Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen
Directed by Patty Jenkins

The Story:
On the Eden-like island of Themyscira, young Amazonian Diana (Gal Gadot) longs to be trained like the other Amazon women to fight in the event the God of War, Ares, should ever return.  Her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), strictly refuses, but Diana is trained in secret by Hippolyta's sister Antiope (Robin Wright).  When a plane piloted by Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) breaches the magical barrier protecting the island and crashes, Diana rescues him as a fleet of German ships invade.  After the ensuing battle, Diana learns Steve is involved in a great war and wants to leave to help.

Against her mother's wishes, Diana chooses to abandon Themyscira to help Steve in the war, thinking if she can kill Ares once and for all it will free humanity from their bonds of hate.  In London, she learns what it's like to be human, and leans to adjust to a new way of living as she works to find Ares and end all wars for all time.

The Synopsis:
Back in 2008, Christopher Nolan released what is easily the best superhero movie of all time, "The Dark Knight."  What made it so great was the fact that it was more than just a CGI-laden effects machine with stellar battles and fighting, but there was a deeper, passionate story at its core that enveloped the viewer into actually believing that someone like Batman could really exist in the world.  It was dark, gritty, emotional and powerful.  Since then I have not seen it's equal.  Sure, Marvel movies are amazing in their own right, but they lack the suspenseful, provocative storytelling that "The Dark Knight" produced.

"Wonder Woman" is the superhero film that, while not equal to "The Dark Knight," comes pretty darn close to its amazing achievements.

Last year, the heavily lauded "Batman v Superman" was released and was met with critical and general audience disdain.  Hardly anyone really saw it as a great movie, save for the few moments Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman graced the screen.  She stole the movie in every sense of the word, and after decades of wanting to bring the Themyscira Princess to the big screen, it looked like her time had finally come.  Director Patty Jenkins - known for directing the Charlize Theron-Oscar winner "Monster" - took the mantle and directed Gadot to Wonder Woman wonderfulness, resulting in a film that's more than just another origin story, but a powerful tale of love, sacrifice and honor.

Isolated from the world, Diana grows up hearing stories about Zeus and Ares, and how Zeus created humanity and Ares fed them with hatred and fear, turning them against each other.  Zeus then creates the Amazons to protect mankind, but fails to kill Ares after he defeats all the other gods, including Zeus.  Now the Amazons live in a protected world and train for the eventual great battle when Ares will return.  Diana is Queen Hippolyta's daughter, and she refuses to allow Diana to train with the other Amazons, but eventually relents after her sister, who is the most feared and powerful Amazonian warrior, trains Diana in secret.  Diana holds to virtue, honor, and defending the defenseless, and when Steve Trevor - the first man Diana or any of the Amazonian women have ever seen - crashes on their island, she feels she has her purpose - to free mankind from Ares' rule for good by killing him with the fabled God Killer Hippoltya told her about as a child.

Diana sacrifices her idyllic life on Themyscira to pursue her virtuous goal, which results in a tearful separation from her mother.  In a moving scene between Gadot and seasoned actress Connie Nielsen, the two share an emotional farewell with some pointedly powerful dialogue.  "If you choose to leave, you may never return," Hippolyta tells her daughter.  "How will I be if I stay?" Diana replies.  "You have been my greatest love.  Today you are my greatest sorrow.  Be careful in the world of men Diana, they do not deserve you," Hippolyta says.

We then see the stunning cinematography when we too are pulled out of Themyscira's world of bright blue skies, lush green landscapes and natural beauty and head right into the fog of war - literally - as Diana arrives in fog-laden London, and the film turns from light to dark as each scene is filmed in a cloudy, depressing way that helps drive home the helplessness Diana sees all around her.  She sees what war - caused by Ares - is doing to the innocent people, and her drive is even stronger to kill him and free humanity forever.

The story is a slow-burn tale that focuses on characterization rather than flashy effects, and that is what makes the film such a treat.  We see Diana grow up and mature in front of our eyes, and witness how she is forced to change her view of things when she arrives in the world of men.  Gal Gadot brilliantly, and beautifully, portrays Diana as an Amazonian warrior who is still learning on the job, wanting to jump right into the thick of battle without tact or precision.  Seeing how she interacts in this new world is a great departure from the doom and gloom of other DC outings, as seeing her giggle with glee over seeing a baby, trying on different clothes (and not understanding how women could fight in them), or enjoying her first ice cream ("you should be very proud," she tells the ice cream man).  Gadot's Diana is a warrior, but wholly innocent as well, and she perfectly balances the two distinctly differing themes like an expert juggler.

Diana's relationship with Steve is one of pure delight, and something that most superhero movies have done terribly wrong, from Tony Stark and Pepper Pots to Thor and Jane. Here, with the gender roles reversed, we see both parties as equally powerful in their own right and the natural chemistry between Gadot and Chris Pine is palpable.  At moments, they play off each other more like brother and sister, but there's other moments where you feel genuine love between the two characters.  Pine's Steve Trevor also adds levity to the film, such as when Diana sees Steve bathing and, not having seen a man before, asks him "would you say that you are a typical example of your sex?"  Steve then replies, "I would say I'm above average."  It's moments like these that allow the viewer to laugh and experience joy in the midst of war.

The one small misstep the film takes is something that seems to befall all superhero movies of late, and that's the poorly crafted villains.  Here the bad guys are German general Ludenorff and scientist Doctor Maru (also known as Doctor Poison), who crafts a powerful chemical weapon that could turn the tide of the war for the Germans.  Their characters aren't given any depth or levels above their typical bad-guy personas, but ultimately the film isn't about them, so I can bypass that small indiscretion.  Also, for all the deeply layered storytelling, the film ends with a typical CGI-heavy battle between Diana and the big bad, but after seeing Diana progress throughout the film, it's still a rousing, powerful moment.

Speaking of powerful moments, the one defining scene in the film is when Diana, Steve, and his men arrive in Belgium where the allies and a small Belgium town are being held under siege by German forces.  Steve wants to move on, but Diana persists, saying they need to save the town.  "We have a mission!" Steve yells in the midst of the bombing, "we can't save everyone in this war!  It's not what we are here to do!"  Diana defiantly stares Steve down, "You're right, but it's what I am going to do!"  With that she lets down her hair for the first time and drops her robe, revealing herself from the trenches in full Wonder Woman garb for the first time, and seeing one woman going up against countless German forces with nothing but sheer will, her shield, sword, bulletproof armbands, and lasso is a goosebump-inducing moment that makes your inner being rise with pride and nearly moved me to tears.  It will go down in my mind as one of the most powerful moments in any superhero movie I've ever seen.

A lot has been said in the years about having a female superhero lead movie, and it seemed like it was never going to happen, especially after that disastrous 2005 debacle "Elektra." Who knew that, twelve years later, it would take a female-led superhero and a female director at the helm to craft one of the most perfect superhero movies to date, easily helping out the muddied DC Cinematic Universe from laughable satire to full-fledged cinematic achievement? Wonder Woman was in cinematic limbo for decades, with the likes of Kate Beckinsale, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Biel, Eva Green, and even Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Kristen Stewart and...ugh...Megan Fox all being considered for the role.  Thankfully, Gal Gadot arrived just in time, and we're given the Wonder Woman we truly deserve.

The Summary:Telling a powerful story, led by a more-than-capable female lead, "Wonder Woman" rises high above the typical superhero movies and becomes a special entity all its own, and it is truly...wonderful.
The Score: A+