Wonder Woman – Movie Review

Movies, News, Review, Wonder Woman
Shares
Wonder Woman (2017)
4.9

INTRODUCTION

Before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny.

Sending
User Review
5 (4 votes)

DIRECTOR: Patty Jenkins

WRITER: Allan Heinberg

CAST:  Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Saïd Taghmaoui, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Ewen Bremner, Elena Anaya and Lucy Davis

REVIEW 

Wonder Woman is the fourth installment in the DC Extended Universe and the first female comic book superhero film in over 30 years, as we like to count Supergirl from 1984 as the last legit comic book female superhero film. The anticipation for this film has brewed among comic book fans for years, for some for their whole lives and it taking its all time peak after her first live action appearance on the silver screen with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Now with her first solo film, we get the telling of the story of Diana of Themyscira that she rightfully deserves, brought to us by director by Patty Jenkins and beautifully performed by Gal Gadot.

Pros:

  • Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman stands to be the first thing that needs praising and mentioned in any review for this film. As Zack Snyder did an excellent job casting Gal in the role, as she embodied the character in all her forms and Patty Jenkins took this talent and used it in its full capacity in this movie.
  • Chris Pine as Steve Trevor was an excellent casting choice as well on Jenkins’ part, as without Pine this film heart may not have been fully there. There was a way to Chris’s performance that elevated the film human element and Gadot’s appearance on-screen, as the two shared amazing chemistry, making it truly believable that these two people from different worlds can fall in love.
  • The supporting characters, even though they weren’t fully developed like that of Diana and Steve, played an important part in moving the story forward, as well as adding more of the human element to it. As each character, mainly the character that Diana meets once she’s in the world of man, with their different personalities and backgrounds, helps put into perceptive of the time period the film takes place in, which is that of World War I.
  • The other major highlights of the supporting characters, is the team of men Steve puts together, to help Diana get to the frontline of the war. They added humor to the film, that prior was only being carried by Gadot, Pine and Lucy Davis as Etta Candy.
  • Lucy Davis as Etta Candy was truly a great addition as well, not only because of Davis’s comedic timing, but because the decision to add a character from Wonder Woman’s original comic book run into her first film was stroke of genius. As it was a great way to pander to fans of Wonder Woman’s original canon, from her golden age of comics.
  • Diana’s origin story, including that of the Amazons and how they came to be, was told very nicely and in a creative form of flashbacks. Which is of the one aspect in the story, that was needed to be done correctly and in a way that could be easily comprehended, which it was.
  • The female empowerment was in the film, but it wasn’t hammered into the audience’s head with words, but with the action of the Amazons and the character of Wonder Woman. Jenkins never once used the film or any moments with Diana as a political statement of any kind, which could had been a big turn-off to some. Nor were any of the male characters dumbed down to elevate Wonder Woman. All the male characters held their own.
  • Fan pandering, as before mentioned with the addition of Etta Candy, there were small references that people who are familiar with Wonder Woman, will get a kick out of.
  • The big reveal at the end of the film was a bit surprising, as even someone who knows the Wonder Woman origin story from all its previous tellings, might be thrown off guard by it, as it’s something that was never used as her origin story, which was a nice touch to change things up, even for a long time Wonder Woman fan.
  • Carrying on the theme of all the previous DCEU films, the musical score in the movie was excellent. Not sure how Warner Bros. does it, but they have a real ear when it comes to hiring composers for their DC films, as the musical score for Wonder Woman is not only inspiring when it needs to be, but helps set the mood during some of the dark moments in the film.
  • The change of tone of the film was by far one of the best handled aspect of the movie, as it has its lightness during its time on Themyscira and when it’s needed elsewhere, to then moves to a world of realism when Diana enters the world of man, to then when she finally makes it to the frontline of the war we get a darker and grittiness that’s needed to be set, as Diana witnesses the carnage and destruction of the war.
  • The action sequences were by far some of the best choreographed scenes in a comic book film in some time. Slow motion was used during the right moments, to make sure the audience can fully appreciate what was being shown to them on screen. While the big battle action scenes were electrifying to watch, as they went all out in them, mainly the very last battle scene with Wonder Woman and the main villain.
  • The emotional element of the film, was done extremely well, as an audience member you’ll actually feel towards these characters and what’s happening to them on screen, to the point one might actually cry or at the least get emotional.

Notable Cons:

  • The pacing in the film was something that stood out the most, mostly during the beginning of the film, it felt very disjointed at times, as some scenes cut to another with rough transitions.
  • The main villain almost felt unneeded, once he was revealed, admittedly in a surprising way that might take most people off guard, he didn’t live up to much.

Overall Wonder Woman was an excellent and needed first live action movie for this character who’s been around since 1943 and a much-needed movie for the first female comic book superhero. It’s also a great introduction to the character for many who were never familiar to her or her origin story.

What one will take from this film, the most important aspect of the film, that needs to be acknowledge, is the more time that’s spent thinking of the film after watching it, the more of a great appreciation one will feel towards it. It’s not a forgettable movie, by any means.

Arelis
Follow
Latest posts by Arelis (see all)
Justice League In-Theather Concession Products Unites the League
Wonder Woman Being Forecast To Open to Over $100 Million