DIRECTOR: Patty Jenkins LEAD CAST: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin
Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Connie Nielsen SCREENPLAY: Allan Heinberg, Jeoff Johns PRODUCER:
Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jack Snyder,
Richard Suckle
EDITOR: Martin Walsh MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Rupert
Gregson-Williams GENRE: American Superhero Film CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Jensen DISTRIBUTOR:
Warner Bros. Pictures LOCATION: United Kingdom RUNNING
TIME: 140 minutes
Technical assessment: 4
Moral assessment: 4
CINEMA rating:
V14\
As the only child
among Amazonian women warriors in Themyscira, 8-year-old Diana (Lilly Aspel) is
told that she has no father, as her mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) had
sculpted her from clay and that the Greek god Zeus brought her to life. Eager to be like the warrior women around,
the girl pleads with her mother to start her training, but the maternally
protective Hippolyta forbids it. Hippolyta’s
sister, General Antiope (Robin Wright), begins to secretly train Diana until they
are discovered when Diana is aged 12, (Emily Carey). When Antiope argues that Diana should be able
to fight to at least protect herself, Hippolyta gives in and tells her sister
to train Diana 10 times harder than the rest, but she must never be told the truth
that her father is Zeus. After dramatically defeating Antiope in training, Diana
(Gal Gadot)—now a young woman—isolates herself, apparently stunned by the supernatural
power she has manifested in combat. At
this point she witnesses a light plane plunging into the sea, and instinctively
swan dives off a cliff to rescue its drowning pilot, American spy Captain Steve
Trevor (Chris Pine), with whom Diana is to begin her mission of saving the
world from the god of war, Ares (David Thewlis).
It is easy to see
why Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman
earned a record breaking 96 percent approval rating (on Rotten Tomatoes) from film critics and moviegoers alike: everything
from the solid plot and narrative to the meticulously designed sets can hold
the audience spellbound from beginning to end—and yet wanting to see more. The film’s record-breaking performance at the
box office proves Wonder Woman’s
appeal to the movie-going public, exceeding all expectations in terms of ticket
sales and critical reception (from the first 300 reviews).
 |
| Wonder Woman (1974) |
As the first superhero
movie featuring a stand-alone female lead, Wonder
Woman causes women in the audience, feminist or not, to rejoice and
celebrate woman’s pulchritude. The movie
extols the power, wisdom, courage, purity, and strength of women, and chucks
the woman-as-sex-object stereotype.
Compare the
costumes of Wonder Woman circa 1974 (Linda Carter starring) and this Gal Gadot
version: notice how the former is garbed in a strapless costume virtually cut
out from the American flag? It looks
more like a bathing suit designed for Miss America contestants—with matching
Santa Claus boots at that! Funny? Pray tell, how could a bosomy heroine fight
evil in that outfit without risking warbrobe malfunction? Unless it is tattooed on. Ridiculously funny. On the other hand, Wonder Woman 2017’s armor combines
elegance and wearability, is stylish yet battle-worthy; and modest, too, mind
you—thoughtfully concealing the cleavage and the mons veneris from slobbers.
And those gladiator boots? Masterfully crafted to kickass the badass. Talk about the dignity of women.
While not without
a few technical slips, Wonder Woman
has plenty of wow moments to grab the viewer’s attention and preclude nitpicking
from nasty blanket-wetters. Cinematography,
editing, dialogue, sound, lighting, special effects all score high. Real stunts eliminated the need to rely
heavily on CGI for spectacular footage. Casting
real life Olympic athletes, supermodels, beauty queens, martial artists, and equestriennes
as Amazonians heightened the realism of the battle scenes. Gadot herself, who was Miss Israel of 2004,
served as combat instructor in the Israeli army for two years, enabling her to
tackle Wonder Woman’s superb fight
choreography with skill and grace.
The chemistry
between Pine and Gadot who are both naturals for their respective roles also
does much towards the credibility of both story and characters. Much of their dialogue establishes
characterization and emphasizes the difference in the worlds they’re coming
from. To wit:
Steve: “Have you never met a man before? What about your father?” Diana: “I have no father. My mother sculpted me from clay and Zeus
brought me to life.” Steve: “Well, that’s neat.”
Diana: “What is
that?” Steve: “Oh that?
That is a watch. My father gave
it to me…. It’s a good thing it’s still
ticking.” Diana: “What for?” Steve: “Because it tells time, when to eat,
sleep, wake up, work…” Diana: “You let that little thing tell you what to
do?”
Steve: “I can’t let you do that!” (trying to stop Diana from killing
Ludendorff)
Diana: “What I do is not up to you!” (brushes off Steve to run after Ludendorff)
As for the title
character, no one else could have incarnated Diana Prince/Wonder Woman better
than Gadot who infuses the role with the required dose of grit and grace, innocence
and resolve, might and beauty, charm and chutzpah, humor and pathos. Gadot’s portrayal in the hands of Jenkins makes
the movie 140 minutes of sheer empowerment.
Through this landmark
film directed by a woman and ennobling women, the DC Extended Universe has
launched a new icon—a woman who might as well serve as a role model for girls/women
with an expansive outlook in life. Entirely
free of guile, Diana—graduating from naivete to humility and compassion—realizes
that the world of men, sordid though it seems, may still be seen through the eyes
of love, and thus be saved—only by Love. The one thing that makes Diana Wonder
Woman in her core is her awareness of and faithfulness to her destiny as a
restorer of peace in a chaotic world. As
may be gleaned from Diana’s lines—“I will fight for those who cannot fight for
themselves.” “I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost!” “It’s not about what you deserve. It’s about what you believe. And I believe in love!”—life has shaped the girl
who had wanted to be a warrior into a woman who embraces the call to love—not erotic
love, but the Love that is willing to deny the self in order to serve a cause
that is greater than herself. Really, how
Christlike can a female superhero get?
