand watching in that film) was Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Batman villain Harley Quinn. If the DCEU has had anything worth praising, it is the casting. But rarely does a film survive by performance alone and neither BvS nor Suicide Squad do, for me at least. Therefore, following repeated discouragement and disappointment from the DCEU, I feared that Gadot may be destined to once again serve as the sole gasp of fresh air in a cloud of smog if her solo film were to suffer from another misguided adaptation.

Well, folks, every once in a while, a movie critic takes esteemed pleasure in being proven wrong. This is one of those times.

Wonder Woman begins with the epilogue of how Diana (Gadot) became the unstoppable Amazonian warrior princess she came to be. Raised on the mystical island of Themyscira on which only female warriors live, she begins training by high-ranking officer Antiope (Robin Wright) at a young age, much to her mother, queen Hippolyta’s (Connie Nielsen), chagrin. By the time she is supposedly 4,900 years old and a wildly capable fighter, she one day discovers a plane crashing near the shore of her island, the pilot being the first man she ever lays eyes on, Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Under the spell of the lasso of truth, Trevor reveals to the women of Themyscira that he is a spy working for British Intelligence to help defeat Germany in the “war to end all wars,” known today as World War I. Diana is convinced that this mess must be the work of Ares, the god of war, compelling her to leave the island with Trevor to fight alongside him, destroy Ares and finally bring peace among the world.

Wonder Woman is possibly the end of DC’s desperate game of catch-up in attempting to create its own shared universe a la Marvel. With this film, it finally appears that someone must have unlocked the secret to Marvel’s success: do not make “comic book” movies, make genre films featuring comic book characters. Captain America: The Winter Soldier put Chris Evans’ war hero out of time at the front of a political spy thriller. Guardians of the Galaxy is a cosmic nostalgia trip set to ’70s pop hits. Doctor Strange… well, feels a lot like 2008’s Iron Man, but with the dazzling magical backdrop. Essentially, it is the attention to the cinematic experience being just as important as how the characters are treated in the source material that keeps fans coming back for more.

Wonder Woman could be taken as an overcorrection for DC’s ignorance of that detail by being almost too much of a good thing. It seems to try to be many genres in one: a mythological folk tale, a war epic, a period piece, a fish out of water story and a love story, which is probably the most unnecessary thematic element the film bothers to include. Yet, Patty Jenkins (2003’s Monster) is a director who understands that the quality of the finished product is all in the execution, and her execution of all of these elements is a visceral, exciting, heartwarming and ultimately satisfying blend to behold.

Gadot does not disappoint, thankfully, leading Trevor and his fellow comrades in war (played by Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner and Eugene Brave Rock) with an unstoppable ambition. Watching her in action taking on armed forces with just a sword and shield is astonishing, making one wonder why it took this long for this character to lead her own film.

Well, congratulations, DC: your universe finally has a film fans can be proud of. Furthermore, the most iconic heroine in comic book history finally has her deserved place in the spotlight to shine brightly. Though Wonder Woman is not a perfect film, indeed it may be the DCEU’s most formulaic film yet, it is the first film in this shared universe that has a heart.

Published to Newstime and The Lincoln County Journal Friday, June 2, 2017