Wonder Woman Review

We’re in the year 2017 and two things haven’t been accomplished: We haven’t had a good DCEU movie yet and we haven’t gotten a single watchable female superhero movie. Attentions were high on Wonder Woman, based on the DC comics by William Moulton Marston, as it could redeem faith in this universe.

Set before the events of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, Princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on the sheltered island paradise of Themyscira, Diana meets an American pilot, Steven Trevor (Chris Pine), who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

This is a film that everyone is riding on including myself. This was my third most anticipated movie of the year as I feel like this could be the first enjoyable DCEU movie. Like many fans, anyone will agree that Batman V. Superman and especially Suicide Squad were major disappointments as they weren’t executed perfectly. Besides that, female-led superhero movies have been terrible like Supergirl, Catwoman, or Elektra. All of the trailers since Comic-Con were fantastic as well. Expectations were high with this, and two things need to be mentioned after this was done: 1) This is the best DCEU movie since Man of Steel, and 2) It’s the best DC movie since The Dark Knight Rises. Wonder Woman is, pun attended, wonderful.

I never was too familiar with her backstory prior to viewing this and this sets up an amazing origin story as it shows her becoming a strong, powerful woman fighting. Because this takes place before Justice League, it gives us a chance to see a DC film take place in World War I. This was a story that kept me invested the entire time.  It reminded a lot of Captain America: The First Avenger as both have a similar feel and structure. Seems odd comparing a DC movie to a Marvel movie isn’t it? So basically, it’s DC’s answer to Captain America.

All props go to the director Patty Jenkins. Seeing that a female director direct a high budget film and seeing her vision of how to capture this heroine on the screen was perfect. She’s primarily known for directing 2003’s Monster, which won Charlize Theron an Oscar, and I was confident she can make a good film featuring one of the greatest heroines in comic books. Jenkins was capable of doing what she’s allowed to do and didn’t need studio interference. It’s clear she was influenced by Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie which is understandable because there were a few scenes that showcased that fact gracefully. As a whole, it’s a credit to her and screenwriter Allan Heinberg. Being a female director who doesn’t have a lot under her belt, she should honest be proud of herself for accomplishing a great comic book that worked.

Gadot was phenomenal as the titular character. Even though I was curious when she was first announced to play Wonder Woman back in 2013, there was a chance that she could pull this off, and I was right. Because at first, this question pop in my head, “The chick from the Fast and Furious movies? I’m not sure.” Now, this will prove those haters wrong after this.  Her appearance in BvS was brief, she provided one of the best moments in the film. The way she personalized her is as expected as she shows empowerment for women who want to fight. She’s naive and becomes this fish out of water type person when it comes to learning about the world outside her island, but she wants humanity and needs to protect the world from danger. I cared so much about her, just makes you want to fight with her.

Pine as Steven Trevor was a perfect casting choice. The chemistry between him and Gadot was flawless as they have moments that were funny and also touching.

When it came to the action set pieces are some of the most exciting moments in a comic book movie in a long time. The best by far involves Diana in “No Man’s Land” as it will be remembered as an impressive sequence. Just showed a lot of courage. There are moments where there’s slow-motion sometimes, but it didn’t bother me because it looked cool. Seeing Wonder Woman fighting feels so badass when it’s just her doing the work.

The score by Rupert Gregson- Williams is incredible as it sounded heroic with each driven scenes that it needs it in. As of now, it’s the best film score of the year if I do say so myself.

As for flaws, there were a couple to come to mind: The villains General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) and Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) weren’t that memorable as I felt they were weak and a little over-the-top sometimes. And the pace could’ve been stronger in the middle as it runs at 141 minutes.

This is also fun too as it feels refreshing with some humor that worked and didn’t feel forced, which the last couple DC movies lacked so much of. It has that same level of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as the type of momentum of fun.  A comic book movie that needed to be fun and adventurous, unlike some people who seems like they want something boring instead.

Is this the movie we need right now? I would say yes. We don’t get good female central movies that are fantastic. We’ve come a long way to get to today. And it’s been years since there has been a DC movie that won’t leave people either anger or unpleased. This film made me more interested in Wonder Woman as a superhero anybody can grow to love at this point that should be pointed to Gadot’s earnest performance.

This gets me excited about seeing her again in Justice League this November, and the sequel possibly will be as good as this if Jenkins returns. With the rest of the comic book movie slate coming out this year, hopefully, they will be good as well.

Powerful, breathtaking, and action-packed exceeding all expectations, Wonder Woman is a brilliant step forward in the DCEU.

Grade: A-