"Wonder Woman" Film Review
Steel Beauty
Blog exclusive!
In the alpha-male dominated world of superhero pictures, a blockbuster film with a feminine touch stands out. Some may call it sacrilegious; most will call it "Wonder Woman".
Israeli actress and former soldier Gal Gadot ("Justice League") plays the title character, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Prince is a fierce and noble Amazonian warrior born of clay and brought to life by Zeus. She reaches maturity on the female-only island of Themyscira.
Strong, sexy and perfectly cast, Gadot elevates "Wonder Woman" to high art. And with a little help from CGI, Gadot seems like she was destined to swing Diana's fiery whip, wield her longsword and defend the innocent with a Captain America-esque shield from the day she was born.
Misogynists everywhere will be displeased that “Wonder Woman” not only stars a woman (duh), but is also directed by a member of the fairer sex. Humor aside, Warner Bros. and DC Films made a historic move by hiring Patty Jenkins ("Monster").
The sobering truth is that it took many decades and a gazillion rival movies from DC and Marvel to reach a point where a woman could direct a superhero movie.
Gender specific remarks aside, "Wonder Woman" provides a lot of entertainment value and is definitely rewatchable.
For instance, Rupert Gregson-Williams' memorable musical score pumps you up and isn't mixed obnoxiously loud.
Even the sound effects ebb and flow with purpose, complementing various onscreen events like Wonder Woman's special attacks with a signature battlecry for example.
Matthew Jensen's cinematography is inviting, despite featuring a grayish-brown (wartime) color palette. Slow-motion sequences and repetitive hack and slash fighting sequences are thankfully kept to a minimum.
The core of this movie lies in the very convincing and charismatic on-screen relationship between Wonder Woman and an above-average looking human (that remark will make sense once you watch the film).
The human in question, American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) gets in contact with the spawn of Zeus herself after a seemingly random inter-dimensional rift opens up and Trevor unwittingly pilots his plane right on through. He crash lands in the waters surrounding Themyscira and Diana swims on over to save him.
After learning of a violent entanglement called World War I, Diana's thirst for peace & justice grows exponentially. Her idyllic upbringing becomes intolerable. And despite the relucatance of her warrior queen mother (Connie Nielson), Diana chooses to fight Steve's enemies, the German war machine, and leave her home forever.
The odds are stacked against our dynamic duo though. They have to confront "Phantom of the Opera" lookalike cum antagonist Dr. Poison (her masked, disfigured face will make you realize that acne isn't so bad). Played by Elena Anaya, this chick is always conducting bizarre scientific experiments and devising unique ways to torture others.
Since "WW" is chock full of trench warfare and chemical weapons, you can't help but connect the aforementioned scenes to real-life events (i.e. the recent gas attack in Syria).
So the plot is very intricate and many characters come and go in a flash. But Steve's buddies, a ragtag team of mercenaries including a really drunk Irish sniper named Charlie, along with the Moroccan Sameer and a Native American nicknamed Chief, are constants.
These four men and Diana assemble in London to devise a plan to stop the war. But Diana doesn't believe humanity is behind this conflict, instead insisting that Ares, the God of War, is corrupting everyone's minds.
The film's ever present femininity means that it's not a typical popcorn movie. For example: it's not over-encumbered by gratuitous bedroom romps or shots of Gal Gadot’s butt.
This film respects women in a way that belies most other big budget productions. After all, "Wonder Woman's" target demographic appeals to more than just teenage boys (unlike Michael Bay’s “Transformer’s" franchise). The movie continually showcases feminine intuition and loyalty above all else.
Overall, "Wonder Woman" provides levity and action in spades, resulting in a satisfying respite from earlier DC Extended Universe films like the dour "Suicide Squad" and controversial "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
5 Stars
Checkout the final trailer below:
https://youtu.be/VSB4wGIdDwo
Runtime: 141 minutes
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Written by: Allan Heinberg
As always thanks for reading!
© 2017 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
Blog exclusive!
In the alpha-male dominated world of superhero pictures, a blockbuster film with a feminine touch stands out. Some may call it sacrilegious; most will call it "Wonder Woman".
Israeli actress and former soldier Gal Gadot ("Justice League") plays the title character, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Prince is a fierce and noble Amazonian warrior born of clay and brought to life by Zeus. She reaches maturity on the female-only island of Themyscira.
Strong, sexy and perfectly cast, Gadot elevates "Wonder Woman" to high art. And with a little help from CGI, Gadot seems like she was destined to swing Diana's fiery whip, wield her longsword and defend the innocent with a Captain America-esque shield from the day she was born.
Misogynists everywhere will be displeased that “Wonder Woman” not only stars a woman (duh), but is also directed by a member of the fairer sex. Humor aside, Warner Bros. and DC Films made a historic move by hiring Patty Jenkins ("Monster").
The sobering truth is that it took many decades and a gazillion rival movies from DC and Marvel to reach a point where a woman could direct a superhero movie.
Gender specific remarks aside, "Wonder Woman" provides a lot of entertainment value and is definitely rewatchable.
For instance, Rupert Gregson-Williams' memorable musical score pumps you up and isn't mixed obnoxiously loud.
Even the sound effects ebb and flow with purpose, complementing various onscreen events like Wonder Woman's special attacks with a signature battlecry for example.
Matthew Jensen's cinematography is inviting, despite featuring a grayish-brown (wartime) color palette. Slow-motion sequences and repetitive hack and slash fighting sequences are thankfully kept to a minimum.
The core of this movie lies in the very convincing and charismatic on-screen relationship between Wonder Woman and an above-average looking human (that remark will make sense once you watch the film).
The human in question, American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) gets in contact with the spawn of Zeus herself after a seemingly random inter-dimensional rift opens up and Trevor unwittingly pilots his plane right on through. He crash lands in the waters surrounding Themyscira and Diana swims on over to save him.
After learning of a violent entanglement called World War I, Diana's thirst for peace & justice grows exponentially. Her idyllic upbringing becomes intolerable. And despite the relucatance of her warrior queen mother (Connie Nielson), Diana chooses to fight Steve's enemies, the German war machine, and leave her home forever.
The odds are stacked against our dynamic duo though. They have to confront "Phantom of the Opera" lookalike cum antagonist Dr. Poison (her masked, disfigured face will make you realize that acne isn't so bad). Played by Elena Anaya, this chick is always conducting bizarre scientific experiments and devising unique ways to torture others.
Since "WW" is chock full of trench warfare and chemical weapons, you can't help but connect the aforementioned scenes to real-life events (i.e. the recent gas attack in Syria).
So the plot is very intricate and many characters come and go in a flash. But Steve's buddies, a ragtag team of mercenaries including a really drunk Irish sniper named Charlie, along with the Moroccan Sameer and a Native American nicknamed Chief, are constants.
These four men and Diana assemble in London to devise a plan to stop the war. But Diana doesn't believe humanity is behind this conflict, instead insisting that Ares, the God of War, is corrupting everyone's minds.
The film's ever present femininity means that it's not a typical popcorn movie. For example: it's not over-encumbered by gratuitous bedroom romps or shots of Gal Gadot’s butt.
This film respects women in a way that belies most other big budget productions. After all, "Wonder Woman's" target demographic appeals to more than just teenage boys (unlike Michael Bay’s “Transformer’s" franchise). The movie continually showcases feminine intuition and loyalty above all else.
Overall, "Wonder Woman" provides levity and action in spades, resulting in a satisfying respite from earlier DC Extended Universe films like the dour "Suicide Squad" and controversial "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".
5 Stars
Checkout the final trailer below:
https://youtu.be/VSB4wGIdDwo
Runtime: 141 minutes
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Written by: Allan Heinberg
As always thanks for reading!
© 2017 Matthew R. Reis, All rights reserved.
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