Guys, I'm so, so happy that that Wonder Woman delivered the way it did. It's genuinely, truly great. Which isn't to say there aren't any rough spots, or even some genuinely iffy moments, but whats right with it overshadows whats wrong greatly.
The most salient aspect of this movie is it's theme of trying to figure out why the world is worth saving if it has evil and darkness in it. Diana believes throughout the film that it's only just Ares that's the evil one and if he just goes away, then everyone is going to want to co-exist peacefully. Diana's character arc is coming to terms with the idea that the world is not that simple, and what clinches it is the characterization that the film very considerably gives to it's minor characters.
It's not just Diana and Steve, but Charlie and Sameer and Chief. These are truly bit characters who play a minor role, but they are characters beyond that role. Charlie acts like he doesn't care about the lives he's taken, but has nightmares about the people he's killed. We see him later, after Diana miraculously leads a successful charge over No Man's Lan, and he's singing at the bar, with his friends talking about how he hasn't done so in years. We have Sameer, initially introduced as a cheat and somewhat slimy, talk to Diana at length about how he wanted to be an actor but couldn't see his dreams through because of racism. Similarly, Chief talks about his unique position as an native american in Europe gives him a sense of freedom he doesn't get while teaching Diana about the world and how his people lost their cultural identity. It's not that these characters have extremely deep characterization, but for the screentime that they have (which is probably less than 10 minutes total), they cover a huge variety of subjects that deal with the injustice that their world holds while simultaneously showing the human element that makes it worth fighting for.
The movie that's most like this one is Captain America: The First Avenger, but in contrast to this film, the only Howler that got any characterization in the movie was Bucky. I haven't seen the film in a while, but I feel I would have noticed if they got characterized beyond some stereotypes. They're just...there, while Wonder Woman's small crew was truly brought to life.
But also unlike Cap America 1, this movie is pretty concerned with showing you the human cost of war. Again, I don't remember much of Captain America showing casualties. His montage seemed to be mostly victories. In contrast, we are treated to the films most gruesome images of injured soldiers, the deaths, the strained helplessness of the british forces trying to hold on. Which makes Wonder Woman's charge through No Man's Land one of the most inspiring and satisfying action sequences in recent memory. The film establishes how awful things are on a very detailed and desperate level....and then Wonder Woman unveils herself and steps into the battlefield. This makes the action SO satisfying. It's not just that the choreography is good, it shows why Wonder Woman is as big a deal as she is. She turns a situation that soldiers have essentially resigned themselves to dying and wins the day in a single charge. And when she is hailed as a hero as a result, it's damn well fucking earned. It feels like the first time genuine heroism entered the DCEU. Awesome. So Awesome. (There are some posters that people always wonder why people want Superman to smile or interact with the populus he saves more. The scene where people come to thank wonder woman for saving their lives and her beaming at them is why. And if that scene doesn't speak to you, then idk, are you sure you have a soul?)
But as far as the two main characters go, the unique thing here is that Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman are as close to being on equal footing as they can be. Steve Trevor isn't just some love interest whose presence is contrived and is mostly mucking about just because they're the protagonist's love interest (*coughLoisLanecough*), but he comes off as an independent character who has his own agenda and agency. But so does Wonder Woman. As a result, I can't think of any partnership that is as equal in superhero fiction as this one. And as a result, their romance feels so believable. These characters feel like genuine people who lived through a transformative experience with each other (moreso on Wonder Woman's part, but still) and as a result their relationship just feels authentic. Their interactions run the spectrum from awkwardness to joking around with each other, to debating each other, to frustration and fighting with each other, to tender moments of affection, it's all there. I feel it isn't any kind of hyperbole to say that this is the best couple in Superhero movies right now. People have been talking about how Batman is being set up to get together with Wonder Woman. If true, that's a MASSIVE downgrade for Wonder Woman, and I didn't think I'd have ever said that about Steve Trevor in relation to Batman.
Wonder Woman's journey is, as a whole, a great achievement. Gal Godat nailed everything she needed to nail. Diana is entertaining, funny, heartfelt, genuine, and badass. While it definitely got a bit too CGI happy at the end, it's action sequences are really damn good, particularly the aformentioned No Man's Land Run. The personal struggle that Wonder Woman has, trying to cope with the fact that humanity just isn't perfect and needs a lot of work, can be a bit clunky towards the end, but it's well realized with her journey of meeting the people that she meets. You can definitely feel her anger and anguish and confusion particularly when she first decides that Steve is corrupted by Ares' influence, and then realizing that she can't just fix the world with Ares' death.
The weakpoint is unfortunately Ares himself, but I was prepared for that to be the case. I am a mythology buff, so I'm very particular in how gods are depicted, and I feel most people do it poorly, especially in this genre. The spectacle at the end was more creative than I had expected, so I got to give them credit there. Still, Ares is a very generic "But I'm not to blame, I just gave them the tools and incentive and temptation to be total shitheads" and "Diana, I am your brother. Join me, and we can rule theempireworld". I dig his evil wizard fighting style, but that's as much good as I can say about him. And personally, once he gets his reveal, I feel like he just brings down the acting of everyone around him. Gal Godat starts speaking internal thoughts of "I learned this lesson" and Chris Pines does his long held gaze before shooting the gun for maximum drama.
Still, if that's the primary sin of this movie, which devotes 85% of it's energy into good stuff that pays off, then that's more than good enough.
In the end, there is some other stuff, but the main thing about this film is that it has heart. Not just more heart than other DCEU films, but more heart than most superhero films in general. Only Logan might have Wonder Woman beat in this category. I hope ever superhero fan sees this movie. It's more than great. It's wonderful.
The most salient aspect of this movie is it's theme of trying to figure out why the world is worth saving if it has evil and darkness in it. Diana believes throughout the film that it's only just Ares that's the evil one and if he just goes away, then everyone is going to want to co-exist peacefully. Diana's character arc is coming to terms with the idea that the world is not that simple, and what clinches it is the characterization that the film very considerably gives to it's minor characters.
It's not just Diana and Steve, but Charlie and Sameer and Chief. These are truly bit characters who play a minor role, but they are characters beyond that role. Charlie acts like he doesn't care about the lives he's taken, but has nightmares about the people he's killed. We see him later, after Diana miraculously leads a successful charge over No Man's Lan, and he's singing at the bar, with his friends talking about how he hasn't done so in years. We have Sameer, initially introduced as a cheat and somewhat slimy, talk to Diana at length about how he wanted to be an actor but couldn't see his dreams through because of racism. Similarly, Chief talks about his unique position as an native american in Europe gives him a sense of freedom he doesn't get while teaching Diana about the world and how his people lost their cultural identity. It's not that these characters have extremely deep characterization, but for the screentime that they have (which is probably less than 10 minutes total), they cover a huge variety of subjects that deal with the injustice that their world holds while simultaneously showing the human element that makes it worth fighting for.
The movie that's most like this one is Captain America: The First Avenger, but in contrast to this film, the only Howler that got any characterization in the movie was Bucky. I haven't seen the film in a while, but I feel I would have noticed if they got characterized beyond some stereotypes. They're just...there, while Wonder Woman's small crew was truly brought to life.
But also unlike Cap America 1, this movie is pretty concerned with showing you the human cost of war. Again, I don't remember much of Captain America showing casualties. His montage seemed to be mostly victories. In contrast, we are treated to the films most gruesome images of injured soldiers, the deaths, the strained helplessness of the british forces trying to hold on. Which makes Wonder Woman's charge through No Man's Land one of the most inspiring and satisfying action sequences in recent memory. The film establishes how awful things are on a very detailed and desperate level....and then Wonder Woman unveils herself and steps into the battlefield. This makes the action SO satisfying. It's not just that the choreography is good, it shows why Wonder Woman is as big a deal as she is. She turns a situation that soldiers have essentially resigned themselves to dying and wins the day in a single charge. And when she is hailed as a hero as a result, it's damn well fucking earned. It feels like the first time genuine heroism entered the DCEU. Awesome. So Awesome. (There are some posters that people always wonder why people want Superman to smile or interact with the populus he saves more. The scene where people come to thank wonder woman for saving their lives and her beaming at them is why. And if that scene doesn't speak to you, then idk, are you sure you have a soul?)
But as far as the two main characters go, the unique thing here is that Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman are as close to being on equal footing as they can be. Steve Trevor isn't just some love interest whose presence is contrived and is mostly mucking about just because they're the protagonist's love interest (*coughLoisLanecough*), but he comes off as an independent character who has his own agenda and agency. But so does Wonder Woman. As a result, I can't think of any partnership that is as equal in superhero fiction as this one. And as a result, their romance feels so believable. These characters feel like genuine people who lived through a transformative experience with each other (moreso on Wonder Woman's part, but still) and as a result their relationship just feels authentic. Their interactions run the spectrum from awkwardness to joking around with each other, to debating each other, to frustration and fighting with each other, to tender moments of affection, it's all there. I feel it isn't any kind of hyperbole to say that this is the best couple in Superhero movies right now. People have been talking about how Batman is being set up to get together with Wonder Woman. If true, that's a MASSIVE downgrade for Wonder Woman, and I didn't think I'd have ever said that about Steve Trevor in relation to Batman.
Wonder Woman's journey is, as a whole, a great achievement. Gal Godat nailed everything she needed to nail. Diana is entertaining, funny, heartfelt, genuine, and badass. While it definitely got a bit too CGI happy at the end, it's action sequences are really damn good, particularly the aformentioned No Man's Land Run. The personal struggle that Wonder Woman has, trying to cope with the fact that humanity just isn't perfect and needs a lot of work, can be a bit clunky towards the end, but it's well realized with her journey of meeting the people that she meets. You can definitely feel her anger and anguish and confusion particularly when she first decides that Steve is corrupted by Ares' influence, and then realizing that she can't just fix the world with Ares' death.
The weakpoint is unfortunately Ares himself, but I was prepared for that to be the case. I am a mythology buff, so I'm very particular in how gods are depicted, and I feel most people do it poorly, especially in this genre. The spectacle at the end was more creative than I had expected, so I got to give them credit there. Still, Ares is a very generic "But I'm not to blame, I just gave them the tools and incentive and temptation to be total shitheads" and "Diana, I am your brother. Join me, and we can rule the
Still, if that's the primary sin of this movie, which devotes 85% of it's energy into good stuff that pays off, then that's more than good enough.
In the end, there is some other stuff, but the main thing about this film is that it has heart. Not just more heart than other DCEU films, but more heart than most superhero films in general. Only Logan might have Wonder Woman beat in this category. I hope ever superhero fan sees this movie. It's more than great. It's wonderful.
(I'm so sorry, I had to. I just had to.)
