An Insult to Veterans and a Disservice to Humanity

Rating: 3/10 (22 July 2017)

Let me first say that I am not a fan of superhero movies at the best of times. I don't like them for several reasons. Even though they are considered fantasy, they still propagate the myth that making this world a better place is the responsibility of someone else: some hero will eventually come along and save the day. As viewers, we are drawn into a dreamy state of false security, instead of doing our part to better the world here and now. Plus, they are almost always male. And, the solution to the problem presented in the movie is always violence.
I had a hope, then, that Wonder Woman would be something different. A female lead, perhaps solutions other than violence, something other than the usual superhero garbage.
Unfortunately, this superhero movie was even worse than the usual fantasy superhero movie as it tried to tie into real history. In fact, in an interview that I saw with the director, Patty Jenkins, she even stated that was one of her goals for the movie, to accurately represent WWI history. What an insult to veterans.
Why do I say that? Throughout the movie, Diana keeps saying if she can kill Ares, then the war will end. She kills Ares, and lo and behold, the war does end. If I was a veteran of any war, I would boycott a movie with that kind of message, especially one that is set in a real, historical context.
I have one more criticism. The movie ends with Diana basically saying that she has learned that love is the only way to really solve the worlds problems. Um, how did she learn that? She only solved anything in the movie by fighting and killing. Very hypocritical. Did she learn that little gem from Chris Pine's character's self sacrifice? Perhaps, but that was a completely unnecessary sacrifice (he's close to the ocean, fly the plane into the water, jump with a parachute) - and rumour has it he really didn't die as he is expected to be in the sequel.
No redeeming of superhero movies for me here. If you want to turn your mind off and watch some mindless action, then that's what you'll get.