It took a woman to rescue the DC
Cinematic Universe. Two women, actually. The first, of course, is Wonder Woman,
as played by Gal Gadot. The Amazon warrior made her big-screen debut in last
year’s notorious grimfest Batman v.
Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which she was one of the very few bright
spots.
The other woman is director Patty
Jenkins, who previously helmed 2003’s Monster
and was, at one point, slated to direct what ultimately became Thor: The Dark World. Based on Wonder Woman, Jenkins either didn’t
get—or simply chose to ignore—the memo that DC’s comic-book superheroes had to
be portrayed in movies as joyless, tortured, barely-likable beings for whom
heroism is more of a burden than a calling.
Under Jenkins, Wonder Woman—also known as
Princess Diana of the hidden island paradise Themiscyra—is everything that
Superman should have been in 2013’s Man
of Steel and the aforementioned Batman
v. Superman. Which is to say, she’s absolutely committed to the cause of
making the world a better place, she exudes charm, warmth, and compassion, and
she has absolute faith in humanity’s inherent goodness. That faith is put to
the test, to be sure, but there’s never any doubt that when all is said and
done, Diana (she’s never referred to in the film as Wonder Woman, incidentally)
cares deeply for us.
The film is an origin story, showing
Diana’s early life with the Amazons—particularly her mother, Queen Hippolyta
(played by Connie Nielsen) and her aunt, General Antiope (Robin Wright)—and the
events that lead to her eventual departure from Themiscyra to take an active
role in world affairs. Early in the film, we find the Amazons enjoying their
peaceful existence, blissfully unaware that beyond their island, World War I is
in full swing. But the brutal global conflict reaches their shores with the
sudden arrival of a man: U.S. military officer Steve Trevor (played by Chris
Pine), who forms a bond with Diana after she saves him from a plane crash. Having
learned of the war and the number of lives that have already been lost, and
believing that she may be able to bring the conflict to a quick end, Diana is
inspired to get directly involved, against her mother’s wishes. To reveal more
would be to delve into spoiler territory.
I can’t say enough good things about Gal
Gadot. Her performance is simply terrific, displaying a wide range of emotions
and moods while never straying too far from the character’s underlying passion
to do good, to help as many people as she can, and to inspire love throughout
the world. Even moreso than in Batman v.
Superman, Gadot proves herself to be a worthy successor to the much-beloved
Lynda Carter, who, like Christopher Reeve, is one hell of a tough act to
follow.
Chris Pine is equally good, and he has
strong chemistry with Gadot. Amusingly enough, in Wonder Woman, Pine really shows just how well he can play Captain
James T. Kirk—something he hasn’t always gotten a chance to do in the Star Trek
movies he’s starred in. Pine’s Steve Trevor is bold, courageous, decent, mature,
charismatic, and a natural leader.
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| Chris Pine and Gal Gadot |
Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright make
great Amazons, and they turn in effective performances that help shape Diana’s
character.
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| Diana (Gal Gadot), left, stands with Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). |
The supporting cast is uniformly solid, particularly: Lucy Davis, who provides some delightful comic relief as Steve Trevor’s British secretary, Etta Candy; the always reliable Danny Huston, who is appropriately menacing as the German army general, Erich Ludendorff; Elena Anaya as Ludendorff’s scientist associate, Dr. Maru, affectionately known as “Dr. Poison”; Saïd Taghmaoui as Sameer, a lighthearted member of the international military team Trevor assembles to work with him and Diana in Europe; and David Thewlis (who is absolutely brilliant in the current season of Fargo) as Sir Patrick Morgan, a British official pushing for armistice.
With a running time of 2 hours and 21
minutes, Wonder Woman is long, but
for the most part, it’s well paced. The action scenes are nicely choreographed
and there’s a sufficient amount of time spent building up the key characters
and their relationships.
Wonder Woman deserves to be a
big hit for Warner Bros. I hope it proves to be one. I much prefer Patty
Jenkins’s approach to the DC Cinematic Universe, and to heroic figures, over
that of Zack Snyder, the director of Man
of Steel, Batman v. Superman and
the upcoming Justice League (set for
release on November 17). An enthusiastic response from audiences, and huge
box-office returns, may finally send a clear message to the studio that
superheroes should be inspirational, that they should appeal to our better
selves, that they should be rays of light and hope that pierce through the
darkness, and that they’re able to actually smile
every now and then.
© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg,
2017.
