It’s around two in the morning as I type the first draft of this and I just got home from seeing Wonder Woman. Too early to sleep so I’ll just type out a review.
It’s amazing how much improvement has been made in a year. After two horrible films that were just introductions for multiple characters into their version of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, it’s hard to comprehend that DC and Warner Bros are behind this wonderful film.
The best way I can describe Wonder Woman is that it’s a quality film that just happens to be about a superhero. With so many mediocre superhero films in recent years and films like The Mummy that are fast forwarding towards a cinematic universe, it’s shocking to see a great film made within this system.
I love how Wonder Woman felt like a war film on the level of quality similar to Saving Private Ryan or Hacksaw Ridge that also happened to be about a superhero. As said previously, I’m still suffering from shock seeing a film of such quality that came from the same group who hyped up a superhero battle for three years, only to have both heroes stop the fight when they realized their mothers had the same name. If that wasn’t bad enough they then give us a version of Harley Quinn where it looks like a Hot Topic employee who attempts to solve her mental health issues by being a nympho is the new Harley.
A Puddin’ Choke Necklace? Good lord….
It was also a year ago that Ghostbusters: Answer The Call Came Out and was I guess supposed to be a film that inspired women. Well, unless you’re inspired by the fact that yes women too can make an uncreative and generic CGI filled movie like the boys (Michael Bay), it was a disappointment. Wonder Woman on the other hand is a film that has the potential to actually inspire women. I think boys and girls alike will be looking up at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and dream of being that badass and cool.
Pretty much everything in Wonder Woman is a step in the right direction. Unlike some superhero films, this movie has a plot and storyline that keeps the audience engaged and isn’t just meaningless CGI filled fight sequences, although while we mention them the fight sequences in this film are jaw dropping and a pleasure to watch. The final fight sequence where the final villain is revealed is an unbelievable thing to watch on the big screen. Certainly an incredible feat and will certainly be the greatest popcorn movie moment of the summer.
Unlike most if not all Marvel Cinematic Universe films, the villains in this movie are interesting and actually villainous. There’s one scene where a bad guy throws a gas bomb into a room filled of his own soldier and tosses a gas mask into the room before locking the door. The gas mask won’t save them but he gets a thrill from seeing them fight each other for it. This kind of villainy is just something rarely seen in the sugar coated Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We also see civilians die and suffer in Wonder Woman. It’s always more compelling to watch villains do something that makes you actually want to see the superhero prevail over them. The final villain is a challenge for Wonder Woman and requires her to go beyond what she believed she was capable of, which is better compared to MCU’s films where it seems like the good guys never break a sweat fighting a villain.
The only weak point within Wonder Woman is humor which makes me wonder why they even attempt comedic lines. You can see this one coming a mile away but when one of the guys finds out about where Wonder Woman came from he says….
“A land of only women and no men? How do we get there?”
A line so lame you’d expect it on something like The Big Bang Theory which only those who are trained to laugh at the sound of a laugh track like Pavlov’s dog could appreciate.
Obviously this is nit-picking because when a movie like Wonder Woman keeps a level of high quality going for two and a half hours, I couldn’t be bothered by horribly failed attempts at humor.
As I left the theater I was saddened to see the posters of Justice League and how it’ll be here within a few months. The DC Cinematic Universe is in dire need of pumping the breaks in order to study Wonder Woman and what exactly the formula is in creating a film with such high quality, then maybe watch Batman V Superman and Suicide Squad and attempt to list everything that leads to a bad movie.
One thing that truly made Wonder Woman a joyful experience was that there were no other superheroes being stuffed into this film to fast forward to Justice League. Even seeing the Wayne Enterprises trucks at the beginning and end of the film made me feel uneasy at the possibility that any moment Ben Affleck would appear. Thankfully, zero Batfleck.
With films like Logan and Wonder Woman in 2017, it appears that perhaps the level of quality is improving in superhero films. If future superhero films look at these two films and take notes, this craze will get at least another decade squeezed out of it.
P.S.- After this achievement, Patty Jenkins’ next project showed be whatever the fuck she wants it to be. An above average director who just directed the highest grossing movie from a female director, dethroned Fifty Shades? Hollywood should be on their knees before this queen.
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