Gal Gadot IS Wonder Woman! Best DC Film HANDS DOWN!

 
    People. It's happened. Warner Bros. and DC did it. They made a superhero movie that wasn't brooding, that was cohesive and understandable; one that happens to be critically-acclaimed and positively reviewed. The time has come to celebrate! After 75 years, Wonder Woman has finally been brought to the silver screen in her own superhero film and it is nothing short of amazing. Look, when it comes to superhero movies, we as a viewing audience have the pick of the litter. It's truly amazing how many power-packed superhero movies exist, and will exist, and in a world where these movies now reside within respective cinematic universes, fatigue and nit-picking will ultimately arise. The DCEU (DC Extended Universe) has been off to a rocky start. Truth be told, I really like all of their films, but I am just one guy. Critics and majority of movie-goers do not share my same level of optimism. In my book, Man of Steel was freaking awesome, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was not without its flaws but ultimately really freakin' cool - especially the extended cut (which is a significantly better version of the film), and Suicide Squad - though a missed opportunity at greatness - was still really fun. Wonder Woman takes the cake by leaps and bounds. As most people prayed it would, Wonder Woman is easily the best DCEU film to date.

   I want to start by just saying that as a movie-goer, when you can leave a theater feeling good and inspired by what you just saw, that speaks volumes to the merit of the film. Wonder Woman surpasses the notion of just being a superhero film. Overall it is just a fantastic film in and of itself. I only had two tiny itty-bitty gripes, and they are merely nit-picks that ultimately took nothing away from my experience - which I'll address later - but I was so amped up by the time the credits began to roll that I can't help but feel optimistic about DC's chances to improve their cinematic universe. DC needed Wonder Woman to be great in order to get them back on track, and I think they exceeded expectations. This success, I feel, is hugely in part due to director Patty Jenkins and Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot. Patty Jenkins had a huge responsibility on her plate. Not only was there the outlining need for DC to get a win which I'm sure added pressure to the project, but to have a woman directing the first stand alone female superhero film in a society still battling gender equality - and then delivering a fantastic, relevant, beautiful, well-crafted film is simply exciting and inspiring. Patty Jenkins is a beast. She knows how to craft epicness, and there is a ton of it in this film. Wonder Woman is lighter in tone than its predecessors, it's funny when it needs to be, with some of the coolest action scenes and impressive moments, and that score...chills people. Chills. Patty Jenkins, I tip my hat to you.

   This film gives us a different version of the character we met in BvS. We learned in that movie that she has been jaded by the wars of man, and has separated herself from interfering. When she decides to fight alongside Batfleck and Superbrooder against the formidable cave troll that was Doomsday, her power, veracity, and Gal Gadot's infectious charm elevated her limited use as the best part of that movie. But the question lingered - at least for me: how did she get to that point? This movie gives us that answer. If you're one of the twelve people who hasn't seen the trailers for this movie, the plot is simply this: before she was Wonder Woman she was Diana, princess of the Amazons; a trained warrior and eager do-good-er. When a pilot (Chris Pine) crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world - which we learn is World War I, she leaves home to fight a war to end all wars, discovering her full powers and true destiny. As she ventures away from the only world she knows, she is very much a fish-out-of-water, and the narrative takes that light-heartiness that comes with those types of stories and lets it flourish organically, rather than playing on the awkwardness for comedic levity. The humor that arises feels natural and not out of place. As Diana navigates through the world, her innocence and naivety feels natural. Gal Gadot simple embodies Diana in every way and proves how fantastic an actress she really is. Everything rides on her performance, and she slays it. Again, I think her take on the character (and the fact that we hadn't seen Wonder Woman on the big screen before) in BvS was the best part of that movie, and that awesomeness extends into this film.

   As an origin story this movie works really well. Thankfully, they don't go out of their way to build upon the over-arcing universe of the other films, so if you're looking for Bruce Wayne or other characters from past movies to pop up, spoiler warning, it doesn't happen. And I don't think it would have made the movie any better. This movie needed to be centered on who Diana was at her beginning in order to give contrast to the Diana we met in BvS. This needed to be her story and it delivers that. The production of this movie is really, really good. The action scenes are fluid and engaging, with some really fantastic character moments. The best scene, arguably, and probably the best superhero moment of almost any superhero movie to date, was hinted at within the trailers (so it's not really a spoiler). The moment she walks out into no-man's land in the midst of battle gave me chills, and is cinematically amazing. And it's not even the biggest action sequence of the movie! Patty Jenkins was able to craft meaningful action sequences that weren't for nothing, that built upon the character of Diana, and as the film goes on you'll see how these moments help flesh out and define who she is. To help support that is an AMAZING score! Oh my heavens, that theme song...you hear that theme throughout the movie, but it builds and is used in certain moments that are brilliant and not overused. At this moment I'm humming the theme in my head. 

   The only gripes I had, as I mentioned earlier, are really minor in the grand scheme of things. There are moments during certain action sequences where the CGI was a teensy bit clunky, but ultimately it didn't distract from the experience. It was noticeable, but not detrimental. The other issue I think is a bit more relevant, and that's the use of the villain. I don't know what it is about these superhero movies lately but the villains are always the weakest parts. Marvel has a slew of movies in their universe, and outside of Loki there really isn't a fleshed out, memorable villain. DC has been treading the same path so far. Including this new addition to their universe, I still think if I had to choose who the best villain in the DCEU was (taking into consideration character development, use, etc) I would choose Man of Steel's General Zod. But that's not saying much. I get that these movies are ultimately about the hero, but within the comics that these characters are coming from, their awesomeness is often inlined with the villains they face, and for whatever reason the cinematic villains have been less than awesome. The villain in Wonder Woman was just sort of meh for me. The emotional build up and character arc of Diana up to the climax in the third act made me overlook that, because when all is said and done everything seemed to pay off in the end. Thus, the nit-pick aspect. What this entire paragraph is ultimately saying is that I have to stretch in order to find a distracting issue with the film. 

   I loved this movie. I truly did. It's not the best overall superhero film, but it didn't need to be. It is, however, the best DC superhero film by far and it desperately needed to be that in order for the majority of audiences to stay on board with DC's building universe. Wonder Woman is fantastic from start to finish. It has a great pace (a two and half hour film that feels like a 90 minute film), with great acting, fantastic cinematography, and a message that is inspiring and relevant. Gal Gadot IS Wonder Woman. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is SO good, and her take on this early version of the character gives context to the Wonder Woman we met in BvS, and ultimately helps elevate that film even more, if you ask me. People are going to go nuts for this movie and rightfully so. As my wife and I sat in the theater last night waiting for the movie to start, there was a group of guys that came in, all on the older side. One seasoned gentleman sat down and in the midst of their conversation said "I've been waiting sixty years for this movie to come out, and it's finally here!" As modern-day mythology, superhero stories have become such a unique aspect of our society, and Wonder Woman has become one of the greatest and most beloved characters over her 75 year life span. This movie should be celebrated, because it captures that magic, I think. Enjoy it people. It'll be hard not to.

Oh, and that guy I mentioned, the one who had waited sixty years...he loved it.