WONDER WOMAN - Review(s)

Has the DCEU delivered on the first female-lead superhero movie of the decade? The No DLC team give their reviews...

But first, a quick synopsis (cribbed from the result I get when I type 'Wonder Woman synopsis' into Google):

Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that's raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.

Rob's Review:

I went into Wonder Woman mostly just hoping for it to be a solid superhero film. That is what the DC extended universe needed and, more importantly, it is what it needed to be as the first female lead superhero film since the hilariously atrocious Catwoman. I came out of the cinema very pleased, having watched not just a solid superhero film, but a good one which might even be a very good one after a second watch.

Particular highlights for me were the hard hitting action scenes, the themes of the plot and the awesome soundtrack. The stand-out, however, was Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. She did everything a superhero should do: kick-ass, inspire while doing so and stand for something, but there are a couple of aspects to her character which stand out in comparison to other superheroes we have seen recently and I think they help explain why I came out more attached to this hero than any other; be they Marvel or DC.

The first is her strong faith in humanity as a force for good. At the start of this film, her faith comes from a point of complete naivety as she lives in a land removed from the rest of humankind. I was able to buy into this much more than I was able to with Captain America’s faith; Cap being a man who grew up in New York and was bullied and picked on for his diminutive stature. This naivety coupled with a lack of knowledge of some of humankind's stranger quirks (such as clothes shopping or ice cream) make for a good source of humour throughout the first half of the film, but also makes her very endearing. This more believably rooted system of values, the endearing nature of her faith in humanity ( a faith which is well tested in the film) as well as her physical prowess in battle all helped shoot Wonder Woman up my list of favourite superheroes.

My biggest immediate grievance with Wonder Woman is that the big baddy of the film - Ares - does feel a bit underdone. I like my bad guys to be somewhat more impressive and there is obviously a lot of potential for that with the Greek God of War. However, upon reflection, I think Ares was done exactly how he needed to be done for Wonder Woman’s character arc.

This was a great introduction to the character we saw a bit of in Batman vs Superman and who I am now very much looking forward to seeing more of later this year in Justice League, as well as, I am sure, future Wonder Woman sequels too. Beyond being a good introduction to the character, this is also just a good film to watch and enjoy.

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Adam's Review:

Wonder Woman is good. I know it's easy to raise your eyebrows at this statement given how bafflingly turgid the DCEU has been so far, but for real: Wonder Woman is a gem of a film with a terrific cast of characters, fine direction and it serves as a welcome entry into what is a pretty packed superhero movie landscape.

There's a lot to be said for the simplicity of the film. Gone is BvS' bizarre 'deconstructionist' approach that attempted to break down its characters before it had even built them up. In its place is an incredibly straightforward origin story that could easily slot right alongside the best Marvel Phase One movies. That simplicity extends to the minute to minute action of the film too. When Wonder Woman tosses a tank through the air, the lack of overkill that precedes the moment makes it so much more impactful than Superman lobbing a satellite to Earth in Man of Steel. I didn't even mind the final battle's descent into CG-overload, given how it's accompanied by some pretty neat story and character reveals.

But really, as with most superhero movies, it's the people in them that we're here for and it's here that Wonder Woman really pulls its weight. As Rob mentioned in his review, Gal Gadot is fantastic in the role, but I found it sort of crazy how much more I cared for Chris Pine's character in the film than I did for any character in BvS (including B and S). Actually, there are side characters in Wonder Woman whose heroics are better communicated than Superman's so have fun wrapping your head around that one.

Is Wonder Woman the best superhero film of the year? I honestly don't think I can say at the moment. We've still got Thor: Ragnarok to come, which could walk away with the crown and whilst I enjoyed Wonder Woman, it didn't quite blow me away the same way Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 did. But it's certainly a film of focused confidence that can easily dance with some of Marvel's best.

Wonder Woman didn't have to be good to validate the existence of female-lead/directed superhero films, but I'm enormously happy that it is.

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Franki's Review:

I want her to punch me in the face.

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