No need to Wonder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/06/2017 (3212 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Premise: The character of Wonder Woman first appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as a mystery figure who appears just in time to help the duelling heroes defeat the all-powerful freak-monster created by Lex Luthor.

This film is her origin story, in which we find young Diana (Gal Gadot) being raised on a timeless island of Amazon warriors without a man in sight.

Against the wishes of her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), she’s taken under the wing of her fierce aunt Antiope (Robin Wright) for warrior training. 

When American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash-lands near the island with a horde of German soldiers in hot pursuit, Diana chooses to follow her destiny to leave the island and accompany Steve on a mission to stop the war in Europe, notwithstanding an armistice deal being struck by British politician Sir Patrick (David Thewlis).

Diana was reared in a Greek Gods belief system, demonstrated when she matter-of-factly explains to Trevor: “My mother sculpted me from clay and Zeus gave me life.” She suspects the war is at risk of continuing due to the surreptitious intervention of a disguised Ares, the god of war.

Diana’s best suspect is Ludendorff (Danny Huston), a ruthless German officer working on a poison gas capable of wiping out millions, invented by the facially deformed Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya), whose deadly proficiency in her toxic arts makes her a kind of anti-Wonder Woman.

The verdict:

 

Randall King: Call director Patty Jenkins the Wonder Woman of the DC film universe in that she managed to offer up a coherent and cohesive movie narrative, the first time that’s really happened in the latest iteration of DC movies, encompassing Man of Steel, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad.

Erin Lebar: When watching Wonder Woman, it’s almost immediately clear a female director is at the helm.

Gadot, who is possibly the most stunning woman alive, is not forced into a role of objectification due to her beauty, but instead is given the chance to harness it and find strength in it.

Yes, she still wears the minimal armour first illustrated in the comic books, but even that, given the development of the character, feels more empowering than sexualized.

Randall: Gadot is indeed well cast for the title role. The only other significant motion picture Wonder Woman was Lynda Carter in the TV series (1975-79).

While that show was created around the time of Gloria Steinem-era feminism (the very first edition of Ms. magazine in 1972 featured her on the cover with the headline Wonder Woman for President), the TV series hedged its bets by making her a bit of a sex kitten.

Sure, she could knock down bad guys with her fighting skills, but it seemed her secret weapon was distracting them with her cleavage. 

Erin: “Distracting” is a word they used many times to describe Gadot, as well, but in a more derogatory way — “you’re too distracting,” or “you’re a distraction.” She seemed to brush it off pretty quickly, though, and continue on with the task at hand — like, “Sorry if I’m distracting you, but that sounds like a ‘you’ problem and not a ‘me’ problem,” which is a refreshing approach.

I also appreciated the fact Gadot is never nude, and the same cannot be said for her male co-star Pine; it felt like an odd sort of milestone.

As did the fact she was wearing relatively flat shoes — the typical stiletto boot was swapped out for a modest wedge, which may not seem like a big deal, but for women who know what it’s like to try to run in pumps, it’s another small victory.

Randall: Gadot is beautiful but much more formidable, which may have something to do with her two years of service with the Israeli Defense Forces. Where Carter’s default facial expression was the disarming, come-hither smile, Gadot’s, as in the last shot of the film, is grim determination with a hint of purposeful pleasure. 

Erin: As an aside, Robin Wright is such a badass and this role was the perfect fit for her (minus the questionable accent work) — she was 20 per cent Princess Buttercup and 80 per cent Claire Underwood, which is exactly what you’d want an Amazon army leader to be.

Randall: As a man, I’m inclined to give a shout-out to Pine, who handles what could have been a thankless role with some finesse, and demonstrating the good-vs.-evil dynamic doesn’t follow gender lines.

Erin: Wonder Woman is a lot of different films — it’s a mythological movie, a superhero movie, a war movie and a rom-com, but the narrative doesn’t feel disjointed or drawn out; the hefty 141-minute running time is filled out well, very little of it is spent beefing up the romantic storyline which, really, was only there because it had to be.

Randall: Agreed. You wonder if Jenkins learned a lesson from Zack Snyder’s Superman movies in which the Lois Lane-Clark Kent romantic subplot is just achingly awkward.

Erin: Here, that lack of time spent on love scenes was another welcome reprieve from the norm — instead of romance driving the plot, it was the duty Diana felt she had to fulfil. There was no damsel in distress, or whatever the male equivalent would be; everyone held their own and are better people for it.

Randall: There is a back-alley scene in which Diana saves Steve from German assassins by employing her bullet-proof bracelets, which seems a deliberate callback to the first Superman movie in which Clark Kent saves Lois Lane from a mugger’s bullet.

It’s not ostentatiously feminist though, and a lot of that has to do with how Pine plays it. He doesn’t feel threatened by Diana’s prowess. One, he realizes she’s more likely to save him than vice versa, so he very practically goes along with it.

Erin Lebar: For me, watching a well-done superhero film with not just one, but a cast of strong women in leadership roles, was an unexpectedly heartwarming experience. I found myself grinning as Diana unapologetically stormed into boardrooms and onto battlefields, demanding change, action and empathy, metaphorically flipping the bird to anyone in her way.

It seems silly that in 2017 a movie such as this and a character such as Gadot’s Wonder Woman should conjure up a strong feeling of liberation, but knowing and seeing the effort was made to make a film of substance and one that likely will make a cultural impact, rather than just modernizing the clichés, is incredibly satisfying.

Randall King: I don’t think it’s silly at all. Look who sits in the White House instead of a strong, capable, experienced woman.

The movie may be mostly set in 1918, but current reality makes it entirely topical, even if it is a fantasy.

erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca  Twitter: @NireRabel

randall.king@freepress.mb.ca  Twitter: @FreepKing