I agree with basically everything said here. Very good movie. My only beef is that the 3rd act drags out a bit. But that is only a very minor complaint. I also would have liked to spend more time with all of the Amazons but that would have required a much longer movie.
DC Extended Universe
- Thread starter Triggermv
- Start date
I agree with basically everything said here. Very good movie. My only beef is that the 3rd act drags out a bit. But that is only a very minor complaint. I also would have liked to spend more time with all of the Amazons but that would have required a much longer movie.
You are pretty spot on there for sure. While I shared my quick thoughts, here is my full-out usual review I like to post:
<<<<Non-Spoilery>>>>>
Talk about a fun movie that exceeded my expectations. Wonder Woman is a great movie I'd recommend anyone to go see. Starting off, at this movies heart, it is an origin story for Wonder Woman, but somehow through good storytelling, it doesn't seem to fall into the tired origin story category. In fact, the screenwriters took a comic book character with a fairly convoluted back-story, and transformed it into a creative story that makes sense to their WWI setting. Secondly, this is definitely one of those movies that is superbly directed by Patty Jenkins. How she injects amazing visuals (some Zack Snyder influence), with amazing story, heart, hope, humor, action and charisma is really impressive, and something other DCEU directors have had a hard time finding that good balance with. So yes, there is a lot more humor in this movie, but at the same time, it isn't too much and it doesn't make it feel like it is trying to be a Marvel movie or something. It still feels very DC.
As for the characters, the cast was one of the best casts I've seen out there in any superhero movie. Any worries about Gal Gadot's casting or acting ability should be completely put to bed. This one movie alone makes it so that she "is" Wonder Woman to the iconic level that Robert Downey Jr. "is" Iron Man and Chris Evans "is" Captain America. Her acting was solid and her physicality, look and charisma were maybe her best assets. You truly fall in love with this woman about halfway through the movie where you want to run through a brick wall with her. All the other Amazonians were tremendously cast as well. Can't say I've seen quite a group of crazy bad looking women (in a good way). Lastly on the casting front, I can't say enough about Chris Pine, which I didn't fully expect. What they did with his character and how he portrayed him made not only him super likable, but how he played off of Gal Gadot made both of them extremely charismatic.
The last positive I'll point out is the action, which was some of the best I've ever seen. Obviously, the beach scene was a great scene, and was as good as advertised, but there is another action scene (I'm not going to say what or when), that deserves to be right up there in maybe the top 3 best groundbreaking action scenes of any superhero movie out there. Others side-by-side ones with it would be The Avengers final act, and probably the airport scene from Civil War. Again, I felt like a kid again watching the scene to the point where I feel like I'm running side-by-side with her through these brick walls. I therefore have zero doubt anymore of Patty Jenkin's ability to direct action.... zero.
With all the positives of this movie, it definitely still had its flaws for sure still unfortunately, and they mostly all pop up in the 3rd act. While the story overall is pretty solid, due to some decent plot holes, everything just doesn't seem to come together at the end to hit home quite as much as I would have liked, particularly with some of the twists and turns. Also, in that same 3rd act, what had been amazing action sequences thus far in the movie eventually kind of downgrades a bit into your typical DCEU darkness and explosions CGI orgy. Its not near as bad as its predecessors, but probably a bit more than I would have liked.
Anyway, those are most my takeaways from the film. If I had to describe the film overall in a nut shell, I'd say it has A LOT of parallels to Captain America: The First Avenger, but does pretty much everything that film does good just a little better. At the same time, what that same film lacks, Wonder Woman tends to fall short in as well. From its hope, optimism, and charisma strengths, I'd say this movie is most similar to Superman. For a last comparison, I'd say the screenwriting was very good, but probably not great, which is kind of similar to Civil War. What both Civil War and Wonder Woman made up for it in was through great directing and characters. In the end, if this movie succeeded in anything, it was that it was one of those rare movies that made me feel like a kid again. One where you are fully immersed and bought into not only the movie, but the characters. So, while this movie might not be the best superhero movie ever, mainly due to its few short-falls, I truly believe it deserves to be up in the top tier with the best of them. Therefore, the positive critical response to this is not bull-crap. It deserves every one of them.
Please feel free to critique or give me your thoughts. Oh yeah, and P.S. PLEASE give Patty Jenkins another superhero movie to direct somewhere and please do it soon.
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Ah, come on man.... I will say this is one that benefits from seeing it in the theater, particularly to get immersed in that WWI iconic cinematography Patty Jenkins produced. Will be hard to reproduce that experience at home. Plus, this was definitely one of those movies where the whole audience was into it and busting out laughing all-together at spots. That is something I love about opening nights, particularly with good movies.
Oh, I'll say this too. While I don't think the DCEU is completely off life support after this movie, I'd say this movie definitely helps A LOT. The DCEU was in need of a hit, and now it has one. Even better, it is one that they should probably use as a tone setter moving forward with all the rest of their films.
I'll say this is the best comic book movie of the year so far in my book, which says a lot. I'd say it beats out Guardians 2 easily and edges out Logan slightly.
http://www.cbr.com/wonder-woman-passes-100-million-opening-weekend/
Wonder Woman crossed the $100 million mark opening weekend, which is pretty darn impressive, especially when it was once projected by some people to only gross $40 million. However, even when that was projected, I was pulling out the bull-crap flag, as I knew it would do better than that, especially after I saw the reviews. Glad to see it doing so well.
Wonder Woman crossed the $100 million mark opening weekend, which is pretty darn impressive, especially when it was once projected by some people to only gross $40 million. However, even when that was projected, I was pulling out the bull-crap flag, as I knew it would do better than that, especially after I saw the reviews. Glad to see it doing so well.
Saw it over the weekend! Really enjoyed it. Some great action sequences and enough humor to keep it lighter but nothing over the top. Gal Gadot is great as Wonder Woman
To add to this. I am definitely more excited for Justice League now. I was before just because I am a sucker for this stuff but seeing this boosted my excitement.
My biggest fear still is that the Wonder Woman movie doesn't change the fact that Zack Snyder remains the director for Justice League. And keep in mind, this comes from a guy who has been a Zack Snyder apologist for quite a few years up until Batman vs Superman. Shoot, I still love Man of Steel, but at the same time, I'm not sure I've ever been as disappointed in a movie as I was while watching Batman vs Superman for the first time. Well, correct that, Spider-Man 3 was possibly even worse, but its tough to remember for sure. With all that said, I really like Zack Snyder as a person.
As much as I loved Man of Steel, I still cringe anytime I think about the dog and tornado part. Shoot, the killing Zod thing didn't bother me in the slightest.
I cut your post to two of the thoughts I immediately had after the movie. Gardot is perfectly cast and that one action scene you mentioned was really well done.
The flow of the plot wasn't perfect and a few scenes seemed a little drawn out
Steve Trevor schmoozing Dr Poison at the gala felt out of place and drawn out compared to the rest of the movie to me
1) The plane with the gas was supposed to wipe out everything within 50 miles, yet when Steve take it maybe a mile or two up and blows it, that's the end of the threat 2) Nothing in the movie screamed "campy" but the last image we are left with is Wonder Woman leaping (and practically flying) at the screen with an uber-campy superhero pose that was ridiculously cliche. It's not major, but I hate having that be the last thing I see before I leave the theater.
I went into the movie with tempered expectations based on the past few DC movies, and came away feeling like they took a massive stride in the right direction. I'm hoping she's more than just a novelty in the Justice League movie because I felt like some of the combat sequences were as well done as some of those in the Dark Knight trilogy, just with more super-hero-flare.
I probably agree with you on two of your three thoughts. With the plane thing, I actually didn't catch that, and what you say makes sense. Obviously a bit of a plot hole there that you caught. Yes, that last scene felt a bit campy to me. I didn't love it either. However, with the Steve Trevor and Doctor Poison gripe you had, I actually really liked that part. Not only did it help to show how skilled Steve Trevor can "mostly" be at his job, but it also added a layer of actual understanding and sympathy to one of the villains, rather than just the usual twirling mustache variety. Therefore, it added more heart and sympathy into a movie, based off a character's whose most notable attributes are her compassion, heart, and optimism. It is also why Wonder Woman spared killing her in the end.
Sorry for the spoiler mode, but I don't want to reveal anything to those that haven't seen it yet. This is really a question to anyone that has watched it.
Why would the Germans hold a gala with some of it's most prominent military figures and members of society so close to a town that was just overrun by enemy soldiers? They weren't signing the armistice at the gala were they? They obviously knew about the town being overtaken since they launched the gas at the town, but nobody thought "Hey maybe a big fancy gala within a few miles of enemies with guns might not be the best timing?"
Sorry if I'm overanalyzing it. The whole gala scene didn't work that well for me outside of setting up Diana's reaction to the event. Maybe I need to re-watch it.
Sorry if I'm overanalyzing it. The whole gala scene didn't work that well for me outside of setting up Diana's reaction to the event. Maybe I need to re-watch it.
