I’d planned to write a long discussion on the history of the
DCEU (DC Extended Universe), but to cut it short… It’s been a bit of a
rocky road, hasn’t it?
2013’s Man of Steel,
2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
and 2016’s Suicide Squad all had
immense hype leading up to their releases, and all failed to satisfy a
significant portion of the critics and audiences. True, the DC Extended
Universe has its fans, but for many, they have been a disappointment. That
might explain why so much hope rests on whether Wonder Woman is a success. Based on the glowing reviews and strong
box office showing thus far, a lot of people seem to be pleased; considering
some box office analysts were predicting an opening weekend of $65 million, the
film’s $103 million opening weekend in the US must have been a very pleasant
surprise.
And I couldn’t be happier for the film’s success; not only
is Wonder Woman the best film in the
DCEU by miles, but it ranks amongst the best comic-book films of the past
several years.
Diana (Gal Gadot) grew up on the mystical island of
Themyscira under the protection of her mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and
being trained by her aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) to be a great warrior. When
human spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) lands on their shores and informs them of a
great war which threatens millions of lives, Diana goes against her mother’s
wishes and accompanies Steve to the world of humans to put an end to the
conflict.
Wonder Woman is a
refreshingly old-fashioned take on the superhero genre. While there’s enough
here to identify it as an entry in a cinematic universe (the bookending scenes
re-enforce that), the film smartly chooses to simply focus on its lead
character and is all the better for it. There isn’t even a post-credit scene;
this might be disappointing for some, but given how wonderfully the film works
as a self-contained story, I loved it. All I wanted to see was the evolution of
Diana’s character, and watching her develop as a compassionate and fierce
warrior was everything I needed and wanted from this film.
Speaking of warriors, the film doesn’t fail to deliver on
the spectacle when Diana and friends charge into battle. Whilst the CGI does
become too obvious at points during the set-pieces, that doesn’t stop this from
being some of the best action I’ve ever seen in a comic-book film. Part of the
reason why is the impact of what’s occurring on screen; whenever warriors take
or deliver a punch, you feel that punch. The physicality of the actors and
their stunt doubles can’t be underestimated here; the fluidity and ferocity of
the battle sequences are largely thanks to how committed they are to every
move. The sensational choreography, gorgeously designed shots and heart-pounding
music all aid in amplifying the excitement. From Diana’s training and first
taste of war to an alley-way skirmish, the action beats are handled with expert
style. My personal favourite action set-piece is one at the mid-way point of
the film when Diana takes the fight to the enemy; this sequence belongs in the
pantheon of great super-hero moments. The finale, whilst perhaps too heavy on
CGI, is still a more-than-effective final confrontation, being as much a
psychological and emotional battle as a show of strength.
Part of the reason why it’s so easy to become invested in
the action is that the characters involved are so engaging and involving. First
off, the supporting cast is truly excellent. Ewan Bremner (who delivered
stand-out work earlier this year in T2:
Trainspotting) delivers more strong work here as Charlie, a tortured sniper
comrade of Steve’s, while Said Taghmaoui
is a scene-stealer as another of Steve’s comrades, Samir. From when he first
appears on screen, Taghmaoui
is a charismatic attention-grabber and Samir, for me, is one of the most
entertaining characters in the film. Out of Steve’s band, only Eugene Brave
Rock struggles to make an impression as smuggler Chief, but at least he has a
memorable camp-fire exchange with Diana. David Thewlis (or, as many might know
him, Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter films)
is reliably superb as the helpful Sir Patrick Morgan, while Lucy Davis makes
for some solid comedic relief as Etta Candy, Steve Trevor’s secretary. While
there are moments where I thought Davis was slightly over-doing it, she’s still
a very likeable and enjoyable presence. Robin Wright (perhaps best known as
Claire Underwood from Netflix’s House of Cards)
makes a strong impression as Antiope, radiating strength and an underlying
warmth along with a genuinely imposing physicality; when she’s in action, it’s
truly impressive to behold. Connie Nielsen is wonderful as Diana’s mother
Hippolyta, capturing the poise of a queen and the concerned love of a mother
with power and ease. Then we come to the villains; whilst these aren’t likely
to be iconic comic-book film antagonists, they’re solid enough. As General
Erich Ludendorff, Danny Huston once again essays a comic-book bad guy (after
playing vampire leader Marlow in 2007’s 30
Days of Night and Colonel William Stryker in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and relishes playing this character.
Ludendorff is a very one-dimensional villain (all evil and not a care in the
world), but Huston is still engaging and Ludendorff’s dynamic with
partner-in-crime Dr. Muro (Elena Anaya) is entertaining to watch. Out of
Ludendorff and Muro, though, Muro is easily the more interesting of the two.
The simple yet hauntingly effective mask shielding half of Muro’s face adds
sinister undercurrents, but Anaya’s unforced yet captivating work often speaks
volumes. One particular scene with her at a party shows the character in an
intriguingly vulnerable moment; Anaya expresses this all through looks and
inflection, giving this undoubtedly vicious character more dimensions than one
might expect.
Then we get to our lead and our co-star. While a lot of
people flat-out loved Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman, I was still sceptical. Whilst she was solid, I
felt there wasn’t enough there to make me buy Gadot as this character. After
seeing Wonder Woman, I’m sold 100%.
Gadot is nothing short of sensational here; from her first scene, she imbues
Diana with a grace and power which never once wavers throughout the film. Even
more than that, though, Gadot nails Diana’s compassion. Even a small moment
where she encourages one of her uncertain comrades brims with pure love and
made me think ‘yeah, I would follow her into battle’. As great as Gadot is at
portraying Diana’s strength and spirit, she is equally excellent with the
fish-out-of-water comedy and especially in the magnetic chemistry she shares
with Chris Pine. Speaking of Pine, he is terrific here as Steve Trevor. Very
much the Lois Lane to Diana’s Superman, Pine never lets Steve fall into the
simple classification of love interest. Trevor is smart, funny, capable of
handling himself in a fight and isn’t afraid to speak his mind. While this is
Gadot’s film through and through. Pine more than holds his own with her. Their
charming and palpable rapport makes this one of the most romantic relationships
I’ve yet seen in a comic-book film; a lot of the best scenes in the film simply
consist of these two characters interacting. In fact, the character
interactions across the board are so good here. It’s so easy to become invested
in these characters, which makes the action more intense and powerful.
For merely her second time directing a film (and with a huge
gap between this and her directorial debut in 2003’s Monster), Patty Jenkins proves herself to be capable of delivering
truly rousing blockbuster spectacle. This is mostly thanks to the clear passion
she brings to the project; from the first frame to the last, it never feels
like Jenkins is being lazy or rushing it. Instead, her commitment to the
project shines through in every scene. She also proves equally at home whether
capturing a heart-to-heart between characters or Wonder Woman sending men
flying across the room. In bringing this vision to the screen, she is aided
immensely by the cast and crew, particularly the film’s writer Allan Seinberg.
For a film which could have veered so far in the wrong direction, Seinberg’s
script nails every important point with just the right amount of force or
sensivity that is required. The dialogue is perfect for every tone, whether it
be comedy (Samir gets the pick of the litter here), dramatic or straight
bad-ass. While the work from everyone else involved in the film is fantastic,
the team of Jenkins and Seinberg deserve stupendous credit for steering the
ship in the right direction at every turn.
It would be remiss of me to discuss the expert execution of Wonder Woman without mentioned the
spectacular technical credits. In the hands of editor Matthew Walsh, the film
is edited and paced near-flawlessly, allowing the characters and the action to
breathe without feeling rushed or drawn out. A great part of the pleasure
derived from watching the film is simply from how magnificent it looks. Whether
in the sun-drenched paradise that is Themyscira or the war-torn hell of No
Man’s Land, Matthew Jensen’s cinematography is stunning and encapsulates the
emotional breadth of the film magnificently. Aline Bonetto’s sublime production
design and Lindy Hemming’s immaculate costume design certainly don’t hurt,
magnificently portraying the culture of the Amazons and WW1-era London/France
with the help of set decorator Anna Lynch-Robinson and a very talented art direction
team. Finally, whilst I’ve mentioned it before, Rupert Gregson-Williams’ score
is spell-binding and plays a huge role in the emotional investment I had while
watching the film. It’s also very difficult to stop listening to it; in fact, I
have listened to the score whilst writing this review.
Finally, I need to mention something which I was personally
very thankful for with this film. When it comes to ‘feminist’ blockbusters,
there has been something of a struggle with equality. The see-saw effect here
can be seen most prominently in the work of director Paul Feig. While 2011’s Bridesmaids and 2015’s Spy gave both its male and female stars
a chance to make an impression through the comedy and their characters (while
I’m personally very lukewarm towards 2013’s The
Heat, it also accomplishes this feat), 2016’s Ghostbusters angered me with its depiction of men. Don’t get me
wrong; I had no problem with the Ghostbusters being women. My problem with the
finished product was in the demonization of men. Whether idiots (I use this
term lightly), incompetent or a straight-up bad guy out to destroy the world
(for no other reason than bullying – compelling, huh?) who gets defeated when
all four women shoot him in the groin, the men in Ghostbusters weren’t just treated with disdain. They were treated
with downright venom. Well, in every way Ghostbusters
failed to depict both genders with equal grace and opportunity, Wonder Woman succeeds with flying
colours. While the film has a loving and strong heroine, there is also a
nefarious villainess. While a man is one of the murderous antagonists, there
are several men who prove to be not only useful in Diana’s journey but who are
capable of handling themselves and don’t always need to be saved. There are characters
of ethnic minorities and the moments where they acknowledge this are
beautifully written and acted; this isn’t a character simply stating their
ethnicity, colour or gender for a quick and hollow reaction (unlike that other
film I might have discussed in negative detail), but rather them emphasising
how this has shaped them and their lives. Simply put, there is a balance
between men and women in all ethnic groups which shouldn’t be ignored. One of Wonder Woman’s most understated yet
profound accomplishments is in its acknowledgement of this balance in both
timely and timeless fashion, and it’s something which other films should aspire
to emulate in the future.
I honestly have very few complaints with Wonder Woman. Like I said before, the
CGI is very noticeable and, although it doesn’t detract too much from the
terrific action, it still could have been done better. This is most evident in
the final battle, as it is the most reliant on CGI; I did still enjoy the final
fight, but the effects could have been more accomplished. For a film so reliant
on CGI, the lack of polish is still a flaw. Also, the film has obvious
influences from the likes of 2011’s Captain
America: The First Avenger and Thor,
which become clearer with close inspection and could prove bothersome for some
audience members. But, in this writer’s opinion, this is still the film which
all other DCEU films should observe as a blue-print for success. As my friend
said after leaving the story, ‘the main thing I need for a film to succeed is a
good story’. Unlike the DCEU films which came before it, Wonder Woman has a good and well-told story, taking elements from
its influences and melding them into a compelling tale all its own. Not only is
it a rollicking action film, but it is also a film about dealing with
oppression and stereotypes, making your own place in the world and standing up
for what you believe in. This is a tale with a surprising amount of emotional
weight, and the passion imbued by everyone involved carries that emotion with a
steely purpose from start to finish. Wonder
Woman more than earns the superlative in its title, and the character has
earned her place in the pantheon of great heroes, both male and female.
Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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