Nice Gender Try But Something Is Still Missing

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2019)

3 June 2017. It's not easy to grasp the significance of a female director overseeing a female superhero movie based on a male written script. The use of culture clashing humor, the attempts at a female perspective of violence on an epic scale may not be sufficient to draw out the substantive and substantial gender distinction that one finds in the more intimate and relatable relational importance as one might find in Jennifer Garner's presentation, more human and vulnerable, but more emotive and compelling experience in the highly under-rated Elektra (2005). Operating on a smaller and personal scale using an even more powerful human/supernatural theme, its pacing and intimacy easily rivals Wonder Woman's blockbuster special effects bluster. Angelina Jolie's Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2001) offers up a much more female perspective on violence oriented movies while even Uma Thurman's coming of new age in Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) captures the more demanding mental infusion of mind and body that is missing in Wonder Woman.
While perhaps the male critics and the women audience members might enjoy the shift in superhero focus, overall, this movie doesn't quite break the bright line of the summer action testosterone action figure blockbuster theme and performance that many suggest it does. Even with the 3-D, the technical quality still hasn't achieved that reality-based visual impact that 3-D potential offers. Hugo (2011) and its 3-D from six years ago still holds up better. Maybe the likely Wonder Woman stand-alone sequel that this initial origin movie justifies will bring a more starkly dramatic and comic fantasy franchise with an emphasis on intimate emotive values such as seen on television like The Magicians (2015-2017) offers.