Wonder Woman was a surprised take on the superhero movies. Not only that it is the first female superhero movies that did not overly sexualise their images, it was surprisingly grounded on the common people level. And I think that is what made Wonder Woman stood out not just as a superhero movie but also as a movie itself.
The back story of Woman Wonder had been told again and again in different ways but the innocent and straightforward (even hot headed) approach to achieving world peace laid a great foundation for Diana (Prince) to grow and evolve into whom we previously (or later in terms of timeline) saw in Batman Vs Superman.
I remember I thought Wonder Woman was under-utilised in Batman Vs Superman and her surprises were mostly taken out in the trailers. So the retrospective background story gave Warner Bros a chance to reposition Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman characterisation that complimented the Batman Vs Superman while completely 3-dimensionalised her to a full fledge character. For me it is great to have Patty Jenkins, a female director, who doesn’t compromise to be at the helm of the movie. As I previously mentioned a lot of female superheroes were overly sexualised in this whole presumptuous male fan boy world. Just look at the standalone Cat Woman movie, together with Elektra and Aeon Flux. Even Black Widow in the early stages were being focused on her looks, which eventually, thanks to Joss Whedon reformed her into a much richer character in the Avengers movies. With Patty Jenkins, Wonder Woman’s outfit is more of a utilitarian armour for movement and maximum efficiency. It was not about boobs and booty and with the ferocity Gal Gadot put into the character, she became a superhero that everyone would look up to.
Even though I felt that Wonder Woman will be a different kind of movie I was scared to see it initially because I was afraid that the hype at launch would not do it justice. So I waited till recently and decided to go see it spontaneously and the decision was a correct one. I was totally hooked and engaged with the characters. The pace was fast no question but even that it was possible to craft a number of really memorable characters whom you cared for along the journey. The heartbreaks and disappointment and the struggles all became very real for those characters. It would be nice to find out more but then it will be at the expense of the length of the movie. Steve Trevor took Diana into a man’s world only to have Diana turning the table and having the men following her lead was a great touch to the movie. From how they were sceptical of her to how they just trust her and became her enablers to achieve her goals was a great comrade story to be told.
It is a superhero movie so there is no way that there won’t be special effects. But the special effects were not there for the spectacular spectacular, they were part of the story. This marks a huge difference from let’s say Batman Vs Superman. The no man’s land sequence is still one of the most memorable scenes in recent superhero movie history, if not just movie history. That was the first time you have a full view of Diana as Wonder Woman, not as a costumed hero, but as a full fledge warrior going to war because of the injustice she saw. The first time you saw Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman was a moment of empowerment and belief. That cannot be stronger than anything as supposed to like sizing up some female superheroes’ butts and boobs then their faces.
The other great thing about the movie was that strong Amazonian heavy metal soundtrack. I still remember the brief impact it had when Gal Gadot showed up in Batman Vs Superman. But now in her own movie, the soundtrack not only create an atmosphere for the character but also created a heavy sense of pressure for her enemies. This contrasts with the softer and funnier scenes creating a very sharp image of who we are dealing with on the battle fields. The script paced the different scenes well but the soundtrack gave life to the world itself.
If I want to pick bones out of an egg, the only thing I was not as satisfied was the apparent choice of the final villain. When that character showed up, in the second scene you already knew that that character is the villain Diana was hunting for to bring peace back to the world. However, this did not spoil the movie as such. Just that it would be great to have been presented a few more choices so we can be left in suspense for a bit longer.
Wonder Woman by no means is a perfect movie but it is perfect enough for me to revisit it again and again in the future. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman put a great spin on what was considered as a classic American comic hero (well to be fair she is Amazonian not American) so I am glad that they go with her instead of some blonde bimbo with dyed hair. Also the fierceness that Gal Gadot brought to the character made Wonder Woman one of the most memorable superhero characters on screen so far, and to be honest with you, that totally eclipsed all her male counterparts since the start of the DC Extended Universe. It is without a doubt now it brings huge pressure to the future Captain Marvel movie for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
I do not know how the Justice League movie would work out, but I certainly would love to see more of Wonder Woman in action, as long as they got it right. And I hope they would.
