Wonder Woman (2017)

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, and Lucy Davis, with a cameo from Zack Snyder
Grade: A-

The line “I wish we had more time” gives me goosebumps now because I find myself thinking this exact sentiment with news of James Gunn rebooting the DCEU.

Summary

In the present day, Diana Prince (Gadot), known as Wonder Woman, enters the Louvre. Just then, an armored can from Wayne Enterprises pulls up and two guys pull out a briefcase from the back of it. While in her office, the briefcase is delivered to Diana. She opens it to find a message from Bruce Wayne, stating “I found the original. Maybe one day you’ll tell me your story”. Accompanying this is a photographic plate from World War I, with Diana in her Wonder Woman gear, alongside four other soldiers.

Next, we jump backwards to when Diana was just a child on the hidden Themyscira, an island consisting of Amazons. The Amazons are woman warriors created by the Olympian gods. Momentarily, the young Diana runs away from her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) to watch all the Amazons getting trained by Antiope (Wright), Diana’s aunt and general of the Amazonian army. Diana is spotted and tries to run away, but Hippolyta eventually catches her, trying to take her back to school “before another tutor quits”. Diana argues she’s ready to start training and Antiope thinks she’s ready, with Antiope chiming in to say she could begin to show her things. However, Hippolyta counters with the fact that they are safe from an invasion if Antiope is indeed the greatest warrior in their history. Regardless, Hippolyta refuses to let Diana train since she’s the only child on the island. Unbeknownst to Hippolyta, Diana and Antiope share a glance that basically confirms they are going to go through with training anyway. Later that night, as Diana tries to plead her case to her mother, Hippolyta decides to tell her a story based off her times on the battlefield and why war is nothing to hope for.

Right before this, we learn that Hippolyta sculpted Diana out of clay and had Zeus bring her to life. Interesting…

Anyway, Hippolyta explains that back in the earliest of times when the gods still ruled the Earth, Zeus was the king among them all. He created the beings in which the gods would rule over. These beings were good and fair. He called his creation “man”. However, Zeus’s son Ares, the God of War, grew envious of mankind and sought to corrupt his father’s creation. Apparently, Ares poisoned men’s hearts with jealousy and suspicion, turning them against each other and igniting a war. As a result, the gods created the Amazons to influence men’s hearts with love to restore peace on Earth. Briefly, there was peace, but it didn’t last. Hippolyta led a revolt that freed the Amazons from enslavement. When Zeus led the gods to their defense, Ares killed them one by one until only Zeus remained. Zeus used his power to defeat Ares but still felt like he might return to finish his mission with an endless war, where mankind may finally destroy themselves and the Amazons with them. With this in mind, Zeus left them with a sword known as the Godkiller, a weapon so powerful it can kill a god. With his dying breath, Zeus created the island of Themyscira to hide the Amazons from the outside world just so Ares couldn’t find them. As the story is told, we see Diana getting training. Following this, Diana asks Hippolyta if she can see the Godkiller, so she shows her. Apparently, only the fiercest can wield it. Hippolyta says this isn’t Diana and there’s nothing she should be worried about at the moment.

Years later, Hippolyta catches Diana training with Antiope. Hippolyta has her guards take Diana back to the palace. Antiope insists on training Diana because Ares is coming. Though Hippolyta doesn’t want to admit it, she knows Antiope is right. However, she knows that the stronger she gets, the sooner Ares will find her. Knowing it can’t be avoided, Hippolyta demands Antiope train her harder than any Amazon before her to the point where she’s even better than Antiope. There is one condition. Diana must never the truth about what she is or how she came to be. We transition to a now adult Diana training with her peers and taking out every last one of them in front of Hippolyta. When it’s time to take on Antiope, it’s still pretty even until Antiope gets Diana on the ground. Antiope is about to win, but Diana puts her wrist guards together to block her strike, emitting a powerful force that wipes out the entire camp momentarily. Antiope is hurt and Diana walks away, profusely apologizing for what she has done. She goes to the edge of a cliff to think about things. Just then, she is interrupted by an airplane crashing through the invisible shield covering Themyscira and into the ocean below. On this plane is World War I pilot Captain Steve Trevor (Pine). He is stuck in his seat and almost drowns in the water until Diana jumps off the cliff and saves him by bringing him back to shore. As this happens, German soldiers chasing Steve by boat find the invisible shield and see through to the island of Themyscira, travelling through it in pursuit. Steve is alive and awakens to a confused Diana who can’t believe she is seeing a man for the first time.

Steve sees the German boats and explains to her that he’s a good guy and they are the bad guys. As they take cover behind some rocks, Hippolyta and the troops start firing bows off the cliff towards the German soldiers. A battle breaks out on the shore between the Amazons and the Germans, with Diana and Steve joining right after.

In the midst of the chaos, Diana is about to be shot, so Antiope jumps in front of the bullet to sacrifice herself. Her final statement to Diana is muddled because of her state but the word “Godkiller” is clear before she dies in Diana’s arms. Steve is immediately blamed, and they almost attack him, but Diana stands up for him. Steve tells them he isn’t aligned with the Germans but when they point out his similar uniform, ask him why this is, and what his name is, he admits he can’t tell them anything. Someone suggests killing him, but another notes that if they do this, they won’t know who they are or why they came. As a result, they move to interrogation by wrapping him in the Lasso of Hestia, a magical rope that can force whoever touches it to tell the truth. It can be used as a weapon too, but this is neither here nor there. Wrapped in the lasso, Steve tells them his name, how he’s a pilot of the American Expeditionary Forces, and how he’s assigned to British Intelligence. Though he tries to fight it, he blurts out how he’s a spy. Apparently, British Intelligence got word that leader of the German Army in General Ludendorff (Huston) would be visiting a secret military installation in the Ottoman Empire. Steve posed as one of their pilots and flew in with them. According to their intel, the Germans had no troops left, no money, and no munitions of any kind. However, this was all wrong. The Germans had the Turks building secret weapons for them invented by Ludendorff’s “chief psychopath” Dr. Isabel Maru (Elena Anaya), nicknamed “Dr. Poison”. If Maru were able to complete her work, millions more would die, and the war would never end.

As we see from this flashback of Steve infiltrating the place, Maru is testing some poisonous gas on a human patient wearing a gas mask. Since it didn’t penetrate the mask, she considers it a failure and kills the patient. Though Steve was there to observe and report and nothing more, he sees his opportunity and takes it. He steals her book of plans right from the desk in her office and runs away, just as Ludendorff tells Maru he cannot give her more time to figure her gas mask situation out. As she begins to argue, she sees her book not on her table, finds the door open, and sees Steve in the distance. The alarms are alerted, and Steve steals a German plane to escape. To buy himself some time, he circles back, fires on the camp, and launches a bomb to destroy Maru’s working space.

Steve tells the Amazons that if he’s able to get these notes back to British Intelligence in time, it could stop millions from dying. It could stop the war. This surprises the Amazons because they have no clue a war is going on, prompting Steve to let them in on the atrocities they have missed and how the entire world has been affected by it. Following this, the women discuss if they should let Steve go, but Hippolyta refuses because it may bring more men to their shores. Diana interrupts because she thinks Ares is behind this war Steve is talking about, and they should go with him. Hippolyta says it’s their war and not the Amazons’. Diana brings up the stories her mother used to tell her as a child explaining their purpose, but Hippolyta says they’re just stories and men are easily corrupted. Even so, Diana insists Ares is doing this and stopping Ares is their duty as Amazons. Hippolyta shoots this down saying Diana isn’t an Amazon, so she’ll have to eat shit and like it. That night, once Diana is treated to her wounds by a nurse who asks if it’s true that she saved Steve’s life like he said, Diana visits Steve who is enjoying a quiet swim in a secluded mountainous pool. Once he gets out of the water completely naked, Diana walks into the room, and there’s a bit of awkward tension and conversation that follows. Then, she asks what Steve’s watch is, so he explains it. He segues this into asking basically anything and everything about Themyscira and the Amazons, so Diana responds by only answering one of the questions and vaguely responding to the others by saying they speak hundreds of languages, and they are “a bridge to a greater understanding between all men”.

Realizing he’s going to be confused regardless, Steve thanks her for saving him from drowning. In turn, she thanks him for fighting alongside her on the beach. However, she tells him he’s not allowed to leave, and her mother won’t allow her to come with. Though after seeing how he wants to get back to his war-torn home to help fight for the good of man, she is inspired to defy Hippolyta. As a response, she breaks into the tower holding all of the Amazons’ special weapons and takes the shield, the lasso, and the Godkiller. Diana comes back to where Steve is being held while wearing her new outfit, the classic Wonder Woman costume. She agrees to take Steve off the island on the condition he will take her to Ares. Steve agrees to the deal without question, even though there’s no chance in hell he can help her in finding Ares. They get to the dock to escape on a boat, though Steve is a little shook because he hasn’t sailed in a while. Even so, the Amazons show up. Diana tells Hippolyta she is going to leave and how she can’t sit aside to watch Ares fuck everything up. Hippolyta surprisingly accepts this without a fight. As she starts to tear up, she tells Diana that if she leaves, she can never return. As a parting gift, she gives her Antiope’s headband and wishes her luck. Once she leaves, a soldier asks Hippolyta if she should have told Diana, but she says, “The more she knows, the sooner he’ll find her”. On the boat, Diana asks Steve to take her to where the fighting is at its most intense because she assumes she’ll find Ares there. Diana tells a confused Steve that only an Amazon can kill Ares. Once she does, the war will end. Steve argues there isn’t a whole lot they can do, but they can get to London to try and reach the men who can.

Obviously, Diana doesn’t like that answer and tells him that once she destroys Ares, the “German armies will be freed from his influence and they will be good men again, and the world will be better”.

Boy, is she going to be shocked when she meets Hitler.

Anyway, Steve accepts her optimism and makes up her bed, trying to be polite by sleeping separate from her. Diana is intrigued by this and questions him to the point where he finally joins her, sleeping next to each other in a non-sexual but intimate manner. He is surprised she has never seen a man before, so he asks about her father. She responds by telling him how she was sculpted out of clay and brought to life by Zeus. She does know about sex though, as Steve hits her with some basic questions on Amazon knowledge of the subject, potentially nudging her in the right direction. Sadly, she says that based off of these books she’s studied, men are essential to procreation but for pleasure, they are “unnecessary”.

Swing and a miss Steve.

Meanwhile, Ludendorff shows up to some camp to talk to Maru. Before he gets to her, he argues with a subordinate about their soldiers being exhausted, so he shoots and kills the guy in front of everyone. Inside, Maru tells Ludendorff they haven’t made the progress they wanted. Plus, Von Hindenburg has recommended the Kaiser sign the armistice. She thinks they have run out of time, though Ludendorff assures her that once the Kaiser sees the new weapon, he won’t sign shit. She reminds him about the lost book, but he inspires her by saying he believes in her, not the book. Then, she shows him of a gas she came up with that would restore Ludendorff’s strength. She breaks this pill looking thing apart next to his nostrils, and he breathes in the gas. It gives him enough strength to crush a gun into pieces. Following a gust of wind, a paper with a formula written on it ends up in Maru’s hands, and she thinks she may have the formula that could create the superweapon. Now, Diana and Steve are officially on a time crunch to stop Ludendorff and Maru and save the world.

First, they will learn how bureaucracy may stand in their way before they can actually do something.

After meeting Steve’s secretary Etta Candy (Davis) and getting new clothes for Diana to disguise herself, they meet with Steve’s superiors at the Supreme War Council. Though Sir Patrick (Thewlis) takes a liking to the two and appreciates Steve’s work in stealing Maru’s book, Steve’s other superiors forbid him from going into Belgium because they are currently negotiating the armistice. If they get caught, they can screw everything up. Diana flips out on everyone for this decision until Steve forces her out of the room. This is where he tells her that they’re going anyway. He just needs to collect a team to help them. Of course, this group may not be the “Dream Team” Diana was hoping for.

My Thoughts:

Zack Snyder and the DCEU has their critics. With Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice garnering polarizing responses, Wonder Woman and Aquaman went into a different, lighter direction while retaining the same amount of violence and adventure. Don’t worry, things are still taken seriously in the grand scheme of things, but both films prove that you don’t have to be as dark and depressing as possible to succeed as a modern interpretation of a superhero movie. Both films are still great origin stories too, with loads of the great comic book action we came to see. More importantly though, there are elements of humor and a much more welcoming tone to include larger audiences into this universe.

It all starts with Wonder Woman, and everything begins and ends with Gal Gadot.

Snyder handpicked her for Dawn of Justice, and there were a lot of fans who were angry over the choice. However, after watching Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman, one thing I’m certain about is that Gadot was the woman for the job. Becoming an action heroine before our very eyes, Gadot emulates everything Diana Prince needs to be to be taken seriously in the modern era, while also being respectful of the comic book the character is based on. It’s a tougher role to cast than one might think. First, she needs to look the part. She needs to possess a level of beauty that almost seems otherworldly. The character is a god, living amongst Amazonian women. She can’t be some random Instagram model. Diana needs to have an elegance about her on an almost elite level, a type of beauty that is actually intimidating for a man to cross paths with. She needs to have a look that makes everyone turn their heads, no matter what type of clothing she’s wearing, much like the Council Chamber scene when Diana and Steve interrupt the arguing politicians upon getting to London. You see how everyone in the room stopped to look at her, even when she was in disguise?

I have reason to believe they weren’t acting.

Gal Gadot achieves the picturesqueness of the character and then some. Surprisingly, the Fast and Furious franchise underutilized this quality about her. Before this film, we haven’t really noticed the “it” factor she clearly possesses. This is the difference between having an action-focused director and having a director with a vision who is trying to make a story respectful of her characters. Patty Jenkins puts a spotlight on Gadot in all the right ways, to the point where just a smile from the superhero can melt your heart. Now, the innocence is important too. Diana isn’t naive to where she’s oblivious to what’s going on around her, with the humorous exceptions of clothing, social norms, and figuring out how to use a revolving door. Diana’s naivety takes center stage in regard to world politics. Her purpose is to save and defend the world with love, though we know this will take a lot of fight to get there. The problem is that she doesn’t understand why there are so many barriers in doing so. Why can’t they just find the bad people and kill them? Seeing her pure heart facing the red tape of different countries and their governments, as well as her confusion as to why things can’t be as simple as she believes they are, is a big part as to why this origin story succeeds. It helps us understand this whole other side to the character and how she eventually becomes the hero we know her to be. Gadot puts together a well-rounded performance, covering all aspects of the world-encompassing disaster Diana walks into and trying to understand all sides of it while also pushing to stay on path with her goal.

This is what makes the “No Man’s Land” sequence such a pivotal moment in the film and for the characters. It’s why she’s looked at as a beacon of hope for those around her.

The trench they’re in is considered “No Man’s Land” because neither side has been able to gain an inch on the other because of its placement. No one can move past it or obtain any ground because of the difficulty of it all and the Germans taking anyone out who dares try it. Even though they know of the nearby village being destroyed, Steve and the others know they can’t help. They are sympathetic to the woman and her child, but they don’t have the means to save this woman’s village because they’re simply humans. What’s a couple more soldiers in a situation like this? Diana can’t comprehend this. She has to do something. Though she never truly sees it from Steve’s side, this is where her likable innocence comes into play. For her, everything is black-and-white. Wait, this woman is in trouble? Well, we need to save her! It’s as simple as that to Diana, and she takes this detour to lead the charge into the village of Veld, instilling confidence into everyone else on what is possible and what isn’t. It’s an awesome moment as we see Wonder Woman in all her glory, showing us where the human fails, and the superhero succeeds. Inserting this origin story directly into a World War I setting was a fantastic choice. We have seen too many similar standalone superhero stories taking place in modern times. Seeing World War I in England being spotlighted for the first time in a superhero movie was a welcomed choice. It was exactly what the movie needed to set itself apart from other origin tales, especially in a market oversaturated with so many comic book movies.

The final element to complete a true, faithful portrayal of Diana Prince is to make her an action heroine who can believably kick ass but also not look like she’s an actress with choreographed fight sequences. We need to be fully entranced in the presentation. If things feel too manufactured, the quality can be lost with it. Thankfully, this was accomplished just as well. With her fighting style combined with her use of sword, shield, and lasso, we completely buy into this Amazon beating the hell out of soldiers from all over the place, big or small. It needs to be said how well this movie covered all angles of the character and made Gadot a star because of it.

For those superfans of Lynda Carter’s portrayal in the 1970s television show, you’ll enjoy Gal Gadot’s modern take of the fearless warrior, who combines her effortless charm with being an all-around badass just like Carter did all those years ago. Once again, she was the right choice.

“Be careful in the world of men, Diana. They do not deserve you”.

In hindsight, this quote can be directed straight at James Gunn. You really want to recast Wonder Woman after everything Gadot did? Fuck off.

Chris Pine was exceptional as Steve Trevor. Somehow, they make him this cool, World War I spy who is still kind of a badass, despite being nowhere near Diana in terms of ability. A lot of times in these movies, the love interest opposite the superhero is relatively useless in the grand scheme of things, usually becoming the person that has to be saved by the end of the movie. In Wonder Woman, this is really the first time we see a man take over this “girlfriend” role, but they make him a hero who helps drive the plot forward. He’s actually important to the action and comes off looking like a star worthy of being showcased. Wild concept, right? This is what good writing does. Honestly, it’s awesome to see, and it only reminds us how poorly done the love interest role is in so many other superhero films before it. This may be the only comic book movie in recent memory where the love interest looks like just as much of a star as the superhero, without overshadowing the hero. It’s a hard thing to do, but Chris Pine is not new to this game. He’s cool, funny, charismatic, and he brought out the absolute best in Gadot, whether it be through romantic conversation or in arguing about what to do next. He was vital to the success of this film and to Gadot’s portrayal of Diana. Their chemistry was electric, even in the initial awkward scenes they have.

Nothing is overdone in the dialogue or in the romantic moments to make us believe in the blossoming love between Diana and Steve. It all felt natural. Initially, not much is said between them, but even in the moments where they lightly flirt, accompanied by an overabundance of smiles and glances between each other, we feel giddy at the prospect. This energy between them is especially noticeable in the “Sway” scene where the two decide to dance after saving the village. This is acting chemistry you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. Thankfully, for the sake of this movie, Gadot and Pine have it in leaps and bounds.

This is why casting for big budget films is no easy task. It’s not just about casting two good-looking actors and actresses in a role and making them fall in love because this is what’s on the paper. Here, it felt authentic purely because of the character work, the setting, the mission, and what we know about both people. For Steve, he’s a spy in the middle of World War I, and he manages to crash-land in Themyscira. He wakes up to his life being saved by the most gorgeous woman he’s ever seen. It makes sense for him to fall for her in seconds, but what’s cool about this is how long they hold off on this inevitability. As early as when they set sail for London, he actively tries to be a gentleman towards her, trying to avoid sleeping next to her. However, she insists. It’s one of the best scenes in the film depicting the glorious, understated attraction between the two that they both try to deny. It’s not because she’s feeling him just yet, she’s just unaware of this being an oddity and enjoys his company. Now, with Diana, she’s literally never seen a man before Steve. No one has ever come to Themyscira. This is enough for her to show interest in what he’s about. Even so, she is focused on Ares much like how Steve is focused on winning the war and stopping Maru and Ludendorff.

Besides both of them seeing each other’s looks, what actually attracts them is who they are as people. This is important. Diana sees Steve prove himself to be different from the other humans he associates with by deciding to go through his mission and genuinely believing in what they are doing. He is the reason she believes in the human race and sees why they are worth fighting for. It’s something that affects her for the rest of her life, as we even see in the sequel Wonder Woman 1984. Steve is one of the very few “good ones” who believes in love just as much as she does. This is why she becomes attracted to him. Going along with this, Steve is attracted to the inspiration Diana is. She’s a fighter who only wants to defeat evil, but her purity in pursuit of this goal is what hooks him. She has the purest heart he’s ever seen, and it’s only more noticeable because of the cynical world he is currently in. You can tell Steve hasn’t smiled in a while, but Diana has changed that, giving him hope for the first time since this war started. So, even though their love may seem fast-tracked when you look at things logistically, it’s still believable because of how well it’s handled and all the stuff they go through in this short period of time. Watching the two grow into their roles was the biggest joy coming out of this film, and Pine was crucial to its success. He doesn’t take the movie from Gadot, but he proves his worthiness as a hero just as well, giving truth to the powerful line “I can save the day. You can save the world”.

There is a lot of underrated aspects about Wonder Woman, but as I said before, most of it can be traced back to what happens between Diana and Steve. At one point, Diana asks him what life is like without war, to which he calmly replies that he has no idea. This is such a great exchange to explain the situation to our hero, to the audience, and how Steve has been affected by this war and why he is so driven to end it with a mission where they are both outgunned and outmanned. This screenplay fills every crack and succeeds in making an entertaining superhero movie, a well-rounded action film with character depth and a story we care about, an underrated war movie, and a love story worth seeing.

The slow-motion action was done very well. Slow-motion in big-budget action films is a lost art and isn’t used nearly as much as it should be. It’s done a lot here, but it becomes a signature to the overall aesthetic of the film. Add it to the list of great artistic choices coming out of Wonder Woman.

The supporting cast was up and down in terms of characterization and depth. Though the Indiana Jones/comic book feel to the character of “Dr. Poison” was enjoyable, especially with the memorable disfigurement that gave her a striking presence while onscreen, she didn’t have the bigger role we wanted by the time the film came to a close. Despite being the most captivating of the trio of villains we are faced with, Maru is the one who falls back in the narrative. Danny Huston played “evil German officer” well, but it seemed like this was the only thing written in the script’s description about the character. He was noticeably underdeveloped when compared to how well our heroes are done. Ludendorff was way too one-dimensional when he should have offset Maru’s obvious villainy with more depth. It felt like their roles should have been reversed if anything, with Maru being the one with the big-time goals. She should have gone so far with her experiments that even Ludendorff would take a step back. Seeing Ludendorff take such a big leap in importance was the more boring choice between the two. It’s clear Maru was the more entertaining and intriguing villain. With the way things played out, Maru seemed to be trying to please Ludendorff and almost wanted his approval since he’s technically in charge, which never really felt right. They should have had more of an equal partnership between them with a larger goal at hand, or one of them having a more developed personality with motivations.

Maru was alright as is because she exemplified the comic book style of the film, but she needed to be a bigger factor than Ludendorff in the story as a whole.

On a side note, I adored the scene where Steve Trevor tries to flirt with her at the gala, and she almost buys into it until his eye contact is drawn to Diana walking in with that blue gown. Though we can’t say we blame Steve for taking his eyes off the prize and blowing this, I really wanted them to go further with this to see another side of Maru.

Regarding the twist with Ares, it looked visually awkward until the suit of armor came into play. I don’t want to spoil it, but the first few minutes of the final fight was a bit comical at first in presentation. Also, the crew Steve puts together was the prototypical ragtag group of diverse personalities that have just as many cons about them as they do pros. All things considered, they were pretty average when compared to any other “ragtag group” we’ve seen in film, but they did add a lot to the grittiness of the setting and time period. With that being said, the Scottish sharpshooter Charlie (Ewen Bremner) was absolutely useless in the mission and the narrative. The one moment where he was supposed to shine and take out another sniper, he freaks out and can’t do it, so Diana takes the bad guy out to prove how useless he actually is. He never gets a moment to redeem himself either. He’s literally there just to be Scottish and to sing randomly to put the others in a good mood.

With a commitment to humor and heart, Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman sets itself apart from the polarizing style of the first couple projects coming out of Zack Snyder’s DCEU and manages to make a universally-loved origin story worthy of one of the most famous superheroes ever created. With a star-making performance by Gal Gadot, a fantastic Chris Pine with whom she shares excellent chemistry with, a love story far better than any other so far coming out of DC, and the bold choice of a World War I backdrop being the centerpiece for all the action to commence on, Wonder Woman succeeds with the odds stacked against it.