In terms of female led comic book movies, Wonder Woman is an important film. We've seen examples of great female super heroes in film, but in terms of movies with female leads the efforts have been pretty lacklustre. They have either been completely forgotten, or are still remembered for all the wrong reasons. Looking at you Catwoman. So it was pretty important that Wonder Woman was good. If not, directors might misconstrue that people don't want to watch movies about female super heroes. Coupled with the fact that both fans and critics alike were vastly running out of patience with the DCEU, there was an enormous amount of pressure of this film to succeed. And it many ways, it does - Wonder Woman is pretty good.
After filling the audience in on how Diana Prince became Wonder Woman, the film tells the story of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), a British Intelligence spy fleeing from Nazi Germany in the climax of WW1. When he discovers the ancient island of Themyscira, he tells the Amazons of a new weapon being devised by Doctor Posion, with the capability to kill thousands of innocent people. Diana realises her sacred duty to protect mankind and goes with Trevor to fight. She holds the weapon that can slay Ares, the God of War, who she deems responsible for the destruction. Yet in her quest to save the world, she discovers truths about mankind and about herself that change who she is for ever.
The casting in the film is solid. Personally, I wasn't 100% sold on Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman after her brief appearance in Batman vs Superman, but this movie has got me completely on board. Physically, she fits the part brilliantly. She feels strong, so much so that you can almost believe she's smashing the tiles and floors that she's hurled against. Appearance wise as well - spot on. Its a 'slight' deviation from Lynda Carter's day and does pose the age old question "why would you fight in an outfit the exposes so muck skin?", but Gadot is the perfect mix of beautiful and badass. She also succeeds at making the character likeable. Her courage and conviction is blended well with her naivety and innocence as she's exposed to the world. There are moments where her naivety borders upon stupidity which gets slightly annoying at times and a few of her lines don't quite fit, but overall she makes a fantastic Wonder Woman and I can't wait to see her in future DC movies. Chris Pine absolutely nails his role. Again, he's just as likeable as he needs to be and offers Diana an example of why all hope for mankind is not yet lost. The dynamic between Pine and Gadot is fantastic - one of the strongest elements of this film. All three villains are good. I loved the reveal of Ares in particular. All other cast members have seeming fleeting roles, but they're all fine. Lucy Davis is a welcome inclusion, offering numerous moments of levity.
I feel as though a lot of credit for the strength of the characters in this film should be directed at Patty Jenkins. It is refreshing to see a female director in a movie genre that has seriously lacked diversity in the past and in my opinion the reason that so much of the dialogue and character interactions feel so authentic is that she's a female writing parts for female actors. Many times in the past, male directors have written dialogue for women that feels cliched and forced, purely due to a lack of understanding of how women really think and feel. Yet Jenkins has managed to write engaging and realistic lines for all female roles in this movie, especially Wonder Woman herself.
The film looks great too. Wonder Woman's outfit is colourful enough to remind audiences of previous designs, whilst still looking realistic enough to fit in with the real world setting. The locations on display are amazing. Themyscira, home of the Amazons, is simply beautiful. So vibrant and rich in colour. Other DC movies have been criticised for being too dark and grim but this is certainly and improvement. And yet, this fanatical fictional environment is contrasted well with the dirty streets of 20th century London and a surprisingly realistic interpretation of the warfront in France.
The action scenes are great, with only a few exceptions. There are a few examples of CGI jumps and flips that feel a little bit off, but its mostly great. The battle between the Amazons and the Nazis and all of the Wonder Woman fight scenes are spectacular, in particular her march against the opposing trench in 'no man's land'. Punches and kicks feel real and gritty, yet theres also examples of ridiculous flips and tricks that make the whole affair more comic like and undoubtably very cool. The final battle does feel a little bit 'samey'. Another example of a flashing light in the sky to end a comic book movie. In fact, the battle between Wonder Woman and Ares feels very similar to the Superman vs Zod fight in 'Man of Steel'. However, this version is infinitely better, as over the course of the film I came to care about the characters and the consequences of their fight, which has been absent in other DC projects.
That is arguably what sets this film apart from other DCEU movies. 'BvS' for example had 'cool' action scenes, but their impact was undercut by a stupid plot and poor character representation. Wonder Woman on the other hand is full of great action that is interwoven into a simplistic but great narrative with engaging likeable characters.
It's also exceedingly obvious that this film took a lot of inspiration from 'Captain America:The First Avenger'. Even if you ignore the wartime narrative, there are some very clear parallels. However, this is by no means a bad thing. 'The First Avenger' is great and Wonder Woman is in many ways DC's equivalent to Captain America. Courageous, selfless and offering hope to those who cannot fight for them selves. To me, its not quite as good as 'The First Avenger', but I can say that I enjoyed this movie more than some of the weaker entries in the MCU.
When considered as a huge leap forward for female led comic book movies, Wonder Woman is a huge success. Hopefully this is the catalyst for a new wave of female super heroes coming to the big screen. She-Hulk, Spider Gwen ... the possibilities are endless. On a more basic level, Wonder Woman is good. Maybe even great at times. Its nothing groundbreaking, but its a solid comic book movie and is by far and away the best film that the DCEU has offered so far. Fingers crossed that 'Justice League' is of a similar standard.
4/5 Stars
