By god they did it, they made a good film.
I have a rule set in place for the DC Extended Universe (DCEU): I will only consider seeing one of their films if it has, at least, over 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. I set this rule after the franchise’s atrocious start known by some as Man of Steel—figured if the Extended Universe wants my attention and money (and they really only want the latter), then they’ll need to win back my faith with a film actually worth seeing. Since then, they’ve hardly been making much of an effort, with both Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad scoring under 30% on Rotten Tomatoes—films I’ve completely ignored both in theaters and on rental (though I’ve read/seen enough reviews to get the gist of what went wrong). I expected to do the same for Wonder Woman, until I caught glimpse of its over 90% rating, in addition to enthusiastic reviews from both critics and friends alike. Ultimately I considered, and conceded into seeing the film—and low and behold a miracle has occurred: Wonder Woman turns out to be a pretty good film…actually, it turns out to be a very good film.
Wonder Woman’s story takes place in the late 1910s, where our protagonist Diana (Gal Gadot) lives on the island of Themyscira—a hidden paradise where a female warrior race known as the Amazons reside. The Amazons were created by the gods to protect mankind against the corruption of Ares, the god of war. Trained fiercely by the Amazons, Diana demonstrates physical capabilities and powers far beyond the abilities of her fellow warriors, which she soon demonstrates after saving the life of American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) from pursuing German sailors. After Steve informs (forcibly, via the Lasso of Truth) the Amazons of the current ongoing war outside the island, Diana decides to travel back with him to London—believing Ares to be behind the Great War.
“Thor meets Captain America” is a suitable way to describe the outer layer of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is set in the past during one of the World Wars (Captain America), focuses on war zone battles (Captain America), stars a chosen god-like being (Thor), who uses a shield (Captain America), and results in a ton of fish out of water plot points/jokes (Thor). Yet there’s more to such comparison than just plot/character similarities, as Wonder Woman, likewise, shares a similar atmosphere to its Marvel Cinematic Universe counterparts: balancing comedy, action and drama in an effective trifecta. Allow me to emphasize how such mimicry is not a bad thing, but, in fact, a blessing for the DCEU—which, up to this point, has been nothing but a brooding, edgy, uneven, grotesque mess. There’s more to Wonder Woman, however, that allows it to rise past being mere flattering imitation, but I’ll get to such aspects in a bit—first, let me focus on the film’s effective trifecta.
Wonder Woman’s comedy is an ideal, appropriately placed mix between the action and drama. The film loves its fish out of water jokes, especially regarding its female lead (who grew up on an all-female island) not understanding early 20th century “male-female etiquette”. The film’s overemphasis on these jokes may have eventually grown trite, if not for the natural chemistry and comedic timing/expressions of Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, who do a really good job keeping the jokes entertaining, occasionally flat out hilarious, and fresh. The action, while a bit sparse in the first two-thirds, is thoroughly engaging when occurring. I enjoy how the film, without directly stating it, has Diana gradually grow more powerful as she learns to better harness her skills—such as when she utilizes her super strength to leap a cavern and create her own hand grips to scale a tower—going from slightly above average Amazon warrior to super-powered demigoddess. My one gripe about the action sequences are the obnoxiously placed, slow motion shots—which look both oddly fake and forced in for the trailers. Wonder Woman’s drama—the element I feared the film would mess up the most—is surprisingly effective and touching. While I was able to predict the film’s twists, they are still executed in a successful manner—though this has to do with the “twist” element being the weakest part of the surprises’s payoff.
MAJOR SPOILERS BEGIN: Wonder Woman lacks Man of Steel’s drowning broodiness, pretentious self-importance, inappropriate comedic timing, and complete incomprehension towards human emotion. I’m not as well-versed in Wonder Woman’s lore as I am with Batman and Superman, but I do know the film captures her essential themes regarding truth and love. The film does an unusually remarkable job with Diana’s coming-of-age realization that the outside world is not simply corrupted by one very evil villain. In the film’s beginning, Diana is a pure-hearted, yet naïve child—similar to children who grow up watching cartoons and films where “evil” is a single group/entity hell-bent on evil for the sake of evil. Diana believes if she kills Ares—whom she thinks is responsible for The Great War—humanity will once again become pure and good; yet Diana learns the hard way that humanity is much, much more morally ambiguous than she thought, experiencing a mental breakdown as a result. Diana’s story parallels a journey from Heaven into Hell throughout the course of the film: gradually losing her rose-colored innocence as she views firsthand the horrors mankind produces.
Ares is a surprisingly well-written villain. When he first appears I was worried the film would pull a “Ares is, in fact, the sole cause of all evil”, thereby making Diana’s character development for naught. Yet the way he’s handled allows the story to both keep said character development and complex human morality, while also getting its super-powered final boss fight. Ares doesn’t force evil upon humanity, but rather gives them the tools to do with as they please. He is the snake in the Garden of Eden: inciting humanity to eat from the forbidden tree—it’s up to humanity if they choose to listen or not. David Thewlis does a great job portraying Ares as a master manipulator—who, by the way, is technically Diana’s brother (another Thor similarity)—showcasing to Diana, even while they battle, how humanity is the cause of such horrors, and how destroying them will bring the world back to its natural, peaceful state. Ares isn’t wrong here (the world would be far better off without human involvement), and nearly convinces Diana to side with him; yet Diana’s journey has also allowed her to view the good in humanity—our ability to perform acts of kindness, selflessness and love—and, through such experience, is able to find her own compassion and humanity, sparing those beneath her (even the wicked ones), and ultimately defeating her brother. The film is a compelling journey of a naively innocent girl becoming a strong-willed woman who fights for the good and love of humanity (even if we don’t deserve it)—a beautiful superhero introduction with a ton of great character development. MAJOR SPOILERS END
Wonder Woman, amusingly enough, is a symbol of hope for the DCEU: despite all the horror they’ve created, there’s still some good within them. Yet Wonder Woman is also a symbol of hope for female-lead superhero films, which, up to this point (Supergirl, Catwoman, Elektra, etc.), have been utter disasters both critically and commercially. Wonder Woman has proven to be neither, and, as of now, has taken top spot as my favorite superhero film of 2017—something I truly did not expect to happen. While I’m still keeping my DCEU “over 80%” rule in place (which most likely means I won’t be seeing the Justice League film), I’m filled with a newfound hope that the franchise’s future developing films can be of similar, if not (dare I say) higher quality to Wonder Woman.