When this movie came out, a lot of people were praising it to high heaven. One of the best superhero movies evah! And in some ways, I get why. This is the first competently made female led superhero film, the previous bar for female led superhero films was Catwoman, Elektra, and Supergirl. This movie was important for a lot of people.
Similar to Black Panther, I felt like this movie got overly praised by critics because of it's cultural significance. Having said that, I think Black Panther is a legitimately great superhero film, and it's in my top 3 MCU flicks. I certainly think it's a much stronger film than Wonder Woman. But I will also contest my superhero opinions don't always align with the norm, for instance I really like the first Thor film but don't care for Ragnarok, I prefer Spider-Man 1 over 2, Infinity War has a really choppy flow and Endgame is a lot better, etc.
But going back to Wonder Woman, I've always found it to be pretty middling. Not bad, just okay. The first act on the island is filled with a lot of unconvincing acting and accents (though the little girl playing Diana is adorable), and Gal doesn't sell the training scenes to me. I just see an actress trying really hard to act strained. Also, Robin Wright is great, but her attempt at an... Israeli (?) accent to match Gal's accent doesn't work, resulting in a stiff performance.
youtu.be
Where the film shines is in it's second act, where we get the fish out of water story with Diana traveling through Mans world, and bonding with Steve Trevor because their chemistry is great.
youtu.be
The highpoint of the film is the No Mans Land scene, which is a pretty inspirational moment.
But that leads to another complaint about the movie, how the action is directed. A lot of it is slo-mo, and it's the kind of slo-mo that doesn't benefit the scene, it's just done for the sake of appearing "stylistic," and instead ends up being intrusive.
Then we get to the final act, which just doesn't work for me. The movie seems to be setting up a message that mankind did this war to themselves, not Ares. But then we get the big reveal that completely walks back on that by saying sike, it was Ares all along! Then we get a hilariously over the top climax with Wonder Woman fighting Ares. It reminded me of the heavily criticized climax in 2013's supremely underrated "The Wolverine" (which I actually like more than this movie) yet this seems to get a pass?
Let's talk about Ares. I love David Thewlis, but I legitimately felt a little embarrassed for him during the end fight scene. He's spouting lines like "THEN I WILL DESTROY YOU" (shades of Jeremy Irons in Dungeon and Dragons) and he just can't make it work. Visually the final battle is as ugly as the Doomsday fight in BvS.
My favorite thing is how you'd think his Remus Lupin look was just a disguise, but no it's actually his true form (I think I've made a thread on this before)
I laughed when the movie flashes back to ancient times, and he's still rocking a stash!
So yeah, pretty middle of the pack movie. I'd say this is the same tier as Captain America 1 or Thor 1, but I like those movies more as well. My super hot take is that this isn't too far off in terms of quality from it's sequel, Wonder Woman 1984. A lot of people absolutely hated the latter film but I thought it was perfectly okay like this one, despite the problems.
Similar to Black Panther, I felt like this movie got overly praised by critics because of it's cultural significance. Having said that, I think Black Panther is a legitimately great superhero film, and it's in my top 3 MCU flicks. I certainly think it's a much stronger film than Wonder Woman. But I will also contest my superhero opinions don't always align with the norm, for instance I really like the first Thor film but don't care for Ragnarok, I prefer Spider-Man 1 over 2, Infinity War has a really choppy flow and Endgame is a lot better, etc.
But going back to Wonder Woman, I've always found it to be pretty middling. Not bad, just okay. The first act on the island is filled with a lot of unconvincing acting and accents (though the little girl playing Diana is adorable), and Gal doesn't sell the training scenes to me. I just see an actress trying really hard to act strained. Also, Robin Wright is great, but her attempt at an... Israeli (?) accent to match Gal's accent doesn't work, resulting in a stiff performance.
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Where the film shines is in it's second act, where we get the fish out of water story with Diana traveling through Mans world, and bonding with Steve Trevor because their chemistry is great.
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
youtu.be
The highpoint of the film is the No Mans Land scene, which is a pretty inspirational moment.
But that leads to another complaint about the movie, how the action is directed. A lot of it is slo-mo, and it's the kind of slo-mo that doesn't benefit the scene, it's just done for the sake of appearing "stylistic," and instead ends up being intrusive.
Then we get to the final act, which just doesn't work for me. The movie seems to be setting up a message that mankind did this war to themselves, not Ares. But then we get the big reveal that completely walks back on that by saying sike, it was Ares all along! Then we get a hilariously over the top climax with Wonder Woman fighting Ares. It reminded me of the heavily criticized climax in 2013's supremely underrated "The Wolverine" (which I actually like more than this movie) yet this seems to get a pass?
Let's talk about Ares. I love David Thewlis, but I legitimately felt a little embarrassed for him during the end fight scene. He's spouting lines like "THEN I WILL DESTROY YOU" (shades of Jeremy Irons in Dungeon and Dragons) and he just can't make it work. Visually the final battle is as ugly as the Doomsday fight in BvS.
My favorite thing is how you'd think his Remus Lupin look was just a disguise, but no it's actually his true form (I think I've made a thread on this before)
I laughed when the movie flashes back to ancient times, and he's still rocking a stash!
So yeah, pretty middle of the pack movie. I'd say this is the same tier as Captain America 1 or Thor 1, but I like those movies more as well. My super hot take is that this isn't too far off in terms of quality from it's sequel, Wonder Woman 1984. A lot of people absolutely hated the latter film but I thought it was perfectly okay like this one, despite the problems.
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