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Gal Gadot prepares to save the world as Wonder Woman |
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot (Diana), Chris Pine (Steve Trevor), Robin
Wright (Antiope), Danny Huston (General Erich Ludendorff), David Thewlis (Sir
Patrick Morgan), Connie Nielsen (Hippolyta), Elena Anaya (Isabel Maru), Lucy
Davis (Etta Candy), Saïd Taghmaouri (Sameer), Ewen Bremner (Charlie), Eugene
Brave Rock (Chief Napi)
The DC universe has largely been a feeble attempt to parrot
the success of Marvel, but without the latter’s charm or sense of fun. Each
film has been a crushingly, overwhelmingly, teenage-boy focused series of grim
super-bashing. So it’s a refreshing change that for their fourth film we get
something different: lighter, funnier, warmer and focused on women rather than
men.
On a hidden island, the Amazons live in hiding, waiting for
the day they will return to save humanity from the villainous fallen god Ares.
Diana (Gal Gadot) is the daughter of Hippolyta (Connie Nielson) queen of the
Amazons, trained by Antiope (Robin Wright) into becoming their greatest warrior.
Their timeless world is shattered in 1918, when American pilot Steve Trevor
(Chris Pine) crashlands his plane on the island – and explains the world is
torn apart by war. Convinced this is Ares’ influence, Diana leaves the island
with Steve – and finds herself thrown into a world she scarcely understands,
with only her faith in the goodness of mankind to sustain her.
Wonder Woman is a
change of pace from previous DC filmes – largely because it is pretty good. For
the first time in this struggling universe, we have a bit of lightness and humour,
and some engaging central characters. Which, considering the dark grimness of
the previous entries is saying something. It’s bright, feels like a comic book (in a good way), has a decent
story arc and, most importantly, you care. Is it the best comic book movie ever
made? Of course not, but it’s a damn solid effort.
A lot of this is due to Gal Gadot being such an endearing
lead. She gives Diana a perfect blend of serene, super-powered action goddess
and naïve, charming lost-out-of-time sweetness. So one minute she can cooing
over the first baby she’s ever seen, the next she can be laying out baddies in
a scuffle. Her unquestioning faith in the fundamental goodness of people makes
her innocence very winning. In fact, her secret weapon is empathy, a quality
the film really embraces. Gadot’s skill is in keeping such unremitting goodness
and positivity hugely loveable. She is terrific.
The film deals with her head-turning beauty with a witty
affection (“You put specs on her and she's suddenly not the most beautiful
woman you've ever seen?” Etta comments on one particularly feeble disguise
option Steve suggests). In fact, the romance between Diana and Steve (Chris
Pine similarly engaging as an “above average” man head over heels in love) is
really well drawn – he clearly adores her, while she has a shy, almost teenage
crush which blossoms over time into a genuine affection. It’s a very innocent
and heart-warming romance, that plays out extremely well.
Needless to say as well, the film makes a fine
counter-balance to the leering cameras you see in other films. Diana’s
unmatchable competence is immediately recognised by Steve: while Steve understands
the world, Diana is very much the hero, for all her fish-out-of-water naïveté. The
film holds off a reveal of the costume for a long time – but when it is, it’s
not a sexualised moment, but one of awe. The opening section of the movie, with
its Amazonian islanders, also allows plenty of ass-kicking to be given to the
women (Robin Wright is especially terrific as an Amazonian general – she should
get her own Taken style action
series).
Wonder Woman is
not perfect. Structurally it’s pretty similar to other origin stories. Much of
the backstory makes little sense, while the powers (or not) of the Amazonians
in comparison with Diana are poorly explained. Away from the charm of the lead
characters, nothing feels particularly new – none of the action sequences feel
unique, and are shot with competence rather than inspiration. The final battle
briefly looks like it might do something different, before it becomes an all
too familiar CGI bashing.
I’m also not sure about setting the film in the First World
War. Seeing Diana lead a successful charge through the trenches where real
people died in their thousands, somehow doesn’t sit quite right. It’s
uncomfortable to watch a cartoon hero walking across no man’s land into
gunfire, just as thousands of real people had to, but without super-powers to
make it a moment of awesome cool. They just died; it wasn’t the setting for an
action sequence, oh a moment of “wow she’s cool”.
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I'm not sure about the film's use of the grim trenches of the First World War for kick-ass action |
Unlike the Second World War (where at least we know the SS
were completely despicable) its portrayal of German soldiers as mostly faceless
villains feels unjust – these were largely just ordinary people in a horrendous
situation. Making Luddendorf a psychotic, lunatic also feels uncomfortable – he
was real. Would it have been so difficult to make up a General von Baddie? (It
doesn’t help that Danny Huston gives a truly abysmal performance of
over-the-top hamminess). This is an area where Captain America handled its setting much better – the film may have
been set in a real war, but the villains are specifically Hydra soldiers, a
made-up army of made-up people who had consciously sworn allegiance to Evil.
The First World War was a complex tragedy in shades of grey – presenting it as
a good vs evil, with the Germans eager to embrace a horrifying nerve gas, just
doesn’t feel right.
The strengths of the film are away from the action, and I
think that’s why it has formed a bond with people. You genuinely care and root
for Diana and Steve. It’s got wit and humour and it doesn’t take itself too
seriously. When the action really kicks off the film isn’t anything special,
but before then it has its moments: a charming sequence where Diana tries on
(and breaks with various fighting moves) female costumes of the 1910s; a beautiful
Renaissance-painting style flashback to the backstory of how the gods fell; the
early fumbling scenes of romantic interest between Diana and Steve. It’s where
the heart of the film is.
In fact that’s what the film is really about (and what
really makes it work) – the heart at the centre. It gets a little bit lost in
all the booms and bombast of the second half, but there is more than enough of
it in the first half to carry it through. When the film is tightly focused you
can really feel it coming to life. The more of that the better. It’s also a
breath of fresh air for presenting such a strong female lead, whom the men are
defined by their relationship to (rather than vice versa). It’s fun and it’s
heart-warming. Its old ideas presented from a fresh perspective.
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