People are saying it's the best DC movie. Some are hailing it as the best superhero movie ever made. Certainly it's one of the best I've ever seen, and I'm not even a big DC fan. Actually, I knew exactly nothing about Wonder Woman before I saw this film, other than that she was in Batman v Superman long enough to save the boys. With just that bit to go on, I wasn't expecting much. I've thoroughly enjoyed the other DC films, even when I can't defend their merit as movies, so why would Wonder Woman be any different?
Maybe because it's just so well written. Writer Allan Heinberg (creator of Marvel heroes Wiccan and Hulkling, just so you know how much I like Heinberg!) shapes a magnificent origin story of epic scale. He handles heavy exposition -- gods and creation and Amazons and war -- remarkably well in a dense script that takes massive shifts from character-building and thematic concerns to fierce action. Not a single scene is superficial or unnecessary. He marries the dialogue to the action by keeping everything grounded in a focused story, and even moments that in other films would be pure spectacle or entertainment are here essential to understanding character and theme. An example? Okay, during the climactic battle between Diana and Ares -- the time when, in other DC films, buildings start collapsing and there's so much dust you can barely see the action -- the violence showcases Diana's resourcefulness and perseverance in the face of raw power. Concurrently, the dialogue between the two characters and Gal Gadot's performance highlight the revelation that she, not a sword, is the "Godkiller" and that her life has been leading to this moment. It's a powerful sequence, all the more so because it defies our expectations: She doesn't learn the truth of herself in the quiet before the storm and then go kick ass. She kicks ass, comes into her own, and then saves the day. It's a minute difference, but an important one.
My only complaint is that the film is structured as a flashback; we've already seen Diana in the present day, so why are we shooting her looking fabulous in Paris as she receives the original photo of her in World War I? It felt silly and fake to me. I had a similar reaction to the way Captain America: The First Avenger was structured; now that I think on it, it's a very similar movie. But then, Gadot's costume is on point in that opening scene, so we'll move on.
The other key player here is director Patty Jenkins (2003's Monster). She films the proceedings (which span the many genres of action, war, history, superhero, and fantasy) with a distinctive flair that repeatedly defies conventions. More importantly, she forces us to pay close attention and to think. The beauty of her work is twofold, as the big-picture drama is glorious to behold and the showstopping details are enthralling to catch. She doesn't tell you what to watch for or expect and then follow through; she tells a rich and complex visual story with each individual shot. She paints the screen in such a way that your eye is forced to travel. That is masterful storytelling.
I'd compare her directorial style in that way to Peter Jackson's in The Lord of the Rings. Each shot is a carefully calculated story in its own right. Whether it's the longer, dramatic scenes that keep us riveted and bouncing from character to character or the intelligent kinetic energy of battle, Jenkins knows how to isolate the important images and promote her themes. The beachside battle between German soldiers and the Amazon warriors is an excellent example of this, where we see spectacularly unique action that also serves the story and the world Jenkins is creating. That's what made Jackson so successful in Rings. Later when the action revs up in Europe, it continues to make sense. We never feel lost or confused about what we're seeing. We care about the people in each shot. There's not so much apocalyptic dust or frenzied editing that we can't tell what's happening.
What else can we say? Beauty is woven into the film through its costumes, locations, effects, and performances. No less beautiful are themes of perseverance, honor, trust, and love. The film is a damning critique of fragile white masculinity, as Diana navigates a world of warmongering men and a dishonorable culture of sexist double standards. Especially noteworthy are the scenes between Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, where their banter steals the movie and highlights the unnecessary nature of men in "pleasures of the flesh" and their otherwise "average" physique. I found it unfortunate, though, that a film with such progressive messages would stoop to such lows as having a physically disfigured villain (ugliness = evil?) and caricaturing races in our heroes' strike team. Similarly I was hoping that, considering the Girl Power basis and an island of Amazons, we might see a bit of queer rhetoric if not outright queer characters, but the film repeatedly reinforces heterosexuality as the name of the game. Still, it's a far better venture into metahuman territory than I was expecting, and easily one of the best movies of the year.
IMDb: Wonder Woman
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