Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review, Warner Bros, Wonder Woman | Tagged: dc comics, film, Review, Warner Bros, wonder woman

'Wonder Woman' Reviewed: Not Perfect, But Still Hits The Right Marks

Wonder Woman cannot seem to escape some of the problems that come with the superhero genre, but soars where it counts.

Director: Patty Jenkins
Summary: 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.

Wonder Woman has been sitting at the top of "most anticipated" lists since the movie was first announced. This movie was going to be a big deal before the three previous DCEU movies were different levels of disaster, but now it has to prove that this entire cinematic universe isn't a mistake. It turns out that Diana is more than up to the task, and she does so by delivering a sometimes-flawed yet frequently breathtaking movie.

The thing that makes this movie work are the characters, and a lot of credit must be given to Gal Gadot as Diana and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Gadot plays Diana with a endearing combination of naivety and sheer strength. In the moments when she yells at generals for being cowards or has an awkward conversation because she doesn't understand a social nuance, Pine manages to not talk down to her and comes across as incredibly charming.

Pine and Gadot also have a natural chemistry that works extremely well with the rest of the cast. The moments on Themyscira are dominated by Connie Nielsen as Queen Hippolyta and Robin Wright as General Antiope, who are equal parts terrifyingly powerful and stunningly beautiful. They are vicious on the battlefield while remaining incredibly graceful. There isn't a moment of weakness between the two, and your eyes follow them no matter where they are on screen.

Once we get to London, the supporting cast really kicks in as Diana gets her own version of a Rogue One crew with Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui), Charlie (Ewen Bremner), and Chief (Eugene Brave Rock), plus a little Etta Candy (Lucy Davis). Unfortunately, none of these characters really get that much room to breathe — but the moments when they're all together are great, if not around as much as you would like.

The truly breathtaking moments comes when Diana walks across No Man's Land, which is the high point of the entire movie. It's a stunning scene that might just bring tears to your eyes. It's just a shame that the No Man's Land scene is halfway through the movie; after that, the third act becomes something of a chore. Much like the Phase One Marvel movies, this is a film that peaks in the middle and then kind of slides into an awkward third act.

The final reveal of Ares and their fight is an explosion of fireworks and people getting thrown around, but it feels rather empty. There are also some pacing issues where the movie drags a little — but nothing too terrible.

The movie doesn't shy away from how horrible World War I actually was, and while it might be a little violent, it's not something that will scare kids. Director Patty Jenkins might not linger on someone getting shot in this movie, but we know what's going on. In some ways it's something that might make kids ask questions about a war they might not know anything about. The movie also manages to cover some basic themes of race relations — it touches on Diana's gender and culture in a world she is seeing for the first time — and even covers PTSD in a way that, however brief, felt true.

Wonder Woman is the movie and character that the DCEU has been waiting for. She is a dominating presence that deserves to make an appearance in every subsequent movie (a la Tony Stark). This is the moneymaker for DC; this is the one, and she's here to take the world by storm. It only took four movies for them to figure it out, but they've finally done it. It feels so good to finally like a DC movie. Now let's see if they can stick the landing in November.

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