Wonder Woman is not the typical
superhero movie and it’s certainly not the thrilling first world war
blockbuster. It is a perfect combination of them both. It fits greatly with the
rest of the DCEU movies sans Suicide Squad. It’s not the modern and visually
stunning Man of Steel, and Diana isn’t the mature version of herself in Batman
v Superman. It is conceivably the DCEU’s funniest movie, and the type of humour
used wasn’t cheesy and tacky like we’re used to in most Marvel movies. The
humour didn’t overlap the serious moments and the jokes were told in perfect
timing. The plot was as flawless as you can get in superhero movie, and the
cast was in a seamless harmony together. Wonder Woman is a perfect example of a
contemporary and exceptional superhero movie.
The movie
starts with Diana explaining her story, and how she crossed over from paradise to
the world that we live in. The disparity is immediate, gone the mature women
and in her place, there was merely a child who wanted to fight and be a hero. She
mutinied her f extraordinary powers even for Amazonians during her training
with Antiope played masterfully by Robin Wright, who lost her life when Steve
Trevor landed unexpectedly. It was her compassion that drove Diana to escape
with Steve to save millions, even if it cost her paradise.
Throughout
the movie we’re introduced to Sameer, Charlie and the Chief who became Steve’s
and Diana’s partners. There’s something beautiful about seeing four men following
a woman’s footsteps in a time where a woman entering a room will cause an
uproar as shown earlier in the movie where we were introduced to what attempted
to be a mysterious and undetected villain Ares. Perhaps the problem with Ares
was that he was played by David Thewlis, he is exactly the type of actor that
you would expect something more from him in a movie, and frankly for General Ludendorff
to be Ares is just too obvious. However, Wonder Woman did not lose it shock
value, that was saved to Steve Trevor’s sacrifice that reminded me of the death
of Superman in Batman v Superman, and suddenly that pitying look Diana gave Lois
Lane made so much sense now.
Wonder Woman is
unique even for a DC movie, the fight scenes weren’t like anything we’ve seen
so far in any superhero movie. It was brutal without being grimy and bloody, the
choreography wasn’t as impressive as the warehouse scene in Batman v Superman
but it was Wonder Woman’s own inimitable style and her soon to be iconic leg
swoop move. There’s a lot of scenes that reminded me of Superman, like the
glasses scene and revolving door the follows. Perhaps the most obvious is Diana
reflecting a bullet off Steve in the alley, but what really showed was Diana’s
first appearance in her costume in the no man’s land scene, it reminded too much
of Superman in Man of Steel. While the Man of Steel scene focused on Clark
discovering his powers and what he could do with them in a beautiful setting
and cinematography, Wonder Woman already had the part figured out, and what
followed was one of if not the best fight sequence in a superhero movie, and
what makes it so exceptional is that it wasn’t driven by hate or by revenge or
even self-righteous heroism, no it was driven by Diana’s empathy and her
inability to sacrifice the little to save more.
What I
really loved about Patty Jenkin’s directing is how she respects her audience and
force them to reach their own conclusions in some scenes. She empowers women
without the need of belittling men, a feat a lot of movies should follow, it is
precisely the reason that not just women are loving this movie, men are too. It
represents the real world as it should be, equal. The very different settings
from modern world to paradise then to London and finally in the heart of the
war with Diana growing up from a naïve child to a warrior was done very efficiently,
in a way that I thought would be messy but it shattered all odds.
Solo female superhero
movies didn’t have the opportunity to succeed in Hollywood because they didn’t
have the opportunity to fail. There’s countless superhero movies that failed
but studios wouldn’t stop making them, and from these failures they learned
their mistakes. I was worried that Cat Woman and Electra won’t be enough
examples but I was pleasantly wrong. Wonder Woman is a great movie that doesn’t
shy away from the female emotions to portrait her as the badass she is. A lot
of movies think that an unemotional, impassive female character that kicks ass
and has cool fighting scenes is a strong one, but this movie gets it right.
Woman are strong, and perhaps the strongest thing about Diana is her compassion
and kindness that inspire men and women alike to battle.
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