Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, David Thewlis, Danny Huston, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Elena Anaya
The first 20 minutes or so of Wonder Woman did not bode well for my hopes for the movie. They were slow and all of the women inexplicably spoke in Eastern European accents. There is lots of talk of gods, superpowers, and training for a potential war with Ares, the Greek God of war who has gone missing after a mano y mano battle with Zeus back in the day. We see how Diana (Gadot), daughter of the queen of a utopian paradise island populated only by women, becomes a fierce warrior under the tutelage of her aunt (Wright). The aunt is billed as a brilliant general, but it seems the island is populated by about fifty women, so who exactly would she be leading into battle? The Spartans in 300 would feel sorry for their odds.
But then reality intervenes in the form of shot down American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine), a spy battling the Germans in World War I, and the island is no longer a place where time nor the outside world doesn't matter anymore. The movie perks up and Diana, believing World War I to be the work of Ares, accompanies Steve on his journey back to England and then the Western front to thwart the manufacturing of a deadly gas which would kill millions and result in a German victory on the eve of a potential armistice.
Wonder Woman gathers steam and its soul as Steve and Diana lead a ragtag group of snipers on an unofficial mission to stop the evil German General Ludendorff (Huston) and Dr. Maru (Anaya), also known as Doctor Poison. They are on the verge of creating a gas which gas masks will be useless against. Diana believes Ludendorff to be the reincarnation of Ares in human form and thus killing him would end all wars. Gadot, besides being a stunning figure, adeptly transitions Diana from naïve idealist to world-weary cynic who realizes people are not under the influence of a god, but act against their own best interests due to their primal nature. We see the origins of a character we've seen previously in Batman v. Superman (2016), which is 100 years removed from the events of Wonder Woman, but she is seen as colder and edgier. Wonder Woman shows us how she got to be that way.
Chris Pine is a more than capable foil for Gadot. He has no idealistic notions about the innate goodness of people. He has seen too many horrors, but yet he still does the best he can through dogged determination and eventual sacrifice. Steve and Diana don't fall easily into love, although I'm sure I am not spoiling the movie by revealing that they eventually do. They approach their mutual goal of stopping the war before any more blood is shed via different means and ideologies.
Diana comes equipped with a "god killer" sword and a shield which rivals Captain America's in its ability to fend up hundreds of rounds of enemy gunfire. Steve is equipped with his intelligence and pluck. It is soon apparent that Diana won't need saving, but he sure as heck might.
The visuals and CGI are more or less on par with other superhero films. Wonder Woman is a bit darker than others and is immersed in real world events, giving it some weight. The final battle is stuff being blown up and bodies flying around while the villain keeps trying in vain to persuade the hero to join his cause. Nothing special there. The strength of Wonder Woman lies in its heart and the chemistry between Pine and Gadot. I don't know if that can be duplicated in any inevitable Wonder Woman sequels or with the upcoming Justice League movies. Probably not.
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