BLOOD WORK: SILVER TONGUED SILVER SCREEN: WONDER WOMAN (2017)

Wonder Woman is without a doubt the most recognizable female super hero in all comicdom. She's a symbol of female empowerment, liberation, and so much more. I'm not terribly familiar with Wonder Woman's comic book history or her rogues gallery but I've always thought she was an interesting character. In 2009 Warner Bros. and DC released an animated Wonder Woman film and I was blown away by it. Keri Russell was Wonder Woman and Nathan Fillion was Steve Trevor and they were both fantastic. With this new film I was really hoping they'd go with a similar approach.

Gal Gadot made her big screen motion picture debut as Wonder Woman in last year's Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Of the big three heroes featured in that movie Wonder Woman was shown the least but that may have worked in her favor. Even though BVSDOJ was the "second" film in the DC Extended Universe (DC's Cinematic Universe) it was really the first test for Zack Snyder's vision of the DC universe. While Batman and Superman were not quite depicted like many of us had hoped, Wonder Woman was barely in the movie and therefore the filmmakers didn't have the time to screw her up too much.

Of the characters featured in BVSDOJ, Wonder Woman was the only one who came out better than they went in. With Wonder Woman's own film debuting 15 months later, the filmmakers had the benefit of learning from BVSDOJ's mistakes. And I gotta say, WONDER WOMAN is about as far from BVSDOJ as possible. In some respects that's a good thing! In others not so much.

As is though, Wonder Woman is one of the strongest films in DC's film library.

THE PLOT

Diana's world is completely rocked by the unexpected arrival of British secret agent, Steve Trevor. While escaping from the Germans, Steve's plane crashes just off the shore of Themyscira, the home of the legendary Amazons. Using the Lasso of Truth, the Amazons learn of the Great War encompassing much of the world. Diana believes the war is the result of Ares and that it is her sacred duty to put an end to Ares once and for all. Diana leaves with Steve where she single-handedly changes the course of the war and her own life as she knows it.

WHAT I LIKED

Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. Call me an unbeliever but I didn't have much confidence in Gal Gadot's acting abilities. I liked her in the Fast and Furious films but the acting in those movies is at a certain level and she wasn't the focus character. I was very impressed with Gal's acting in Wonder Woman. She brought her acting up to a whole new level and was fantastic. She made me a believer. And Chris Pine is likeable and charismatic. He and Gal have great chemistry together and their relationship is the heart of the film. And it worked for me. Marvel needs to grab Chris Pine for a super hero role (Nova?) because I enjoy everything I've seen him in.

Focused and Simple. Both Marvel and DC as of late have been very reluctant to do origin films. And I understand the reasoning behind this, we've had so many and audiences are familiar with how they usually play out. But there is something great about a really well done origin story that connects with audiences. It's been four years since DC gave us Man of Steel (an origin story), a movie all its own and not setting up anything else. It was controlled and focused.

BVSDOJ and Suicide Squad had overly convoluted plots, were a little scatterbrained in regards to their narratives, and more concerned at times with setting up other movies. As a result there was a disconnect with audiences somewhere. Now, I don't mind convoluted plots. I'm a comic book reader. I'm reading more than ten different plots at once and keeping them all straight somehow. But I've had conditioning. I understand that DC doesn't want to be left behind and needs to play catch-up but you can't skip steps. And not everybody reads comic books.

Wonder Woman's origin has never been told in a movie before and the character deserves a proper introduction. After seeing BVSDOJ and Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman feels like a breath of fresh air. Wonder Woman works wonderfully as a simple and focused plot. It's not trying to setup any other movies and all it's concerned with is Diana's story. DC needed this. Wonder Woman needed this. Audiences needed this. Like I said, sometimes you can't beat a good origin story.

Battle of Veld. Wonder Woman's crossing of No Man's Land and the subsequent Battle of Veld are hands down my favorite scenes in the movie.

NITPICKS

Now remember that these are just my personal preferences. I'm not saying I know better or that what I'm about to mention are mistakes. Just that what works for others doesn't necessarily work for me. Cause I'm weird like that.

Third Act Mess. The final battle scene didn't feel very well executed. I guess it comes down to undefined power sets for both the villain and the hero. Our lead villain seems to be able to do anything and make something from nothing. But yet these powers weren't really brought to bare fully which makes no sense. He should be unleashing every iota of power to defeat Diana, which he doesn't. Then there's the scene where Diana goes Super Saiyan 2. Basically something happens that causes Diana to burst with rage and afterwards she's super duper powered-up and seemingly capable of doing anything including powers she never had before.

The third act isn't that bad but the final fight scene pales in comparison to the Battle of Veld sequence, at least in my opinion. It just seemed undefined and not thought out very well.

THE VERDICT

Wonder Woman is a simple and focused origin story that is executed very well. Gal Gadot proves she's the right choice for Diana Prince and together with Chris Pine they bring chemistry and heart to the movie. Where Man of Steel and BVSDOJ made it feel like being a hero sucks, Wonder Woman finally gives audiences a hero to root for. The filmmakers dedicate the time to the title character and ensure Wonder Woman is the best she can be. This may be the best film of the DCEU, maybe. For sure it feels the most well balanced. I don't feel it's as good as Batman Begins but it is darn close.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10