During the summer, I get the chance to see a few more movies than I do during the school year, and I had the opportunity to do so today by going to see Wonder Woman, which released today and was, therefore, screened and shown by a bunch of people over the last week. Still, I was one of the first to see it on its opening day, and I have to admit that I enjoyed it as much--if not more--than I was hoping to.
That's a huge relief.
Wonder Woman (and Wonder Woman) means a lot to a lot of people, and there is also the pressure for a flagship property to perform well that will help ensure a continued franchise. And the controversies surrounding screenings as well as Gal Gadot's politics and history threaten to take away from how much fun this movie is. So I'm leaving the troublesome stuff behind to focus on the film itself, which I endorse and encourage people to see. It's definitely my favorite superhero movie in a long time, and though nothing will ever surpass the geeky fun I had in 2002 with the original Spider-Man, or my slightly more mature appreciation of The Dark Knight, Wonder Woman is vying for favorite superhero film, no qualifications.
There are a lot of things the film does right, though the plot is, as an NPR critic points out, paint-by-numbers. Superhero origin stories aren't new to the public anymore, though some are more esoteric than others. Nevertheless, we're now deep enough into the respective cinematic universes of Marvel and DC that we're actually retreading origin stories--and I don't mean reboots. Doctor Strange was "What if Iron Man but magic?", right down to the facial hair preference. Guardians of the Galaxy is basically space orphan saves everyone, in case we didn't get enough of that with Superman. So, yeah, as an origin story, Wonder Woman has to hit certain moments and fulfill certain requirements.
That isn't to say the film is bereft of surprises. There are a couple of areas that took me by mild surprise, though that's partly because of some poor sleight-of-hand that comic book movies perpetually get away with. Can't fault Wonder Woman for following the tropes, since she is one of the biggest superheroes on the planet.
One surprise early on (like, five minutes or so) was when the story takes place. I try hard to avoid trailers, as I feel they spoil a lot of the film they're advertising, so I didn't realize that not only was I watching a frame story, but that it was taking place in World War One. This was my own poor memory--they have a reference to the Great War in Batman v Superman, so I shouldn't have been surprised. But I've also read the first handful of Wonder Woman comics and I knew that the origin story takes place during the then-current conflict of World War Two. So the shifting of conflict back twenty-three years or so was unexpected.
Nevertheless, it works to the story's benefit. We already have a superhero in World War Two (thanks to the first Captain America movie), so seeing Wonder Woman slog through the trenches and help liberate a small village in Belgium was enjoyable. Not only that, but as far as World War One movies go, this one works well in that it gives gestures, flavors, and valuable points about the way that war was prosecuted without losing focus on its protagonist, nor getting bogged down in the misery that war held. There are limbless people, but most of the soldiers who die, do so quietly. These historical inaccuracies are interspersed with enough historical winks that it's clear they chose to lighten the war, lest the grim reality of the war overpower even Diana's strength. In other words, I felt they balanced the fantasy of their subject matter with the honesty of history fairly well, and when in doubt, they tipped toward fantasy.
Indeed, making more out of the Great War and its connection to the machinations of Ares, the god of war, could have been there, too, had the film not decided to keep Diana in clear focus. Her journey of discovery and exploration, as well as her attempt to understand a world she doesn't understand well but understands well enough to save give heart to the movie. Film can certainly think about and explore some of the deep themes about what it means to be human--and superhero films in particular really generate some provocative thoughts on power--but I think the two Snyder films that really launched the DC extended universe concept were thoughts without soul. I enjoyed Man of Steel and Batman v Superman as far as they went, but having just rewatched Man of Steel, I much prefer Wonder Woman in terms of tone, story, and...well, most everything.
In this case, I disagree with Edelstein, the NPR critic: The action scenes of the movie were fantastic. I will put a caveat on that, however, because there is--as seems to always be the case--an over-reliance on ShakyCam and quick cuts to try to make a fight seem more exciting. But the over-the-top slow motion flip-kicks? I could've done with more of them. They felt different, iconic, and though frequent, it felt like that was part of the poetry of motion that the Amazons had created in their martial society. The action scene in Veld, Belgium is exciting, fast paced, and handled with a large amount of craft. The problem of CGI that plagues basically every Hollywood film (as well as some poor green screen work at the beginning of the film) remains in Wonder Woman, which probably won't come as a surprise to anyone.
Digging into that a little deeper, I think that Wonder Woman finds a way to invest emotional stakes into a lot of the action beyond "This is the main character so I have to hope things go well for her". The early fight against invading Germans onto the beach of Themyscria is focused by seeing Diana's shock at an early casualty. And, for me at least, it made complete sense that a martial society would react so quickly and decisively against invaders, but that the cost of that sort of response would fail to register in Diana's mind...until it was too late.
All that being said, there wasn't nearly enough building punching.
Finally, despite her treatment of early objectification by Zack Snyder's work in Batman v Superman (wherein she was one of the best parts in that whole film), when Wonder Woman is working under her own banner, it's clear that her power isn't solely in her figure. Her expressive face and smoky, accented delivery provide her character, which is enhanced by her confidence in what she wears.
That is, though her costume is a swimming suit and a miniskirt, its origins are contextualized (warrior culture that, like the Greeks from which they came, live in a Mediterranean place) in such a way that it makes sense she's most comfortable in this kind of apparel. Never does the camera linger longingly on her more prominent assets, instead giving lots of close-ups on Gadot's, admittedly, gorgeous face. I know some of the more prudish among us don't like Wonder Woman's outfit, but I felt that this one translated to the screen well, fell in line with the world from which she came, and provided a reminder that Diana inhabits a different society--she's a visitor who has come to help others.
And that leads to the last bit about the film that worked so well. Though the last few lines were true (I can't remember them, but they had to do with the power and hope that come through love), they weren't thematic in the sense that the characters never brought up or explored the ideas of love. Nevertheless, Diana's unique brand of utilitarian justice in the name of greater love, decency, and hope is a great message. I don't know if I fully buy it--I'm a much larger pacifist than Diana Prince--but I think there's something worthwhile in having people look to someone who is willing to risk herself because she believes in helping out to the best of her abilities. And those abilities, by the way, involve picking up a tank.
That's awesome.
There are plenty of flaws with the film, of course, not the least of which is that an important piece of Diana's character was underdeveloped. In the early comics, she has to get Steve Trevor back to America to save him from the injuries he sustained in the crash. She has fallen in love (I guess) with him, so she arranges a way to switch identities with a nurse who looks like her (it was the forties and comics don't make sense, so you have to bear with it) so that she can care for Trevor. It's not the best aspect of Diana--that she's sacrificing so much just for a single person--but her quick wits, her rapid apprehension of the new world, and her overall intelligence plays out much more deeply in the comics. The film doesn't allow her to think as much as I believe Wonder Woman can, and her ingenuity is often in the form of ignoring what others say and doing whatever she wants. While that isn't necessarily a bad trait for her, having additional aspects to her persona would have been cool, too.
I loved the Wonder Woman movie. I am devising plans on how I can go see it again, which is not something that I do. Like, ever. I saw Jurassic World twice in the theaters, and that's the last one I can think of doing that for. So Wonder Woman is at or above the same level as a dinosaur movie. If you know me, that's pretty wonderful praise.
That's a huge relief.
Wonder Woman (and Wonder Woman) means a lot to a lot of people, and there is also the pressure for a flagship property to perform well that will help ensure a continued franchise. And the controversies surrounding screenings as well as Gal Gadot's politics and history threaten to take away from how much fun this movie is. So I'm leaving the troublesome stuff behind to focus on the film itself, which I endorse and encourage people to see. It's definitely my favorite superhero movie in a long time, and though nothing will ever surpass the geeky fun I had in 2002 with the original Spider-Man, or my slightly more mature appreciation of The Dark Knight, Wonder Woman is vying for favorite superhero film, no qualifications.
There are a lot of things the film does right, though the plot is, as an NPR critic points out, paint-by-numbers. Superhero origin stories aren't new to the public anymore, though some are more esoteric than others. Nevertheless, we're now deep enough into the respective cinematic universes of Marvel and DC that we're actually retreading origin stories--and I don't mean reboots. Doctor Strange was "What if Iron Man but magic?", right down to the facial hair preference. Guardians of the Galaxy is basically space orphan saves everyone, in case we didn't get enough of that with Superman. So, yeah, as an origin story, Wonder Woman has to hit certain moments and fulfill certain requirements.
That isn't to say the film is bereft of surprises. There are a couple of areas that took me by mild surprise, though that's partly because of some poor sleight-of-hand that comic book movies perpetually get away with. Can't fault Wonder Woman for following the tropes, since she is one of the biggest superheroes on the planet.
One surprise early on (like, five minutes or so) was when the story takes place. I try hard to avoid trailers, as I feel they spoil a lot of the film they're advertising, so I didn't realize that not only was I watching a frame story, but that it was taking place in World War One. This was my own poor memory--they have a reference to the Great War in Batman v Superman, so I shouldn't have been surprised. But I've also read the first handful of Wonder Woman comics and I knew that the origin story takes place during the then-current conflict of World War Two. So the shifting of conflict back twenty-three years or so was unexpected.
Nevertheless, it works to the story's benefit. We already have a superhero in World War Two (thanks to the first Captain America movie), so seeing Wonder Woman slog through the trenches and help liberate a small village in Belgium was enjoyable. Not only that, but as far as World War One movies go, this one works well in that it gives gestures, flavors, and valuable points about the way that war was prosecuted without losing focus on its protagonist, nor getting bogged down in the misery that war held. There are limbless people, but most of the soldiers who die, do so quietly. These historical inaccuracies are interspersed with enough historical winks that it's clear they chose to lighten the war, lest the grim reality of the war overpower even Diana's strength. In other words, I felt they balanced the fantasy of their subject matter with the honesty of history fairly well, and when in doubt, they tipped toward fantasy.
Indeed, making more out of the Great War and its connection to the machinations of Ares, the god of war, could have been there, too, had the film not decided to keep Diana in clear focus. Her journey of discovery and exploration, as well as her attempt to understand a world she doesn't understand well but understands well enough to save give heart to the movie. Film can certainly think about and explore some of the deep themes about what it means to be human--and superhero films in particular really generate some provocative thoughts on power--but I think the two Snyder films that really launched the DC extended universe concept were thoughts without soul. I enjoyed Man of Steel and Batman v Superman as far as they went, but having just rewatched Man of Steel, I much prefer Wonder Woman in terms of tone, story, and...well, most everything.
In this case, I disagree with Edelstein, the NPR critic: The action scenes of the movie were fantastic. I will put a caveat on that, however, because there is--as seems to always be the case--an over-reliance on ShakyCam and quick cuts to try to make a fight seem more exciting. But the over-the-top slow motion flip-kicks? I could've done with more of them. They felt different, iconic, and though frequent, it felt like that was part of the poetry of motion that the Amazons had created in their martial society. The action scene in Veld, Belgium is exciting, fast paced, and handled with a large amount of craft. The problem of CGI that plagues basically every Hollywood film (as well as some poor green screen work at the beginning of the film) remains in Wonder Woman, which probably won't come as a surprise to anyone.
Digging into that a little deeper, I think that Wonder Woman finds a way to invest emotional stakes into a lot of the action beyond "This is the main character so I have to hope things go well for her". The early fight against invading Germans onto the beach of Themyscria is focused by seeing Diana's shock at an early casualty. And, for me at least, it made complete sense that a martial society would react so quickly and decisively against invaders, but that the cost of that sort of response would fail to register in Diana's mind...until it was too late.
All that being said, there wasn't nearly enough building punching.
Finally, despite her treatment of early objectification by Zack Snyder's work in Batman v Superman (wherein she was one of the best parts in that whole film), when Wonder Woman is working under her own banner, it's clear that her power isn't solely in her figure. Her expressive face and smoky, accented delivery provide her character, which is enhanced by her confidence in what she wears.
 |
| I'm not ashamed to say that she has buffer arms than I do. (Source) |
And that leads to the last bit about the film that worked so well. Though the last few lines were true (I can't remember them, but they had to do with the power and hope that come through love), they weren't thematic in the sense that the characters never brought up or explored the ideas of love. Nevertheless, Diana's unique brand of utilitarian justice in the name of greater love, decency, and hope is a great message. I don't know if I fully buy it--I'm a much larger pacifist than Diana Prince--but I think there's something worthwhile in having people look to someone who is willing to risk herself because she believes in helping out to the best of her abilities. And those abilities, by the way, involve picking up a tank.
That's awesome.
There are plenty of flaws with the film, of course, not the least of which is that an important piece of Diana's character was underdeveloped. In the early comics, she has to get Steve Trevor back to America to save him from the injuries he sustained in the crash. She has fallen in love (I guess) with him, so she arranges a way to switch identities with a nurse who looks like her (it was the forties and comics don't make sense, so you have to bear with it) so that she can care for Trevor. It's not the best aspect of Diana--that she's sacrificing so much just for a single person--but her quick wits, her rapid apprehension of the new world, and her overall intelligence plays out much more deeply in the comics. The film doesn't allow her to think as much as I believe Wonder Woman can, and her ingenuity is often in the form of ignoring what others say and doing whatever she wants. While that isn't necessarily a bad trait for her, having additional aspects to her persona would have been cool, too.
I loved the Wonder Woman movie. I am devising plans on how I can go see it again, which is not something that I do. Like, ever. I saw Jurassic World twice in the theaters, and that's the last one I can think of doing that for. So Wonder Woman is at or above the same level as a dinosaur movie. If you know me, that's pretty wonderful praise.