dir. by Patty Jenkins
It's odd to consider that it took three years for Warner Bros. to continue its DC Extended Universe after premiering Man of Steel in 2013. Last year's Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad arrived with the intention of competing with Marvel's own cash cow, but both premiered to largely negative reception, and the DC films became associated with a forced bleak tone and poor editing. And yet, the latter also showed Warner Bros. changing course, as last-minute reshoots attempted to add more humour and create a lighter tone. (I haven't actually seen either film, so I can't attest to either's quality.)
Wonder Woman is DC's second film to have been released since Batman v Superman's critical failure, and as significant as its status as the first female-starring superhero movie in over a decade is, almost as notable is that this is the first genuinely optimistic film in the DCEU. Not coincidentally, it's also a massive step up for the franchise, an earnest, big-hearted, and even inspiring movie which is as funny and exciting as the best of Marvel's offerings and which fully understands why these heroes are so beloved. If this is what DC's offerings are gonna be like from here on out, I'm all in.
In spite of her mother's wishes, the Amazon princess Diana (Gal Gadot) has always had a fighting spirit. When Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American spy working for British Intelligence, crash-lands on the Amazons' hidden island, bringing hostile German ships in tow, Diana learns that the outside world is engaged in World War I. Believing it to be the work of the war god Ares, she sets out with Steve so she can slay Ares and bring peace to the world of men.
While prior films in the DC universe have taken a decidedly cynical view of their heroes, the titular protagonist of Wonder Woman is naive and steadfastly idealistic, and the film fully embraces this. In earlier scenes, that naivete is played for laughs, and a lot of humour is derived from Diana resisting the sexist social mores of 1910s London. Despite the inherent awkwardness of the scenario, Diana never appears pathetic or foolish, and her confidence makes these scenes much more enjoyable than they might have been otherwise. She boasts strong chemistry with Steve, and the interplay between her idealism and his more realistic point of view is especially funny, as are the light innuendos which often come up in the two's interactions.
Later, when the film shifts to the war proper, Diana's idealism becomes truly heroic, as her supernatural abilities - including gauntlets which can repel bullets - allow her to save people whom the British army had left for dead. Much of the film's strength lies upon Gadot, who successfully and confidently embodies the character both as a fish-out-of-water and as a powerful symbol of heroism. Even when her dialogue devolves into corny speechifying, Gadot sells every word of it, and the result becomes genuinely inspiring. We watch these heroes because they can do what we wish we could, and Wonder Woman's earnest commitment to that is one of its greatest qualities.
Gadot is well matched by the supporting cast as well. Pine gives a typically great performance as Steve, demonstrating great comic timing and selling the character as both a foil for Diana's otherworldly naivete and as a man willing to give in to it when it's most important. Steve also fills a role akin to the the romantic interest of the film, and the gender-flipping of his role even extends to one hilarious scene of blatant fanservice early on. In an ideal world, this wouldn't be much of a novelty, but there aren't many action films out there which do this, and while the film would still be funny and exciting without this, it's an added bit of flavour to yet another faithful origin story.
Danny Huston and Elena Anaya play the ostensible villains of the film, known as General Ludendorff and Doctor Poison respectively, and do a good job presenting fairly shallow villains who fall into the same amusing cartoonishness as Corey Stoll in Ant-Man. They're not exactly compelling antagonists, and the identity of Ares himself is played as enough of a mystery that he doesn't entirely fill the void either. Thankfully, most of the focus is on Diana and Steve, with the villains only occasionally popping in to show how their dastardly plan is progressing, and when they do appear Huston and Anaya play into their moustache-twirling evilness enough that their scenes are at least enjoyable, and on the rare occasion that they're allowed to stretch themselves more, they do so convincingly.
The action in Wonder Woman is drenched in satisfying iconography, especially later in the film when Diana lands on the front. Like many contemporary action films, it's over-edited, and its reliance on speed-ramping is occasionally distracting, but at its best it satisfyingly emphasizes motion and physicality, and the film smartly frames the heroic ideal which Diana embodies as the centrepiece of nearly every fight. Unfortunately, the CG is often questionable. The film is filled with conspicuous green screen and some of the effects are unconvincing, but while some visual arrangements are slightly murky, many of them provide satisfying enough imagery to compensate for the poor quaity of the effects themselves. It's also disappointing that the film boasts such a muted, grayish colour palette, but it transcends the house style with the sense of fun imbued in the iconography, the script, and the performances.
Wonder Woman's biggest issue is its militaristic worldview, taken above the usual superhero tropes through Diana having an obsession with honour and criticizing others for not possessing it. Ultimately, this is excusable because it allows Diana to be such a paragon of virtue in battle, which in turn is what allows the fight scenes to be so thrilling. Initially, it also seems to oversimplify World War I by depicting the Germans unambiguous bad guys, but the film eventually subverts this in spectacular fashion. Ultimately, Diana's optimism triumphs over the cynicism of the war, and that is a major part of what makes the film so joyous.
There's also a framing device connecting the film to the larger DC universe, but honestly, I couldn't care less, and it comes across as profoundly unnecessary.
Wonder Woman is exactly the pleasant surprise which DC needed: a film which, while still flawed, is big-hearted and idealistic in a way which feels good to watch, and one which understands why superheroes are so beloved and is able to communicate that cinematically. Its weak special effects and murky worldview hardly negate the simple joy of watching it, and for DC it's not only a massive step in the right direction but a genuine triumph, an entertaining and inspiring film which lives up to the expectations put on it and hopefully sends the right message to studios so the genre can become less of a sausage fest. And, hey, it's just nice that a film with this much cultural significance also happened to turn out so well against all odds.
8/10
+ Frequently exciting action.
+ Genuinely funny and uplifting.
+ Gal Gadot is phenomenal as Diana.
- A bit too militaristic, even for a superhero film.
- Dubious special effects.
- Underwhelming villains.
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