Wonder Woman (2017) Spoilers Ahead
I am a fan of comics (both DC and Marvel) although I haven't read a ton of them. However, I have been excited for almost every single comic book movie that has come out. (I am just so sick of Spider-man movies though.) And for anyone who is wondering, I do enjoy Daredevil, Elektra, and Green Lantern. I think they get way too much hate. That being said, I immensely enjoyed Wonder Woman.
I went with my mother to the Mary Pickford Theatre to see Wonder Woman. We were on vacation in Palm Springs and it was one of the few movies we were able to see together. The thing to remember about Palm Springs is that it's predominately senior citizens. About 90% of the audience appeared to be over 60. It was different.
The film starts off in present day with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) heading to her office when she receives a package from Wayne Industries. It is the original plate for the photo Bruce Wayne saw in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. This then kicks off her main reminiscing about what happened in WWI.
We first start off learning about her life on Themyscira and a brief history of the Amazons. As Diana (the only child of the Amazons) grows, she becomes highly skilled in combat. During a fight with her aunt and teacher, Antiope, she unleashes some power that is not normal for Amazons to possess. It is after this fight that she first meets Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). And by meet, I mean she dragged his ass out of his crashed/sinking airplane. As Trevor is the first man she's ever seen, she is excited and curious. Almost immediately, the Germans hunting for Trevor appear and a big battle with the Amazons ensues. Though using more primitive weapons, the Amazons are victorious but, Antiope dies. Diana defends Trevor as he fought with them and tried to help Antiope. Queen Hippolyta questions Trevor to find out what he knows and why he's there. This is when they learn about WWI and that Trevor is trying to stop the creation/use of a new chemical weapon. Diana, believing Ares (the Amazons' nemesis) to be behind the war, wants to go and help end the war. Hippolyta refuses. This leads to Diana stealing some weapons and armor to sneak out with Trevor. They were caught by Hippolyta who let them go but, not before reminding Diana that she could never return.
After a small conversation about men and women, Diana and Trevor arrive in London. Shenanigans ensue that mostly revolve around Diana being ignorant of societal gender norms in the early 20th century. These moments would have been better if she actually got some respect for knowing how to read a mad scientist's encrypted journal because no one else neither recognized nor could read Sumerian. Through a series of political nonsense, Trevor collects the other members of his team: fast-talking Sameer and sharpshooter Charlie. Together, the merry band go off to the front in order to destroy the factory creating the new form of mustard gas. Along the way we meet Chief, a Native American smuggler who doesn't take a side in the war. We also learn that Charlie has some PTSD. While moving through the trenches, Diana learns of a village that had been enslaved on the other side of No Man's Land. This then sets off the greatest sequence in the entire film. Watching Wonder Woman cross No Man's Land and then having the entire trench follow her to save the village is a work of art and needs to happen in film more often.
After this, the team goes to infiltrate a party at German High Command to figure out the exact location of the gas. Diana and Trevor have a huge fight and she goes off on her own. During this final battle, Trevor and the guys come up with a plan to destroy the gas while Diana battles Ares. (Not spoiling that reveal.) Turns out, Diana herself is the Godkiller as only a god can kill another god and she is the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Before the final blows, a Casablanca-esque moment occurs. I won't spoil what happens as it's very important. Ares is defeated, WWI ends and we come back to the present day where Diana thanks Bruce for the picture.
Positives: The film is well-written and excellently acted. The characters all work and the comedic time is damn near perfection. I love the costumes but, especially Diana's as Wonder Woman.
Negatives: Because so much time is devoted to develop Diana's character, some other characters fall by the wayside. Sameer, Charlie, and Chief are less developed as I would like and I only noticed because they tried to develop them a little bit. I just wanted to know more. The one character that I felt was slightly misused was Dr. Maru. We learn nothing about her and I want to know more as she was fascinating and could have been an excellent foil to Diana.
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
After a small conversation about men and women, Diana and Trevor arrive in London. Shenanigans ensue that mostly revolve around Diana being ignorant of societal gender norms in the early 20th century. These moments would have been better if she actually got some respect for knowing how to read a mad scientist's encrypted journal because no one else neither recognized nor could read Sumerian. Through a series of political nonsense, Trevor collects the other members of his team: fast-talking Sameer and sharpshooter Charlie. Together, the merry band go off to the front in order to destroy the factory creating the new form of mustard gas. Along the way we meet Chief, a Native American smuggler who doesn't take a side in the war. We also learn that Charlie has some PTSD. While moving through the trenches, Diana learns of a village that had been enslaved on the other side of No Man's Land. This then sets off the greatest sequence in the entire film. Watching Wonder Woman cross No Man's Land and then having the entire trench follow her to save the village is a work of art and needs to happen in film more often.
After this, the team goes to infiltrate a party at German High Command to figure out the exact location of the gas. Diana and Trevor have a huge fight and she goes off on her own. During this final battle, Trevor and the guys come up with a plan to destroy the gas while Diana battles Ares. (Not spoiling that reveal.) Turns out, Diana herself is the Godkiller as only a god can kill another god and she is the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Before the final blows, a Casablanca-esque moment occurs. I won't spoil what happens as it's very important. Ares is defeated, WWI ends and we come back to the present day where Diana thanks Bruce for the picture.
Positives: The film is well-written and excellently acted. The characters all work and the comedic time is damn near perfection. I love the costumes but, especially Diana's as Wonder Woman.
Negatives: Because so much time is devoted to develop Diana's character, some other characters fall by the wayside. Sameer, Charlie, and Chief are less developed as I would like and I only noticed because they tried to develop them a little bit. I just wanted to know more. The one character that I felt was slightly misused was Dr. Maru. We learn nothing about her and I want to know more as she was fascinating and could have been an excellent foil to Diana.
Overall Rating: 4.7/5
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