Wonder Woman Delivers On All Fronts

Review by Brenda Torres and Aaron Haughton

Brenda:

I'm still reeling from Wonder Woman. I really enjoyed seeing how Diana (played by Gal Gadot), a character that grew up in a matriarchal society, reacts when she finds herself in a patriarchal world. You notice the men in the movie either ogle, silence, or underestimate her, which is not uncommon for women today. I like that she didn't try to conform to this society; instead, she tried to make it conform to her needs and objectives. 

I often get frustrated by Hollywood's attempts at a "strong" female lead. After watching Colossal with Aaron, he asked me, "As a woman, how did you feel about Gloria as a protagonist?" I told him that while I appreciated the film's effort, it's unfortunate that the protagonist had to be an unemployed alcoholic who is now broke because she can no longer mooch off her ex-boyfriend. 

Wonder Woman is exactly the kind of strong female lead that I had been aching for. The beauty of Diana's feminism is that it's innate because of her upbringing. It doesn't stem from an opposing view to inequality, it's because she knows no inequality. Think of a child, free from the constraints of being self-conscious because they don't know that they can even be self-conscious. This is the kind of movie I'm going to want to keep around for when I want to feel good. Aside from the empowerment aspect, Wonder Woman delivers in other areas like action, sentimental value, romance, and comedy, proving to be a movie sure to entertain just about anyone.

Aaron: 

Wonder Woman manages to do a lot without feeling like it's trying to do too much -- an aspect nearly all comic book films fall victim to; it's part action/adventure -- akin to classics like Indiana Jones -- and part romantic comedy, wrapped in a comic book burrito, delivering action with gusto and sentiment with conviction, all while being able to genuinely make you laugh. Quite simply put: Wonder Woman is worth all the hype and praise that critically surrounds it. 

Gal Gadot is everything Wonder Woman is and should be; a beautiful goddess with strong humanitarian convictions who is not afraid to stick up for what's right; a warrior willing to put everything on the line for the sake of humanity, despite our weakness and flawed nature, because she's willing and able to see the good that permeates all. However, the true hero of the picture is semi-unsung: the screenwriter, Allen Heinberg, who unfolds the Wonder Woman origin with crisp versatility, hitting many different notes and chords, which Patty Jenkins captures and threads beautifully. All in all, my quibbles with the film are trite and minor, merely cosmetic blemishes, which are not worth mentioning.

I loved Wonder Woman so much that I'll go out on a limb and say that it's one of the best origin stories we've ever gotten. Period. And, I'll go out on an even further limb, and I'll argue that Wonder Woman is one of the best comic films ever made to date, potentially eclipsing the likes of even Logan and Deadpool.

However, that's just the opinion of your friend and humble narrator though, oh brothers and only friends. But, there's no denying Wonder Woman has a little something for everyone, and it doesn't need to bother with trying to go beyond the PG-13 rating as one of its stronger, or more interesting features, which sorta leads me to my last point. 

I've already began to see many people on the internet retort that Wonder Woman is good, but only good "for a DC film." Which is hunky dory because everyone's entitled to their opinion; however, what I find to be the case with these types of commentators is that they commonly lack the articulation to adequately reason their assessment -- their point of view goes no deeper than "good... for DC," and the conversation stops there. And, it stops there because, ultimately, what they're saying subtextually is that they want every superhero/comic book movie to be just like Marvel. Which is to say that they want everything to be the same. And I envision that world being something like this:  

Whenever these films differ from our internalized vision (of MCU sameness), we tend to lash out like little babies, sulking... So I ask these people to think for one second about what it is they're really wishing. Because it seems they'd be happy living in a world where they see the same Iron Man film over and over again, a future where they're copacetic with each film being ostensibly the same regardless of the hero, where they look forward to the recycling of the same narrative with open arms, interchanging heroes and superimposing new faces over the old in massive, heaping layers.

That's not the world I want to live in. Nay, let us not forget that each film holds a duty to not be an exact imitation of what came before, a duty Wonder Woman certainly upholds. Personally, I cannot wait to see it again. 

Rating: 4 scorching lasso's of truth out of 5. 

What'd you think? Did the film work for you? Could it be the best superhero film of all time? Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and, as always, remember to viddy well!