Review Of DC Film 'Wonder Woman'
Wonder Woman (Patty Jenkins) is the prequel to Zack Snyder’s blockbuster film from Warner Bros Studio “Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice” Starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill as Batman and Superman respectively. It soared past the records for movies directed by women, landing itself the number one spot over the 2013 Disney film “Frozen” Admittedly the first good film to come around from the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in quite a while, the bar for this film were not set very high, and so naturally, Wonder Woman surpassed my expectations significantly. I thought it would just be the pleaser film for SJW’s, but boy was I wrong.
It was a well-written tale of an Amazon, Diana (played by Gal Gadot), raised on the island of Themyscira, who was actually the one who would avenge the fallen Olympians by the hand of the War God Ares. A bunch of Axis soldiers and an Allied spy wash up on the island one day, and the Amazons slay the Axis soldiers, losing a few soldiers of their own, including the queen’s sister Antiope. Under the influence of a magical item named the Lasso of Hestia, the Allied spy reveals who he is, and tells of the conflict currently happening in the outside world, or in other words, World War One. Diana believes that Ares is the cause of this conflict, and rightfully so, as Ares is the God of War, and would probably enjoy such widespread carnage, so she and the Allied spy, Steve Trevor set out to kill Ares, and stop the war.
The movie’s historical usefulness is completely up for debate. The movie starts the plot on the island of Themyscira, laid with lush green land, and ancient Greek architecture. However, it portrays the Amazons as the peacemakers to the conflict among men, when the Greeks (Homer and such) mainly depicted them as cruel, war hungry fighters, nearly a polar opposite to their portrayal in the movie. However they are very skilled in combat, and that is true to the myths. Ares is also a villain in this universe when in the myths, he is a god of war, but a deity loyal to Olympus, and would most likely not rebel against the rest of the gods as he does. One of the protagonists, Steve Trevor also talks with slang and mannerisms far ahead of his time, keeping in mind that this is a film set in the era of World War One. He uses terms such as ”good guy and bad guy” which, correct me if I’m wrong, does not sound like the typical speech of a man from the early 20th century. Women did also do work for the countries involved in the war, however, to give them one as important as the chief manufacturer for their biological weapons seems rather unlikely given the political climate. Also, there’s a minor plot hole where Diana states that the Killing of Ares will end the war, but there is another Great War to come around 30 years later.
The film gives us a look at the spies and espionage work at play, not only with Steve Trevor himself, but also with a scene where they are stalked and ambushed in London, and one of the attackers kills himself with a cyanide pill. Another historical inaccuracy is, similarly to a certain Marvel movie, the help they recruit for this crazy mission is a mix of nationalities, from Arab to Native American, unlikely company in the political climate, along with a Brit.
The movie excels in some parts, such as the casting and costuming, Gal Gadot looks fitting in her iconic armour and suits the role well. Chris Pine also looks appropriate for the rugged spy from the First World War. However, Ares was a bit of a disappointment. As the initial war commander, he was introduced as, he did the part well enough, but as the War God Ares, he disappointed. As an old man with a toothbrush moustache, he looked out of place for the intimidating and bloodthirsty warlord he was cast for. The fighting choreography was well done, the occasional slow-motion cuts adding to the drama and allowing for the audience to really feel like you’re in the moment of Diana pummeling the opposition
If you’re looking for historical usefulness, this is not the film for you, while set in a World War One period, it is also loosely based off Greek mythology, and incorporates many of its elements, even going as far as to suggest it as a reason for the war itself. Therefore a historical documentary might be preferable for usefulness as a historical source. Additionally, towards the end, its historical value just goes out the window, with the final battle with Ares being a completely fantastical event.
Wonder Woman is arguably the best film in the DCEU which teaches a wholesome moral of “Love always triumphs” and “Humanity is trash, but can be good” and all the other agendas pushed by movie makers nowadays. The movie from an entertainment standpoint is far better than others that have come before it from the DCEU.
