#sigh... the special effects... the soundtrack... the costumes... the acting...

[daigah]

"I would've gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor."

[filmfun]

WONDER WOMAN - Review by S.Oatney 

Wow, ok, wow, so this review could easily take me all day long to write and could become pages and pages and pages long. So, I will abbreviate and condense as best as I can...

First let me say that it has been FAR TOO LONG since Princess Diana of Themyscira had a live-action presence on-screen. Created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter, her first appearance was in 1941 in All Star Comics number 8. Thirty-eight years later, in 1979, Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman television program went off the air after running for three seasons. In 2011 Warner Bros / DC Comics tried to get a WW television-movie off the ground and failed. So, nearly FOUR DECADES since the tv-show passed before THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE female superhero of all time, in the whole world, was finally afforded a live-action big-screen big-budget movie. Inexcusable, but I digress and want to thank the WB for finally getting this accomplished.

There were, of course, many many business reasons why it took so long to bring WW to theaters near you, but NONE of those reasons mattered to me one bit. They had made Superman The Movie  in 1978. They had made Batman in 1989. Wonder Woman is part of DC Comics’ “Holy Trinity,” but they could not iron out the red tape details to give the fans a motion picture starring the only female superhero in human history as well-known as Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne? <rolls eyes>

Now that I’m done complaining and ranting... director Patty Jenkin’s WONDER WOMAN was really good! Was it the best superhero film I’ve ever seen? No. Was it the worst? Not even close! Did it do “justice” (pun intended) to her iconic and legendary comic book character? Yes! In my opinion as a card-carrying über-geek, as a lifelong fanboy, and as a movie-watcher of thousands and thousands of films: I say that Wonder Woman is a more than worthy portrayal of DC’s first lady of comics! In fact, I have no reservations in saying that Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman is better than Henry Cavill’s Superman AND is furthermore better than Ben Affleck’s Batman. That is to say that I enjoyed Wonder Woman FAR MORE than I did Batman v Superman AND Man of Steel.

I KNOW that the world-wide-web will be BLOWING UP all month, and likely beyond, about gender issues, gender equality, sexism, and feminism as addressed in this film. So, let me say that I was disappointed that Diana was only able to find her true strength and access the full extent of her superpowers AFTER finding and understanding love. I so wish that writers Allan Heinberg and Zack Snyder did not feel that this all-too-often stereotyped and cliché idea in Hollywood should apply to Diana, Princess of the Amazons. I don’t mind at all that she has a romantic love-interest in Steve Trevor, played by Chis Pine, as that was lifted directly from the original comics, but the big ah-ha moment at the end of the film [SPOILER] is that BECAUSE OF THAT intense feeling of love, that is *so* universal, it not only gave her the wherewithal to appreciate the people worldwide, but moreover opened up and unlocked her previously unattainable god-like superpowers. <sigh> That, and some somewhat questionable computer-generated-imagery, and perhaps some slow-pacing at times, were my only complaints of the film.

Wonderful performances were given by all, not just #GalGadot and #ChrisPine, but also by #ConnieNielsen #RobinWright #DannyHuston #DavidThewlis #SaidTaghmaoui #EwenBremmer #EugeneBraveRock and the lovely #LucyDavis!

Wait, did I say I was going to keep this short? So sorry, let me wrap up... briefly...

• Stunt Choreography & Stuntwork: A++

• Costume Deisgn and Wardrobe: A++

• Sound, Sound Effects, & Sound Editing: A+

• Cinematography: A

• Casting: A

• Action: A

• Humor: A

• Acting: A-

• Story: A-

• Special Effects / CGI: A-

• Soundtrack & Score: A-

• Pacing / Editing: B

I’m seeing it again, tomorrow night, if that tells you anything. Hope to see you there!

#WonderWoman #DCComics #Film #Movies #Scifi #GalGadot #ChrisPine