A Breathe of Fresh Air for DC Movies

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2017)

Perhaps it's clichÃ© to say at this point, but DC has not released the greatest movies over the past few years. Man of Steel was OK at best, but nothing to write home about. Batman v Superman was pure, sloppy garbage that lacked focus, and Suicide Squad was just one big hot mess. So, naturally, I was very skeptical going into Wonder Woman. I wanted the film to be good, as I want all films I go see to be good, but I had a sinking feeling that this film was going to disappoint me as all the other DCEU films had. I can safely say that my skepticism was proved wrong because Wonder Woman was a fantastic movie.
The plot of this film is as follows. A young woman named Diana, played by Gal Gadot, lives on an Island of Amazon Women named Themyscira, which is hidden from the world of men. All is well and good until a man named Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, crash lands on Themyscira and tells the Amazons of World War I and the turmoil the world is in. After hearing this, Diana wishes to join Steve and help him fight in the war as she believes the culprit is really Ares, the god of war.
The character of Diana, or Wonder Woman, was handled very well in this film. It would have been easy for the writers to simply make her another flawless, perfect Mary-sue that never does anything wrong and defeats all adversity with the greatest of ease. However, they decided instead to give her a sort of child like innocence when confronted with the real world. She still has a lot to learn, and she does make mistakes. However, she still emulates all of the good qualities of humanity that we, the viewers, aspire towards.
Actress Gal Gadot was the perfect casting choice for Wonder Woman. Looking back at her career reveals a talent that has been criminally underutilized. Her only big films have been the Fast and Furious movies which have been OK at best and garbage at worst. She also served as an ex-Israeli defense force soldier, which really shines through during the film's action sequences. Watching her dawn the Wonder Woman outfit felt like watching Christopher Reeve dawn the Superman cape, or watching Robert Downey Jr. put on the Iron Man suit for the first time, or watching Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. She is one of those actors that perfectly fits the role. When I looked up on the screen, I didn't see Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman, I saw Wonder Woman.
The film's supporting cast also brings a lot to the film. Chris Pine was an excellent choice for Wonder Woman's Lois Lane, Steve Trevor. He brings some great comedic relief to the film and has some great comedic timing, but he also serves as Diana's anchor, being more of a realist in regards to Wonder Woman's quest. He isn't just some annoying sidekick who has to be saved all the time, he brings some genuine heart to the role and has some great emotional moments as well.
While many of the film's leading and supporting roles were handled very well, the film does suffer, as seems standard for many superhero movies these days, from having very poor villains. The film has 2 or 3 villains and none of them really stand out. A couple of them have some pretty cool designs, but it just feels like the standard super- villain we've seen in a multitude of Marvel films.
Another major concern I had going into this film was that it was going to be preachy. I was worried that the film was going to pander to the Tumblr Feminist, SJW crowd and hammer in points about men being evil womanizers and women being flawless, perfect beings. I didn't want another Ghostbusters 2016. However, the film was very balanced and level headed with it's message. It empowers women without demonizing men. Not only are the male heroes in the film very warm and likable, but one of the villains, Dr. Poison, is a woman, showing that not only can men be good, but women can be evil. It downplays the gender of the characters and, instead, focuses on their humanity.
Wonder Woman was great. It was a fresh new origin film for a DC character we haven't seen on the big screen yet. Gal Gadot was perfect casting for the role of Wonder Woman, and the supporting cast felt very warm and likable. Though the film does have a few flaws, particularly in the villain department, none of the flaws are great enough to drag the movie down. The story is simple and easy to follow, the action scenes are fast paced and exciting, the lead is bad ass but also sympathetic and easy to relate to, and the supporting cast is supportive and enjoyable. The overused cinema tropes, like the sexist "She's a Woman and can't do blank" trope and the "fish out of water" trope, are addressed during the film, as they should be, but are not used to the point of being annoying. Of the movies DC has released in their new DCEU lineup, Wonder Woman was the first that I've wanted to see more than once. It is also the first of the DCEU movies that I want to add to my Blu-Ray collection. Wonder Woman was great. If you have not seen it yet, go see it ASAP. You will not be disappointed.