Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Released: June 2017

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya

Director: Patty Jenkins

One year after she was about the only good thing in Batman vs Superman, can Wonder Woman prove that she can go it alone?
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When it’s come down to the crunch I’ve always preferred Batman to Superman and The Joker to Lex Luthor. And all of them to Wonder Woman. She never really grabbed me and it always felt like she was only crowbarred into the DC universe to add a little more gender balance. When there was a choice between a vigilante with a bucket load of gadgets, an alien with lasers in his face, or a lady in hot pants with a lasso, here was only ever going to be one loser.

Yet, when she debuted in Batman vs Superman (2016) I was surprised. I mean, there was a whole heap about that film which surprised me to be honest. I was expecting a wonderful, action packed few hours, when what DC actually delivered was a solid smearing of crap right across my face. From the entire debacle, there were two things that were actually worth watching: the brief stint where Ben Afeck stopped sulking in a latex hood and actually behaved like Batman, and Wonder Woman. In what turned out to be some of the worst hours I’ve had in the cinema, Gal Gadot’s Amazon princess was very much a diamond in the rough.

But how would she fare just over a year down the line, leading the way on her own? Could it have been that she wasn’t that good after all and was merely a clump of coal, floating along a river of sewage, pleasant by comparison?

Well, now would be her chance to sink or swim.

It is a chance that has been taken with both hands, feet, and any other discernible appendage. Wonder Woman is fab. From the bright shores of Themyscira, to the harrowing trenches of the Western front, the balance is spot on.

As Wonder Woman’s first solo outing, this was always going to be an origin story, at least of sorts. But tying an origin story in with the coming Justice League films could have proved problematic (you know, flitting between the past and the present (or perhaps, even the future [cosmic])). It may have been a potentially tricky hurdle, but it is successfully cleared. For those who haven’t seen BvS [I’m abbreviating it now, it’s already stolen enough of my time [not that I’m bitter]], amidst all the rubbish, Bruce Wayne acquires a photo of Dianna, from World War One, revealing her secret identity as Wonder Woman. Well, we open with Dianna receiving a package from good old Bruce, containing this very picture. This picture sets Dianna into a spot of reminiscing (as you do) and we are thrown back in time.

Her daydreaming whisks us all the way back to Dianna’s childhood on Themyscira, home of the Amazons. Through some lovely murals, we are told of how the Amazons came to be (created by the gods [the Greek ones]) and what their purpose is (to protect humankind). All very lovely. Well, until Ares, the God of war, felt the need to give his fellow gods some beef, slaying the lot of them and ruffling the feathers of the assorted Amazons.
Naturally, Dianna, princess of a tribe of warrior women dedicated to protecting humankind has been forbidden from training for battle by her (ironically) overprotective mother. Of course, this would be quite a short film if she was happy the being a princess was her lot in life and through some surreptitious training and a “growing up” montage, Diana becomes a fully-fledged Amazon warrior.

Following an accident during training though, which leaves her mentor injured, Dianna runs to the cliffs of Themyscira for some solitude. Instead of getting a spot of alone time though, she sees a plane crashing into the sea. Being the kind of stand-up person who wouldn’t let this terrifying metal bird simply drown, Dianna is in the water like a flash [a flash, not The Flash], dragging the drowning Captain Steve Trevor (Pine) from certain death.

The joy at seeing her first man is short lived though, because there’s a whole lot of angry German soldiers chasing him, presenting two clear problems. One, their secret island has now been discovered and two, all of the Germans want to kill him and, consequently the Amazons. But that shouldn’t be a problem right, they’re literally designed to muck up ruffians. Well, there’s a slight hitch; apparently, Zeus thought that the bow and arrow was a far as technology would ever get, so left it there. Turns out that German soldiers with guns are quite handy. Not handy enough mind, they are all still bow-and-arrowed to death, but not without some of our fearless warriors snuffing it too.

Wrapped in the grief of their loss, the Amazons are dubious about men in general and take Steve prisoner, forcing him to tell all on the outside world. After some careful coercion with the Lasso of Hestia (the Lasso of Truth), it turns out he’s a spy who’s fully embroiled in World War One.

Dianna instantly decides that the war is Ares doing and he must be stopped. She sets Captain Steve free and (after grabbing a few “supplies” [magic swords, shields and other garb]) sets out to save the world.

As quickly as we are stripped from the utopia of Themyscira, we are thrust into to hustle and bustle of wartime London. Having heard of the horrors of the poison gasses being developed by German General Ludendorff (Huston) and Isobel “Doctor Poison” Maru (Anaya), Diana believes she has identified the “vessels” Ares is working through and is determined to eliminate their threat. Yet, she has been taking from a world where women wear practical armour and everyone has an equal say, to a new one, where they are expected to wear dresses and are yet to have a vote.

Simply throwing a character through time is always an interesting concept (which, let’s face it, is what has effectively happened here), watching them adapt to the struggles of the modern world. Marvel explored the concept in Avengers Assemble (2012) with the freshly thawed Captain America trying (and failing) to get to grips with the technology of the 21st century. Yet the struggles Diana faces are very different. Yes, the technology and industry are cast steps forward for her, but politically and socially, it is a vast regression. Whether through naivety or stubbornness, she cannot accept that she may not be considered equal to those around her. It is refreshing to see Diana not just surviving, but thriving in this world where, instead of being threatened by the differences to her world, she challenges that which she considers wrong.

Diana is determined to get to the front line and defeat Ares, whether general male consensus agrees with her or not. With the help of Steve, she manages to build a small team and with covert funding from Sir Patrick Morgan (Thewlis) (who is negotiating an armistice with Germany), they are duly delivered.

Once at the front there is a palpable shift in Diana’s demeanour. Although there is a great dichotomy between the lustre of her homeland and the bleak sorrow of the trenches, she is obviously more at home here than at any point in the “civilised” world. Now openly dressed in her traditional Wonder Woman outfit, she truly stops being Diana and becomes the hero herself.

She quickly finds a small town in need of liberation, which she is more than happy (in fact she’s ruddy eager) to help with. Diana strides purposefully across the battlefield, breaking through fortifications on her own, which massed men have been unable to do for months. It’s a beautiful bit of feminist filmography.

Finally, DC has found a location that is perfect for their “dark and gritty” ambience: World War One. But whether the setting merely assists the tonality is irrelevant, seeing Wonder Woman charge about no man’s land in a blur of red, blue and gold light, works perfectly against the desolate backdrop of the trenches. I’m sure it was meant to be her being leading light for the allied forces, but it is a perfect metaphor for her pulling the DCU films out of their growing quagmire.

Ah yes, the photograph responsible for the entire film

Small Belgian town freshly liberated, the group settle for a spot of celebration, with fun, song and a little photograph that we’ve come to know fondly. It is amidst these celebrations that Diana and Steve grow much closer, sharing a kiss (with clear subtext of greater feelings). In your more traditional, male led films, the now doe eyed leading lady would be irretrievably besotted with our star. But here, the roles are reversed, it is Diana that knows she needs to push on, that no matter how they feel, the mission is more important. Although Steve may not be left a broken mushy mess, it is nice to see this twist on an otherwise well-worn path.

Push-on with mission they do, infiltrating a gala, hosted by Ludendorf. Despite their best attempts though, neither Diana, nor Steve are able to apprehend their respective targets of Ludendorf or Maru.

So, they are forced to take them down on an air-base, filled with deadly poisons and German soldiers. Here Diana discovers the true enemy really is Ares himself and must battle to defeat him. I won’t lie, it all gets a bit weird, with a lot of magical bits and bobs that feel slightly out of place in an otherwise reasonably believable setting.

Wonder Woman is a delight and a pleasant twist on the traditional origin story [although making these stories this way seems to be increasingly normal these days, perhaps a straight origin film will become a welcome break in the near future]. It is brilliant to finally see a female protagonist, who takes charge, dives into the action and isn’t fundamentally flawed or unstable. Balancing this out is the deeply disturbed and equally threatening, Doctor Maru; a terrifying foe. It is great to see that, in a setting where men might have all the power, it is the women who have all of the control.

A few bits of dodgy animation do spoil one or two of the action sequences. it feels like perhaps they stretched themselves for the benefit of a few 3D delights, but they don’t translate properly. This aside though, the film is a treat. A compelling story and wonderful group of characters really draw you in. at a point where DC really needed to pull something out of the bag, they have duly delivered. Although the wounds of BvS might ever truly heal, they have been thoroughly cleaned and bandaged now. There might actually be something to look forward to in the forthcoming Justice League film after all.
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🌟🌟🌟🌟 4 Stars

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I loved

It’s fantastic to see a powerful female lead, who hasn’t been made to look either overly strong, or overly sexualised. No, Wonder Woman’s outfit isn’t exactly a Victorian swimming costume, but then it never was. For me, they’ve nailed it.

Wonder Woman has allowed me to put the debacle of BvS behind me and for that, I want to say thank you. It’s not perfect but, by gumbo, it’s close.

Pet Peeve

One or two shoddy bits of CGI detract in the action scenes. If they had just been polished up a bit more, Wonder Woman would be a five-star show.

Possibly the longest credit sequence ever made has no post-credit scene! This is a travesty, especially with so many other DCU films to tease.