Couch Guy Reviews: Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is the 4^th installment in the “DC Cinematic Universe” and the 1^st live action movie of the iconic comic book character. It stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and also stars Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, and Connie Nielsen. The film is directed by Patty Jenkins. There’s a lot of pressure on this movie so let’s get into the review.

As a huge comic book movie fan, it’s safe to say that the DCU has been a disappoint as a whole. While I really liked Man Of Steel, I thought Batman V. Superman was a huge disappointment and Suicide Squad outright sucked. So 3 films into their universe, DC has been trying to look for their 1^st true winner. Now along comes Wonder Woman, a movie that I did not have on my Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies list. I thought the DCU was becoming a loss cause and I wasn’t the only one to say that. But with the movie being set so far in the past and with a new director in Patty Jenkins, maybe the result would be different? Well I am pleased to say….. yes! The movie is awesome! It’s a mix between Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, and 1978’s Superman; and its beautiful.

As I said earlier, Wonder Woman is set in World War I where we meet Diana (Gadot); an Amazonian on the secret Island of Themyscira. Living with her fellow Amazonians, an American pilot named Steve Trevor (Pine) crashed on the island of all women and leads war to the island. Diana decides to leave her home with Steve and end mankind’s war and now we have our movie. Wonder Woman works for multiple reasons; the casting, the writing, the directing, and the action are all on point. Gal Gadot was very good in her 2^nd outing as Diana Prince. While she was wooden at some points of the movie, she brings a great amount of physicality to the Amazon warrior. She also really nails the comedy as Diana experiences a lot of “fish out of water” moments in the 1^st half of the movie. I also really liked what Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen both brought to the movie as Diana’s Aunt and Mother respectably. But the standout was Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. He has by far the best lines in the movie and his interactions with Diana are some of the best moments in the movie. Plus he’s just a good dude and I rooted for him and his mission that he and Diana go on.

As for the action, I thought it was top notch. Diana and the rest of the Amazonians are complete bad asses and they let you know about it after. Some of my favorite action set pieces is when Diana is using her lasso of truth. I’m glad they really emphasized that weapon because it’s what separates her action from other superheroes. Similar to how Captain America uses his shield. One small complaint that I had was that I thought they really overused the slow-motion technique. It was cool at first but it started to become overkill. As I mentioned earlier, I thought that the writing was on point as the comedy and emotional moments really hit home in this movie. It’s something small but in a movie like this, it make a good movie great. As for negatives, as I mentioned Gadot was a little wooden, the action relied too much on slowmo, but another thing was the villain. Now the villain (which is a spoiler) had a cool reveal moment but his impact wasn’t really felt in the movie. It’s another small thing but it’s worth mentioning.

Overall though, Wonder Woman is a great movie but it’s also an important movie. Now while this is not the first women led superhero movie ever, it’s the 1^st in the modern, shared universe world. What this movie shows is that a huge Hollywood blockbuster can star a woman, be directed by a woman, and people of all genders will see it. Diana Prince is someone I admire and see as a role model. But more importantly, millions of young girls and women will finally have a superhero who represents them. This movie does a great job talking about social issues and it doesn’t hit you over the head, which makes those moments even more powerful. It also celebrates humanity and it’s not about hating men; which is what feminism is all about. Wonder Woman is one of the greatest fictional characters of all-time and now she has a great movie to live up to her name. The DCU is now 2 for 4 in my book and my excitement for Justice League just got that much higher.

Rating: A-/92%

Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)