I have to say that I approached ‘Wonder Woman’ with a bit of trepidation. Even though I was a fan of the 70’s TV series starring Linda Carter, DC has not had the best track record of bringing their superheroes to the big screen lately. It can be done as Chris Nolan’s ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy demonstrated, but Warner Bros’s attempt to create a shared superhero universe in the mold of Marvel’s success has so far been lackluster. There was a lot of political correct cred riding on Wonder Woman as this is the first major superhero film led by a solo female hero in addition to a female Director, so I took the initial positive early reviews with a grain of salt. I’m happy to say that my fears were unjustified and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. This was a feminist movie that uplifts women without vilifying men. A film that gives me faith that DC can start carving out their own niche in the shared universe film world. Hats off to Director Patti Jenkins for creating a truly enjoyable heroic tale.
Wonder Woman has a convoluted history that dates back to the 1930s. Her story has been told and retold many times. Patti Jenkins takes her inspiration from comic artist/writer George Perez who led probably one of the most iconic runs on the title back in the 1980s. She is still Princess Diana of Paradise Island, but is now more a child of the Gods than one of her fellow Amazons. Paradise Island, now called Themiscyra, was created by the Gods and populated by noble Amazons in preparation for when the world would need to be protected from Ares, God of War. When Princess Diana rescues downed WWI fighter pilot Steve Trevor from the sea (a well cast Chris Pine), she learns about “The War to End All Wars” and decides this is what the Amazons have been waiting for and it is her duty to escort Steve back to the world and find Ares, so she can stop the War. Patti Jenkins does a superb job in painting the difference between the beautiful Paradise Island and Diana’s revulsion at the Post Industrial Revolution London. Diana quickly finds what a world dominated by males is like and despite the chauvinism, she quickly dominates any situations she enters. Patti Jenkins does a great job balancing Steve Trevor’s alpha male persona with his inability to keep up with Diana and her mission. Even though Steve is far weaker than Diana, he never takes a back seat in their adventures. Much in the same way Agent Carter was the perfect foil for Captain America, so does Steve Trevor earn Diana’s respect as a warrior.
Speaking of Captain America, I did find many similarities in the story. When Steve assembles an international team of soldiers, it is reminiscent of Cap’s Howling Commandos. Fortunately, even though there are parallels, Wonder Woman doesn’t feel like a copy and flourishes with a voice of its’ own. The generic German villain General Ludendorff (an always delightful Danny Huston) could have been right out of Nazi central casting until we remember that this takes place during World War I. Given Ludendorff’s importance to the War and his development of chemical weapons of Mass Destruction with the aide of his villainous side kick, Dr Poison, Diana sets off in pursuit of the man she presumes to be Ares. The arguable highlight of the film is when Diana fully reveals herself as Wonder Woman as she steps out of the trenches and leads the troops against the opposing army. Her leadership is without question as she takes the full force of the artillery and machine gun fire. While the Wonder Woman uniform is recognizable and Gal Gadot is unquestionably beautiful, Patti Jenkins is able to show Diana as confident and purposeful as opposed to the sexiness that predominated the 70’s version of the character.
I felt the film began to lose steam in the 3rd act and started to rely on too many super hero cliches. However, this did not take away from the overall enjoyment of this film and the feeling that DC finally got it right. I would not say this is better than some of the best Marvel films, but it definitely rated above some of the lesser ones. In other words, DC was able to hold its’ own with the Marvel juggernaught. I highly recommend this film as one that can demonstrate that empowerment does not have to come at the cost of putting down someone else. Wonder Woman is a message film that is enjoyable and, most important for a superhero film…fun.
I give this film *** 1/2 stars
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