#64
I got around to seeing Wonder Woman again this weekend since my wife hadn’t seen it and it is also the biggest movie of the summer. It doesn’t seem like that long ago when I first saw Wonder Woman, but since then it seems the DCEU is back into freefall. Zac Snyder stepped away from the Justice League movie due to family and Joss Whedon stepped in. Wonder Woman has a sequel that was announced and is being fast tracked. Ben Affleck coming back as Batman seems to be one of the bigger will they / won’t they do it of recent memory. Joker is supposedly getting a Martin Scorcese movie separate from the rest of the universe; in addition to a Joker / Harley Quinn movie where Jared Leto might come back. Meanwhile the Flash movie has made little progress, the Green Lantern Corps movie has fallen through the cracks, and several other projects seem to have fizzled out. Either way, we will have to wait and see how Justice League turns out before more judgement can be passed on the DCEU.
So what did I think about Wonder Woman after the second viewing?
After seeing it a second time, I am actually moving my rating from 7 to 8 “on a scale of frightened and aroused at the same time” out of 10.
For my prior review, check it out HERE.
THE BEST
The action scenes are still the best parts of the movie, with the second half of the “No Man’s Land” being the highlight. Seeing her crash through walls and take out an entire room of enemy soldiers without even breaking a sweat was amazing. The cherry on top was Diana taking out the sniper in the belltower by taking out the belltower altogether was amazing. Everything about it makes me want to see superheros and supervillains thrown into a conventional war / battle. Sure seeing them fight someone their own “size” is satisfying, but something about seeing them take out an entire group is even better.
THE WORST
The second time around, the inconsistencies stuck out a little more.
The first was the boat of invading Germans that were chasing Steve Trevor. There was a battleship that sat around and did nothing before disappearing. They didn’t fire any artillery, come back with a larger force, and there is no way the Amazon army could do any damage. On top of that, how did the boats chase Steve down so quickly from the airfield … let alone the three rowboats that were keeping up.
The second issue is the battle with Ares. The lightning that he summoned and shot out (guess he stole it from Zeus), was enough Diana could contain in her wristband things, but too much for him to absorb? So after he dies, the evil in man’s heart went away and everyone was buddy buddy … but we already know there will be several more wars after WWI. So what was the point exactly?
OVERALL
Wonder Woman is easily the best entry in the “new” DCEU beating out Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice: Batman vs Superman … which isn’t a strong list so far. I would say that on a larger scale, it is my second favorite superhero movie of the year so far just behind Spider-Man: Homecoming, beating out Logan, LEGO Batman, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. If you somehow haven’t seen it, go and see it! It should be at your local discount theatre by now so you have no excuse.
REVIEW REVISIONS
What would I change?
The first thing I would change would be the villains. Have someone who is physically intimidating and get rid of the “surprise” twist villain. It should have come down to a fight, not one lighting bolt redirection.
The second thing would be to get rid of the love story. She could just see there was good in man worth fighting for instead of staying hidden and leaving it alone. The Diana and Steve love scene could have been left out and changed nothing.
Lastly, I would have thrown in some other thing for her to fight. In Batman vs Superman, she had the line of “I have killed beings from other worlds”. Maybe they are saving it for the sequel, which is also supposed to be a prequel to Justice League. Ares could have been using the war to cover up him calling some other being to Earth or something along those lines.
RECOMMENDATION
My recommendation for another fantastical tale of a strong lead would be Kill Bill Volume 1. The story behind the movie is that Tarantino wanted to write something specifically for Uma Thurman and came up with this movie. It is not as family friendly or wholesome as Wonder Woman, but she definitely kicks a lot more ass. If you haven’t seen it and like action movies, then you are really missing out.
Should Anyone Watch 
I can honestly say that I have never heard this movie compared to Kill Bill, but in a way, The Bride is almost QT’s version of a wonder woman. Interesting parallel. I thought WW was even better on rewatch, even if the tacked on act 4 was semi-cumbersome. I do think, in all of the buzz about how women are portrayed in this movie (which is absolutely not to be discounted) some folks are missing the fact that is a downright excellent film.
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It was one of the first movies that came to mind with a very strong female lead.
I concur that this movie is definitely being overlooked for what it is based on what it means and represents in some aspects.
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As a woman, I would be lying if I didn’t say I felt a swelling pride seeing all these kick ass women on screen. The need for representation is real, folks.
What I didn’t love was the fact that we can’t have an amazing woman, kicking ass, dominating the screen without a needless love story. The movie was fantastic as it was dont get me wrong, it just would have been better without the ” I love you” scene. Are women that deserpate, that the only way we see the good in man is when a man tells us he loves us? Steve literally gave his life for the greater good, that should have been enough to sway her outlook.
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