Review: Wonder Woman (2017)
Warner Bros./DC comics plays it safe and wins in a big way. Yes, the DCU (DC Cinematic Universe, as if I needed to tell any of you that) finally has a winner on all fronts, critiques and fans alike give it a rousing, much deserved thumbs up! In its third week, it only dropped 30% of its box office (U.S.), making it one of the best third week domestic showings for a superhero film and it’s got about $275 million in box office so far. Congrats to the DCU for finally catching up to the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)!
This is truly a fun-filled popcorn movie and Gal Gadot is a perfect Wonder Woman. The special effects are great and Chris Pine gives a superior performance as Steve Trevor, Diana’s love interest. David Thewlis Ares is a strong antagonist. All in all, an enjoyable cinematic experience, blending humor and drama equally, which the DCU hasn’t done successfully before this film. The weakest point of this movie is the script itself. Oh, it’s not a bad script, in fact it’s rather good. But it doesn’t take any chances. It’s a by the numbers origin story. Man of Steel took a few chances but was not well received by critics, Suicide Squad bent over backwards and re-shot scenes in an attempt to please critics and this also failed. Time/Warner was taking no chances this time and got what they wanted.
The story opens with Diana growing up on Themyscira, the fictional Island of Amazon women. She learns, as all Superhero’s do, that with great power comes great responsibility. Awesome cinematography helps to lift the story as we approach the ultimate meeting between Dianna and Steve. For some reason, the story is set in WW1 as opposed to WW2 as in the comics (perhaps to distance itself from Captain America?) and Captain Steve Trever crashes on the Island, leading the German forces to discover its secret. I love the role reversal here; Steve Trevor is the damsel in distress that must be rescued. This leads to an all-out battle with the enemy. Dianna decides, against her mother’s wishes, to travel with Trevor to the war-torn front to confront Ares, who she believes is responsible for the war to end all wars. Trevor thinks that Diana is crazy for thinking the god of war is responsible for this Crusade (odd that he had no problem accepting an Island of super-powered women with little culture shock).
The pacing is great with the action heating up the screen and I must admit it’s refreshing to see a film set in World War 1 since that setting hasn’t been used for a while, I don’t think it’s ever been done with a Superhero movie. The outcome is handled well, if not predictable and Steve Trevor’s fate is a touching moment in the film. All in all, I had fun and I’ll probably shell out another ten bucks soon to see it again. ***
Wonder Woman
Distributor (U.S.) – Warner Bros.
Director – Patty Jenkins
Writer – Allan Heinberg, Zack Snyder, Jason Fuchs
Music – Rupert Gregson Williams
Cinematography – Matthew Jenson
Run time – 141 m
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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