A Beautiful Reflection on The Human Condition

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2017)

Many reviews complained that Diana and Ares aren't complex characters, or that they are "generic" but this is simply untrue. First, Diana and Ares are extremely well-suited for each other as a hero/villain duo. *Spoilers* We learn at the end of the movie that Ares never actually controls men and compels them to go to war; in fact, what he REALLY WANTS is to restore earth to the paradise that it once was--before human beings, in THEIR corruption--destroyed it.
And initially, the restoration of earth to a peaceful paradise is Diana's motivation as well. She also wants to restore earth to an idyllic paradise, free of war and corruption. Diana and Ares' shared motivation reminds me of the shared motivation of Batman and the Joker (i.e., they are both vying for control of Gotham City, though Batman wants it to be ordered, while the Joker wants it to slip into chaos). Like Batman and Joker, Ares and Diana initially want virtually the same thing, which really allows their struggles to compliment one another. Yet, when Diana ultimately gains a little wisdom and realizes that human beings themselves have "destroyed" the paradise of the earth, and not Ares, she has the capability to also see the beauty in the human condition.
Diana loves humans. Ares does not. Ares--a "villain"--wants PURE peace. And Diana--the "hero"-- actually does not, because she realizes that in order for there to be pure peace, humans would really have to be entirely wiped out. And she authentically loves humans.
In short, these characters are complex. Diana grows--she learns how to love, and she completely changes her mission. And the God of War's motivation is the restoration of paradise--talk about complexity of character.
*Side note*--It's also nice to see Diana build a team to help her. She doesn't talk all the credit for her mission, nor does she try to. She willingly enlists and accepts the help of several highly trained men. This was a nice change from superhero movies that focus so heavily on the hero being, well, a hero--and doing it all him or herself. Friendship, love, teamwork--those are important too.
A final note:
In an interview, Samantha Robinson (writer and director of The Love Witch) said something along the lines of how she was always interested with the idea of women who are the "centerfold. There they are, ready to be ogled and looked at, right in the literal center of the action, but what is going on in their head? No one asks them. They have blank eyes, blank faces, and they're all object--no subject.
I didn't get the sense that Diana was an empty-eyed centerfold at all. That is, even though she is absolutely stunning and sexy, she is irreducible to her sex appeal. Her eyes are always alive. I noticed this especially in the scene where she learns how to dance--she's looking around at the snow, at her friends--she's investigating the world, and she doesn't even need to say anything, but I could see her beauty shine as not just a mere object, but as a subject--exploring, taking in, discovering, the world. Truly beautiful.
Anyone who complains about "bad CGI" or "flat characters" or a "predictable plot" or "it's too feminist" or "it's not feminist enough" is I think, missing the point of the movie, and missing a really beautiful insight into the nature of human nature.