Normally I’d open with some remark on the state of affairs with the DC Extended Universe.
A quip on what has come and where it’s headed.
But after seeing Wonder Woman, it feels a detriment to reflect on that. After her outstanding introduction in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, one that had more people talking about it than the rest of the film; Diana, Princess Of Themyscira has now got her own film that absolutely trumps the rest of the franchise.
It’s about time this universe had some wonder, and that’s going to be all thanks to a woman.
Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world.
Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.
What I love about the film’s open is the time spent on Themyscira; Blatant in its colourful splendour and peace, a nice back-handed slap at the oft-spoken “grit” and “darkness” of the DCEU.
Gadot‘s casting as Wonder Woman was already inspired after her turn in BvS, but she truly shines and owns the role, with a Diana who grows into the responsibility she chooses to take. With Connie Nielsen as mother Hippolyta, and Robin Wright as Apiote surrounding her early development in the film, she falls spectacularly into the role of the hero who wants to do good.
Suddenly thrown into the dark, murky real world, Gadot’s Diana is presented so purely and well, that the fumbles of her normal life clashing with the socially-idealised version provides plenty of laughs, with Pine’s Steve Trevor (literally the character’s name and has been for decades – Ed.) brilliantly poised in his response.
Postured next to a group of men who provide her with the steps to take her hero’s journey, Wonder Woman is clearly the lead. While a love story (that has always existed in the comics – Ed.) threatens to breakdown our Diana, it finds its use in time that allows the lead to soar.
Mind some slightly off-kilter CGI, Wonder Woman is the best the DCEU has given movie audiences so far. With an empowering story driven by the simplest of feelings, action that truly shows the power of the Amazonian Princess and a cast that is stacked with names that serve the story brilliantly, maybe…just maybe…the DCEU will finally start showing us the heroes as we’ve always seen them.
Summary
I came home and unlocked the movie armour in INJUSTICE 2, changed my Playstation 4 theme to the Wonder Woman theme and added wallpapers to my computer if you wanted to know how much I enjoyed it.
