THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Believe it or not, an attempt of a movie about Wonder Woman had been in development since 1996, but no director picked up the steam to make it a reality after Ivan Reitman originally dropped from the helm. In 2010, Warner Bros. finally got Director Patty Jenkins on board, but not progress continued for a while. After Gal Gadot played the character for the first time in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, she stole the show and had fans & moviegoers alike realize that it was time for her to shine. In 2017, the wait had ended.
PLOT
The film shows us the origin of Diana Prince, an immortal Amazon who grew up in the Amazon island known as Themyscira. According to her mother Hippolyta, she made her of clay and brought to life by Zeus. As she got older, she would be trained by her aunt Antiope in order to prepare for the God of War, Ares, who was presumed dead after being defeated by Zeus. The King of the Gods created a barrier to hide Themyscira from the world. In 1918, an adult Diana discovers a man for the first time and saves him from drowning, as he crash lands his plane. However, he was followed by Germans and they discover the island as well. The Amazons successfully defend the island, but Antiope got shot during the conflict. The remaining man reveals himself to be American spy Steve Trevor, who discovered a bio weapon, a deadly gas, being made by German General Erich Ludendorff and chemist Isabel Maru aka Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya). He stole Maru's notebook, believing that it will be leverage to end World War I. Believing that this is the work of Ares, Diana chooses to go with Steve, to help him end the war. Before leaving, she takes a shield, a new battle armor, the Lasso of Truth and the 'Godkiller' sword. Before Hippolyta forbids her from returning, she gives Antiope's tiara. During this time, Maru gets a breakthrough with the gas and gives Ludendorff a separate type of gas where he temporarily gains super strength. When she and Steve make it to London, she gets an appropriate outfit before encountering his superiors. When handing the notebook to Sir Patrck Morgan, Diana reads the sumerian language written, revealing to the others how dangerous the gas is and it will be released at the Western Front. However, the British intend to send more troops and it leaves her appalled. Steve plans to take her there as he promised to do so. They are able to sneak in with the aid of Moroccan spy Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), marksman Charlie (Ewen Bremmer) and smuggler Chief Napi (Eugene Brave Rock). When they arrive to No Man's Land, Diana puts on the tiara, removes her coat and enters the battlefield. Within this time, she and her group pass through alive and rescue those that remained in a nearby village. As they celebrate this victory, Steve and Diana fall in love. After discovering that Ludendorff is attending a gala they're not far from, he informs his secretary Etta of this but Sir Patrick overhears the phone call and urges him not to do it. Diana believes that Ludendorff is Ares but Steve doesn't believe her. Steve goes to the gala in disguise and tries to talk to Maru to get information from her, but he gets distracted when Diana enters the room. She encounters Ludendorff but Steve stops her from killing him. As the general leaves the gala, some of the gas hits the village. This infuriates Diana because Steve couldn't let her stop it from happening. They both discover another base that'll send planes to drop the gas above London. She succeeds in killing Ludendorff but the war continues, confusing her. When Steve catches up, he explains to her his perspective that this war isn't the result of a god, but from bad people. Sir Patrick then appears, revealing himself to be the God of War. He admits that he influenced Ludendorff and Maru of their work, but it was their own evil and the darkness of others that started the war. He destroys her sword with ease, revealing that she is the living God Killer that Zeus made. He offers her to join him but she refuses, leading for them to fight. She is unable to get the upper hand against him. Steve is able to get access to one of the planes after his group destroy Maru's lab and before he flies one, he tells Diana he loves her and gives her his watch. As he flies, he shoots the bombs, causing an explosion that takes his life. This enrages her but it doesn't get Ares to persuade her to join him, as she spares Maru. When she remembers what Steve told her, Ares hits her with a blast but her gauntlets consume its energy. She is then able to deflect it on him, which kills him and ends the war. When she returns to London to see the celebrated victory, she discovers the wall of fallen soldiers, including Steve. The film forwards to it present and it ends with her finally retrieving her long lost picture of her and Steve in WWI, emailing Bruce Wayne thank you for his help looking for it. We than hear her narrate, promising to continue to be a protector.
THOUGHTS
When first seeing this film in theaters in 2017, I recall saying 'Whoa' afterwards and I still do after rewatching it. I get that feeling because I was amazed on how things felt fresh again in the superhero genre. I still have a soft spot for Batman v Superman, but it was that movie where I realized the reliance Warner Bros. had on those characters. This movie represents how it's time for other characters to shine and here, it shined the brightest. This is easily the best film of the DC Extended Universe because while it works as a military film, Director Patty Jenkins and writer Allan Heinberg succeed in crafting one of the best origin stories viewers will remember. They knew how special this character has been and they reflect it. They are expressing how metaphorically powerful women are. Women are more than beautiful, as they are strong, brave and independent. Gal Gadot succeeds in resembling all of that with her performance as the lead. You love her more for also showing her vulnerability and curiosity. You're smiling during her time in London because you see that she enjoys what she discovers. Even her first awkward conversations with Steve make me laugh because this is still new to her and it's a genuine reaction of what she does and doesn't know. Of all the action scenes that take my breath away, it is obviously the 'No Man's Land' scene because it perfectly reflects its message of female empowerment. The thing that gets me as that starts is when the camera circles around her as she puts on the tiara because I felt a strong resemblance to the twirl Lynda Carter made in the live action series. The song ‘To Be Human’ by Sia and Labrinth is great to listen to because It accurately describes Diana’s identity and her motivation. Before I go any further with the praise, there were some flaws within the story. I'll give it a pass that Antiope was able to convince Hippolyta quickly but it is hard to believe how it probably took 6 years for her to figure out her secretly training Diana. For someone as powerful as Diana, she should've been aware of her daughter's whereabouts. I know the Amazons are tough but it can be sometimes hard to believe that their arrows defeated men with firearms. Sure Antiope does get killed but it would've been more realistic if there wore amazon casualties besides the one that got hit when swinging around. The serum Ludendorff takes is pretty cool but it is reckless of Maru to allow testing it before any further research. It is funny how she carries her weapons around in public how did she carry that in the store without everyone else freaking out? That would've been hilarious to see. It is also funny to see Steve and Sameer sneak into the gala, but it would’ve been more convincing if they spoke in German. It is cool that Diana hides her sword as a back broach in for her dress, but if people are looking at her, how do people not tell that it’s the hilt of a sword behind her? And lastly, how does she survive the gas? I know she’s almost invincible but there was no reason to believe she could survive. If you ignore all of this, than you’ll still love it as much as I have. Going back to the cast, I enjoyed Chris Pine a lot more than I thought as Steve Trevor. He expresses the stress of a WWI soldier as he is racing against time to end the war. His chemistry with Gadot is genuine and they perfectly reflect the dynamic relationship they have. The one thing he has in common with Diana is that he is also a warrior of this world. When he tells her how it is man’s fault of war, it is so true because no one possesses us to do what we do, it is only we that are responsible for our actions. His death scene is sad because of the moment of silence he has on the plane. He takes a moment to consider what he’s doing but he knows he’s not changing his mind. Seeing his reaction of what he’s thinking is well acted by Pine. His friends are memorable and they continue to keep an upbeat presence during the mission. If they had as much screen time, I probably would’ve loved them more. Connie Nielsen is great at being the overprotective mother that is Hippolyta. She’s not in this movie a lot but she definitely leaves big impact not for kicking ass, but for accepting her daughter’s path. I give credit to Robin Wright’s Antiope for seeing that her niece had to be ready to fight Ares. Her death is sad because we understood that only she saw the potential Diana had, that is also why she trained her all along and passed on her courageousness to her. Danny Huston improves in villain roles big time with Ludendorff, he is so intimidating I truly fell for it that he would be Ares. I mean if he’s referencing Greek mythology, I’m gonna fall for it. Which brings me to David Thewlis. He was unexpectedly good at fooling me and the audience on his role. First, he’s a congressman and than the next thing you know, he’s the God of War. The guy was clever with his goal. He knew it wasn’t entirely his fault of how evil consumed the world, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t capitalize on its corruption. To wrap up, Wonder Woman earns its spot as one of the best superhero movies of all time for delivering with its message. If you love superheroes and girl power, than you’ll get a satisfying best of both worlds with this one.
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