Wonder Woman (2017)

Directed by: Patty Jenkins | 133 minutes | action, adventure, fantasy, science fiction, war | Actors: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya, Lilly Aspell, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Ann Wolfe, Ann Ogbomo, Emily Carey, James Cosmo

The release of ‘Wonder Woman’ definitely raises some questions. Why is there only now a movie about the Amazon princess? When one looks objectively at the popularity of superheroes, it can be concluded that Wonder Woman is the third most popular of the entire club. Superman and Batman are of course at a lonely height, but the woman of wonders really completes that triumvirate of iconic superheroes. The second question. Why did it take director Patty Jenkins fourteen years to make her next film? After giving Charlize Theron an Oscar with ‘Monster’, she almost completely disappeared from the scene. Jenkins strikes back, however, and comes up with arguably the most important superhero movie in ages.

A lot depends on ‘Wonder Woman’. Female superheroes have never gotten a really good portrayal in their own movie. ‘Catwoman’ was a strange quasi-fetish film that had nothing to do with the comic book series, and ‘Elektra’ was so boring and corny that most people have forgotten that the film even exists. Furthermore, the future of the DC Extended Universe (the great counterpart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) rests on the shoulders of our heroine. The previous films (with Superman and Batman as central figures, of course) largely failed to give the audience a really good film. The big bright spot in the blockbuster ‘Batman vs. However, Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (2016) was, you guessed it, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).

The film performs well on both fronts. Now that is not necessarily very difficult in both cases, but it is and remains a great relief. ‘Wonder Woman’ is a pretty charming movie with a very likeable cast. Especially Gal Gadot as the titular heroine and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor are the hard core of the film and are the best thing about the entire production next to Jenkins directing. The chemistry that Gadot and Pine show jumps off the screen and keeps the viewer focused, even when the film might get a little too sugary.

The plot is a nice set up to get the action moving, but it’s pretty standard for an origin story. When World War I spy Steve Trevor lands on a mysterious island, the ancient inhabitants (the Amazons) are drawn into a conflict with the Germans. The Princess Diana believes that this can only be the work of Ares, god of war, and decides to end the world conflict by defeating Ares. It provides a good background for a lot of cute and at times socially critical character moments. When Diana and Steve arrive in London, Diana is amazed at how things are going in “our” world. She finds the job of secretary strange (it’s almost slavery after all) and she makes short work of the rule that women have nothing to decide in times of war. Jenkins portrays it all very naturally and nowhere does it feel preachy.

The shortcomings are therefore not necessarily in the acting or directing, but more in the visual work and some story elements. The various villains are not well developed. Ares still works in a strange way, although it makes for the most absurd scenes in the film. The other two, however, are less successful and the actors also go a little too far in their performance. Furthermore, as mentioned, the visual effects are not at all as they should be today and the action scenes rely way too much on slow motion. Finally, this film does that weird thing in which the Germans don’t really speak German but English with a thick German accent. The latter, however, can still be forgiven, because when Pine is forced to do it, it becomes a hilarious affair.

In the end, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot can give themselves a very well-deserved pat on the back. After a bunch of taunts in both the DC comics movie universe and the superheroine genre in general, “Wonder Woman” rages through it like a whirlwind, leaving friends and foes alike humming that wildly cool music theme as they leave the movie theater.