FILM REVIEW – Wonder Woman
After a few false starts, Wonder Woman is the latest attempt to kick the DC Cinematic Universe into gear.
Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the character was rated as one of the bright sparks in last year’s messy Batman v Superman, and you could forgive DC for looking for a boost after Suicide Squad failed to live up to expectations. Both may well have been huge box office success and funded another swathe of these – the Justice League movie comes out in November, for one – but a lot has left people feeling cold so far.
The film also represents a belated arrival for the female-fronted superhero blockbuster movie into the heavily-stuffed superhero movie franchise world, with a female director also behind the camera. As box office, the film has already recouped its $150million budget and has received a positive critical and fan reaction.
Certainly, its a much stronger film than the last pair of attempts DC have made towards curating a cinematic universe. The lighter touch may be something in its favour towards this. While Batman v Superman played up the darkness, Wonder Woman comes across as a more idealistic superhero showing a motivation to see more than her sheltered life as a child of the Amazon warriors, and to use this experience to change the world.
The story is initially set in a manner faithful to the character’s back-story, with all except for opening and closing scenes set in modern day Paris taking place near the end of World War One. In the beginning, Wonder Woman is Diana, living on a semi-hidden island, raised as a warrior among a tribe of Amazons – an all-female group of guardians created by the Greek Gods, and living in hiding from the destruction of man.
Then one day Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) on a broken airplane, quickly pursued by a brigade of German soldiers, burst in. He tells the Amazons of the war raging beyond their barriers, and believing the war is marking the return of Ares, the God of War, she asks to go and help. Eventually, she leaves for London, and then onto the Western Front in occupied Belgium.
Keeping the thing rolling along at a boisterous pace in and amidst the overload of backstory that comes with this being an origin story is the central pair of performances from Gadot and Pine. The duo have a fully functioning on-screen connection, and help sell the film’s central conceit of maintaining Diana’s idealism and innocence in the face of horrors.
Gadot herself in particular does very well to make the character work through all of the arcs throughout the drama. In comparison with the assured persona in Batman v Superman, this is a character breaking through to see the world, and she does nicely well to sell the character’s struggle to fit in.
Later on, the film also does well to sell the horror of the war. It could’ve been easy to treat the appalling natures they face as set-dressing, and a film that is rated 12A can only go so far. But there is a genuine sense that the film is portraying the horrors being faced, and the genuine angst in and amidst it.
Not everything in the film is perfect. As is often the case with superhero origins, the film can get bogged down in talky exposition, and at various points, the dialogue comes across as clunky or unintentionally hilarious. While no spoilers will be forthcoming regarding the identity of the film’s ultimate big bad, the handling of its ultimate appearance feels contrived and weirdly abrupt. It also feels easily seen off, but that is as much part of the nature of a superhero film franchise where the next 12 episodes are confirmed years in advance.
The other main issue comes down to the aforementioned 12A certification. In the last year or so, the arrival of the higher-rated Deadpool and Logan has bought a newer, grittier dimension to the superhero film model, and for all of DC’s posturing about gritty, intense drama, it feels oddly like something out of a different timeframe. One that is pleasant enough viewing, but which feels a bit stranger to watch.
Nevertheless, Wonder Woman as a film represents a fine view, filled with good performances and an intriguing narrative of trying to maintain idealism in a strange, alien world. Could it have been more? Perhaps. But for what it is, its still an engaging ride that helps to steer the DC Cinematic Universe’s wrongs back towards a stronger place.
3.5/5