75 years. That's how long Wonder Woman had to wait for her own movie. 14 years. That's how long the director Patty Jenkins had to wait to do her next film. But now it's finally their time. And with that all the women should cheer - we finally have a CBM movie where it's a woman who is leading, not following.And it's wonderful. They should be very proud. We all should be considering the opening weekend box office.
2016 was a really rough year for DC fans. First came BvS - overstuffed mess of a movie that rightfully got terrible reviews. The studio made a terrible error many times in the past - first delivering forgettable, mediocre Man of Steel where the role of Superman was played by Henry Cavill who looks the part but is an extremely limited actor with absolutely no charisma. Then they decided to build on that movie and so came BvS. Still the fans did not abandon hope counting on Suicide Squad to be good. Squad opened to even worse reviews than BvS and while personally I found it to be an entertaining film there is no question that it's a horribly made movie. And it was at this point where I abandoned hope - the three failure of movies, post production mess and squandering such potential was too much to witness.
But now the hope is back with the arrival of the first movie from DC in many years that is worthy of the character it centers around. Given all that I wrote above - the mess in WB, the misogynistic Hollywood - that Wonder Woman even exists is amazing. But that it's a great movie? That's nothing short of a miracle.Two best things about BvS were Gal Gadot's lively portrayal of Diana and the score, particularly the brilliant "Is She With You?" theme for Wonder Woman. And now Patty Jenkins has made a truly lovely film which gives Gadot the opportunity to lead the movie, instead of being a support to male stars and also incorporates Wonder Woman theme in a fantastic way.
Gadot delivers a lovely performance and her Diana is such a terrific character. Brought up by the Amazons on the gorgeous island of Themyscira Diana is someone who values life, peace and believes in doing the right thing. You never once questions her motives to help others - she is the kind of person who wants to save everyone, no matter what. Seeing her naivete clash with the horrors of war and what people are capable of doing to each other was shattering. Diana is someone who cannot comprehend why people would do this to each other - start wars, kill children. The film does an exquisite job of showing just how terrible - and in its essence incomprehensible - some things done by people are and what we can accomplish if we simply do the right thing.Normally in films like these the heroes don't explore the idea of why it is important to help others. Not only does Wonder Woman explore that but it provides a very satisfying way of explaining that - it doesn't matter what the others do. You should do what you believe in. Steve and Diana do remarkable things to help others not because others are worth saving but because they need to do those things because of who they are. They believe saving others is the right thing to do, simple as that. And it IS the right thing to do.
The film's most remarkable sequence involves Diana defiantly walking into No Man's Land. Steve told Diana it's impossible to cross it but Diana goes anyways, walking forward, bouncing the bullets off and allowing the soldiers to follow her. Diana does so not to take lives but to save them. She walks with all of her goodness and all of her grace, with men made instruments of slaughter and hatred bouncing off her bracelets and shield. It's a truly powerful image that is worth a thousand words.Every single thing she is doing in the movie is to end the war and save the innocent. The purity of her actions alone gives the film so much heart and Diana's heroism is so beautifully shown in sequences like this one. There are many superheroes about whom we are TOLD they are good and righteous like Captain America or Superman but the goodness of a hero was never more palpable and evident than it is right here, in Diana. In her refusal to compromise, in her childlike innocence making it impossible for her to believe there is anything that stands in the way of saving everyone, in her heartwarming genuine smile. This may be the finest scene in CBM movie when it comes to what it represents. This is why people love those films. We see these inspiring heroes doing amazing things. But no scene was as symbolic and as moving as this one. This is the innocence and the belief in human capacity for peace and goodness clashing with the violence of men. And prevailing over it.
Add to that Rubert Gregson-Williams' rousing score and everything that surrounds the movie - this being a rare movie directed by female director, first new era CBM movie where the woman is at the center - and it all makes the film and particularly No Man's Land sequence into such an emotional ride. I had tears in my eyes watching this. Men out there won't get it - they are getting movies like this all the time, where men are saving the day, punching bad guys, being heroes. We women never got a movie like this. Not in this subgenre. We barely get movies like this in action genre at all. And we certainly never got a female heroine with more goodness in her than Diana. The film shows the power of kindness, of bravery, of love. It's truly inspirational.The third act of the movie is also saved by the film's gigantic heart. It involves big battle between Diana and the film's antagonist but because it has incredibly moving moments sprinkled throughout it it never bores you. One moment in particular - which brilliantly appears twice with one alteration - leads to the film's most moving sequence. Yet again (after Logan) CBM genre proves it has the ability to give us truly wonderful characters the loss of who actually hurts.
But it's not all tears - the film incorporates humor in a great way - it all feels very natural and Gadot and particularly Pine have wonderful comedic skills. The clash between Diana - Amazon princess living on secluded island - and the misogynistic world of 1918 is particularly amusing. There are many moments in the movie where I was reminded of Indiana Jones movies particularly in the sequence where Steve is pretending to be a German general in order to infiltrate the party. There are also echoes of Superman here, particularly in the alley fight sequence.The cast is wonderful with Gadot beautifully carrying the movie. Elena Anaya delivers a creepy, mysterious villain and Robin Wright shines in her brief time on the screen as Diana's warrior aunt. The smirk she gives right before engaging in battle was amazing. It was wonderful seeing Connie Nielsen who played such a graceful, beautiful woman in Gladiator - what a great casting for Diana's mother here. But the MVP of the cast is Chris Pine who nearly steals the spotlight from Gadot in the scenes they share together. His character is absolutely wonderful and Pine succeeds in portraying a noble hero so well. The chemistry between him and Gadot is effortless and electric and I loved how they portrayed a believable way a normal person from our world would interact with someone like Diana.
Patty Jenkins is the first woman to direct a superhero film with a female protagonist.. To my recollection the only other two superhero films with a female protagonist are Elektra and Catwoman. I don't have to make a point here, right?The praise for the film is a bit too high - this film tying scores with Logan, which premiered 3 months ago and is the best comic book movie ever made and so much more than that, is laughable - the film is far from being flawless (glaring instances of a scene being too short most likely because someone in the studio wanted to make the movie shorter- like the moment when Diana sees the bullet bouncing off her shield and killing someone which is not given any follow up and the scene itself lasts mere seconds). However, it's well done, well acted, funny, thrilling and most of all it has so much heart. You care about the characters on the screen and you care about their story. It's a film that makes you laugh and that makes you cry. And, perhaps most amazingly, it's the film that makes you hope.
Plot: Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny.
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writers: Allan Heinberg (screenplay), Zack Snyder, Jason Fuchs (story by)
Stars: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright |