In a world of superhero films packed with men saving the day, this summer gave us the big-screen debut of one of the most important superheroes of all time. Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” was everything that the world needed in one film: a strong, powerful woman leading men in a fight against pure evil.
Of course, Wonder Woman was an incredible warrior, capable of taking on any man in a fight and winning, but even more importantly, she was empathetic and caring toward others. In a time when equality is a hot button topic, Wonder Woman hits all the right notes, and makes a statement about treating ALL people equally. Along the way, you also get one of the best comic book films in recent memory.
The cast was absolutely perfect. Gal Gadot looked good as Wonder Woman, judging from what we saw in “Batman vs Superman,” but many were still skeptical. This film put all of those doubts to rest, as Gal Gadot was everything Wonder Woman should be. Her rendition of Diana Prince was naïve to begin with, but only because she cared so much for people. She tried her best to save lives, and cared for everyone around her, even those she just happened upon in her travels across the battlefield. However, she was also powerful and strong when she needed to be, not backing down from any woman or man that confronted her or her values.
Gadot’s support was the always charming Chris Pine, who played Steve Trevor. Pine delivered the role as a character ahead of his time in terms of womens’ treatment, but also one who often had a very grim and narrow-minded view of war. Prince gave Trevor hope, and showed him that even in the most hopeless of situations a hero still makes an effort.
There were other funny characters throughout the film as well, such as Lucy Davis as Etta Candy, Said Taghmaoui as Sameer, and Ewen Bremner as Charlie. There was also a good crop of villainous characters, with Danny Huston’s General Ludendorf and David Thewlis’ Ares. Ares, the main villain, was exceptionally well done. He was very powerful and intimidating, with some solid dialogue. The movie also was able to fit in some other strong female characters in Connie Nielsen’s Queen Hippolyta and Robin Wright’s General Antiope.
The plot was simple, and I believe it excelled for that reason. In the comics, the role of Ares, the god of war, was to manipulate and secretly influence wars from behind the scenes; in the film, he is put in the World War I timeline, and Wonder Woman has to find a way to stop him. Tonally, the movie needed to find that same feel that “Captain America: The First Avenger” had, as it is challenging to put fictional characters into real points in history without losing authenticity. I felt that they successfully captured that same magic.
Now I could go on and on about the absolutely pitch-perfect comic book accuracy in this movie. From Wonder Woman’s origin to her demeanor and morals, she was perfect. Not to mention the connection to Greek mythology. However, none of this would do justice to the importance of this movie because it was more than just the everyday comic book movie.
In a time when women still have to fight for their rights to be treated equal to men, here is a woman leading men into war. In a time when people of color and Muslims are unfairly judged and stereotyped, here is a man of Middle Eastern descent fighting along side Diana Prince, who listens to his tales of woe with empathy and understanding. And in a time when there is so much hate being lobbed around, here is a movie about a person experiencing that hate for the first time and just deciding to do something about it.
“Wonder Woman” is one of the best films of the year, and one of the greatest of the superhero genre. See this movie if you get the chance, it is well worth it!