Wonder Woman. Princess of Themyscira. Spirit
of Truth. From suggestive bondage to symbol of freedom, whether to women or
American ideals, Wonder Woman is one of the most prominent superheroes ever to
grace the printed page, her place in the holy trinity of superheroes solidified
alongside Superman and Batman. Created in 1941 by psychologist and suffragette
supporter William Moulton Marston (a.k.a. Charles Moulton), supposedly with
contributions from his partners Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne, Wonder
Woman was conceptualised with the idea of creating a strong female role model
for young girls to aspire to through well-rounded characterisation where
compassion is complimented with power and determination.
Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is the first live-action feature film devoted to the
character and the fourth installation in the DC Extended Universe, thus far also
known as Zack Snyder’s Murderverse. After the dark and dehumanised Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack
Snyder, 2016) and the plot-absent Suicide
Squad (David Ayer, 2016), one may feel an initial hesitance or even
aversion to the new film, fearing that Wonder Woman’s character as the most
compassionate person on the planet would be betrayed in a dark, brooding,
hyper-violent representation. Is this the case?
The film makes an effort to establish and
humanise our protagonist. Introduced as a child (Lilly Aspel/Emily Carey) as
she transitions into adulthood, Diana (Gal Gadot) is established
sympathetically with her aspirations of wanting to be a warrior like the other
Amazons and her relationships with her mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen)
and her mentor General Antiope (Robin Wright). Diana’s character often comes
off as innocent and idealistic. Her central virtues are not betrayed but the
filmmakers at least want to show that her compassion and love are tested.
The story takes place in the height of the
First World War; Princess Diana, having lived for hundreds of years training
on on the hidden island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons, sees a plane crash
into the sea and rescues its pilot, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) from drowning.
Hearing of the war and the horrors that have transpired in its wake, Diana
suspects that Ares, god of war, has corrupted the hearts of mankind, and sets
out with Steve to end the war. She journeys to London, hijinks ensue, and they
proceed unsolicited to Europe to thwart the evil plans of General Ludendorff
(Danny Huston) and his scientist Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya) as the villains come
closer to inventing a deadly gas that will further devastate the world.
On her journey, allies of Steve Trevor join
Wonder Woman in her campaign: French Moroccan con man Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui), Scottish
soldier and singer Charlie (Ewen Bremner), and Native American smuggler Chief
(Eugene Brave Rock). The team strikes a vague resemblance to the Howling
Commandos from Captain America: The First
Avenger (Joe Johnston, 2011), the members being of different cultural
backgrounds. This is a minor note, but one may chuckle when Chief throws a
tomahawk with dynamite strapped to it.
Perhaps one of the appealing traits of the
story is the fish out of water element, which those who grew up in the ‘80s and
‘90s will be accustomed to. It is familiar. Normally critics might shake their
heads at these kinds of scenes for wasting our time, but it is amusing to see
Diana ripping up new clothes that limit her mobility or getting excited over
seeing a baby for the first time. The film has its moments of humour now and
then, which help tie the film together and compliment the more serious scenes
and action scenes. Once the story goes to Europe, the filmmakers do their damnedest
to set the mood for the suffering of the soldiers and victims at the front and how
Diana reacts to it emotionally.
There are a few parts of the story that one
may find questionable. Within the first act, each time the audience sees Diana
exhibit one of her powers for the first time, she reacts to them as if she is
discovering them, like she didn’t know she could do that, yet never questions
why she can punch into stone to climb walls or clash her bracelets together to
create shockwaves. Those familiar to the comics will know that the bulletproof
braces are forged from Zeus’ aegis, so does that mean Queen Hippolyta gave her
daughter these magical items while Diana was still in training and didn’t tell
her where they came from? Because that seems like important information!
Another point is Diana’s hunt for Ares.
Throughout the film, Diana reiterates how she thinks killing Ares will end the
war. The more she says it, the more naïve she seems. Eventually Steve Trevor
suggests that the war is far more complicated than the fault of any one person,
that people could be bad on their own. This seems like a very real revelation,
but the plot decides to go a different route. The twist that sparks the climax
comes virtually out of nowhere, and the wholeness of the plot may be brought
into question.
In both Greek mythology and the original
comic book, the Amazons as women were separated from the world of men or
male-dominated society to avoid subjugation. Given the shaky socio-political
climate of today, this is a delicate thing to translate into current film without
controversy. However, the representation of gender in this film is tactfully
done. The film treats “mankind” as gender neutral and the Amazons as an all-female
entity that isolated from humanity because the species in general became too
corrupt for them to handle. The Amazons don’t even berate Steve Trevor for
being a man; their concern is with their island being discovered by an invading
force and him being in the middle of it. Both sexes are represented as having
people who are good, who are bad, and who are morally compromised.
Gal Gadot’s performance is surprisingly
good. Diana is not a stick in the mud and Gadot has more than two facial
expressions, unlike Cavill or Affleck in previous DCEU films. Heck, this film allows her to have more than two facial
expressions. Gadot’s depiction of Diana, or Wonder Woman, gives us a good range
of emotional expressions. Chris Pine’s performance can seem a little stiff at
times, like he is uncomfortable, but he gives his share of intensity where
needed and serves as the component to counter Diana’s actions that may seem
eccentric in the modern world. The actors playing the Amazons are required to
put on Greek accents, which sometimes feels a little silly – not always, just
sometimes – and as is typical for a World War II drama, all of the German
characters speak English with each other, never German.
Danny Huston’s portrayal of General
Ludendorff is not exactly well rounded like that of our protagonist, as the character
is designed to be completely unsympathetic. Elena Ayana was a good choice as
her mere presence as Doctor Poison is cold and creepy. Sameer, Charlie and
Chief seem to have different personalities, being the nervous, lively and quiet
types respectively, and while they mildly stand out, their characters don’t
really play off of each other. Then again, the story is about Wonder Woman and
while we can have a little focus on our side characters to make them recognisable
and important to a degree, the majority of attention should be on her.
The action scenes are exciting and
memorable. The audience is really allowed to appreciate Wonder Woman’s
super-strength, such as when she lifts an armoured tank above her head. One of
the best scenes is where Wonder Woman climbs onto no-man’s land and deflects
the enemy’s bullets with her bracelets. After seeing the conditions for the
soldiers in the trenches beforehand, there is a feeling of hope when Steve
Trevor and his gang are finally able to get out there and fight. Zack Snyder’s
fingerprints as producer tend to show in these action scenes, such as the
annoying slow-mo in almost every one, and the part where Diana topples an
entire bell tower to stop a single German sniper. It’s actually quite funny to
put yourself in the shoes of the German Navy soldiers at the point where they
happen upon Themyscira. They have no time to process the fact of an island of
Amazons before they’re brutally massacred with primitive weaponry.
Another step up in the DCEU is the use, or
rather liberation, of colour. Granted, grey dominates 1940s London and Europe,
but at least the images are not grainy and the setting of Themyscira is bright.
Contrast is prominent in this film, whether it is to characterisation,
locations or narrative. Wonder Woman’s costume is great. The red breastplate
and boots with gold trims, blue skirt, gold tiara and bulletproof braces bears
great resemblance to the character’s most common design, with sort of an
Ancient Greek twist to it. The red, blue and gold also stand out, even in less
colourful environments. The cinematography allows for some rather dynamic shots,
which look quite beautiful, though the quality of technique is debatable, to
put it lightly. The pacing of the film is done really well from beginning to
end. And while the editing is of a standard quality, there are sometimes issues
with editing and continuity.
While the film can be unintentionally goofy
at times, Wonder Woman is a saving
grace to the DCEU. It shows that DC Comics filmmakers are catching on that
audiences prefer a superhero movie that is fun and engaging rather than
drastically out of the spirit of the original. It is easy to sit through without
constantly scrutinising it. Sometimes, but not constantly. The story, for the
most part, is told with good pacing and characterisation,
especially of the protagonist. Gal Gadot’s performance is an immense
contribution to this incarnation of Wonder Woman. The visuals and design are
pleasing and the action is fantastic. It is very close to being a great film.
Again, the slo-mo can be annoying, there are a few issues with technique in
places, and some may argue the fish out of water narrative is a tired cliché,
however comfortable the audience may be with it. However, Wonder Woman seems to be a well-made superhero film, with beautiful
visuals, a balance of humour, drama and action, perfect pacing, and one
wonderful lead actress. Perhaps the film is likeable because it is not the
dark, poorly told excuse for a competition with Marvel Studios that previous
DCEU films have been. And while Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman is in continuity with other movies, it is its own
film. The effort is seen. The film – in spirit, tone, portrayal, and in story –
does justice to Wonder Woman.
