The audience in the theater around me were very chatty as the many, many trailers played before an afternoon showing of Wonder Woman. Some talked with skepticism, some with hope, others were having trouble finding the Wonder Woman Snapchat filter on their Smartphones. The trailers did little to lift spirits; everything was grim, dire, filled with apocalyptic imagery and hopelessness, which confused me. What is the point of escapism if it simply reflects our depressing current worldview? It didn’t help that the D.C. universe films that came before Wonder Woman were Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, which transformed Superman into a mellow, pretentious God-metaphor, and Batman into a dim, wreck-less, emotionally-unstable killer.
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Yet, Wonder Woman was able to overcome the staggering odds against it, and is not only the strongest D.C. film in a long time, and not only is it the first proper theatrical Wonder Woman film, it is the most successful and significant female superhero film of all time…not that it had any notable competition. Oozing with genuineness and energy and charm, yet still maintaining the gritty tone of its predecessors, the movie is an accomplishment in many ways. I really enjoyed the script and it’s careful portrayal of Diana as a woman, though obviously it is not my place to say whether this depiction is accurate. What I can speak to, is how it holds up as a superhero film.
Gal Gadot’s performance demonstrates a earnestness and glee and emotional versatility that gave me a similar feeling to Christopher Reeves as Superman (to which the movie even pays a small homage to). Even in the film’s darkest moments, the lightness and energy she brought to the tone had me rooting for Wonder Woman throughout, in a way that I hadn’t expressed to a Marvel film, let alone a D.C. film, in quite awhile. The flaws are many of the same that have permeated the modern superhero genre for awhile. A third act that devolves into CGI-overloaded action, cliche lines, and conflict solved by love conquering all being the most blatant offender. One fear that many of my female friends shared would be the film being unable to have a woman as the focus without some sort of romantic subplot. Unfortunately, their fears were justified, but thankfully the filmmakers appear to have been aware, because they regulate it to two short moments in the film that also serve a purpose to the story. Still, mixed reactions will come of this, and it is warranted. However, Wonder Woman’s execution far outweigh these problems, and goes a long way to not ruin the film’s engagement. While no masterpiece, the movie’s strengths are infectious.
Even as I write this the film dominated the box office and made records in total gross. It stands both as the “first female directed studio superhero movie” and the “biggest domestic opening of all-time for a female director“. Now, this is all great for many reasons, but, to quote my closest female friend: “That’s really awesome, but it also makes me want to fight people.”
2017, and being the “successful female director” and “the first female to director a super hero movie” is flaunted and put on a pedestal like some grand accomplishment, because…well…it is, showing how far, far we have to go. Do you know what the last “biggest domestic opening of all-time for a female director” was?
Fifty Shades of Gray.
Ouch.
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