★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Wonder’s the word, alright. Patty Jenkins brings a pop-culture
icon to the screen in grin-broadening fashion with this electrifying and
earnest superhero film that aims to expand the DC cinematic universe.
Thankfully, Wonder Woman’s part in
building the latter is small, taking a step away from the stodgy
forward-planning of films past to
tell a singular, self-contained story (imagine that!). Its larger and more
important contribution to the world is to finally deliver a female-led,
female-directed megabudget film that puts to rest both the nightmare of Catwoman or Elektra, and the pig-headed
mindset that audiences don’t want to see films made by, for, and starring
women.
Gal Gadot (returning from her brief appearance in Batman V Superman) plays our heroine,
Diana, an Amazonian warrior of the all-female utopia, Themyscira. Their peace
is shattered when pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) takes a tailspin into their
paradise, explaining that the wider world is engulfed in the Great War. Believing
the God Aires has poisoned the minds of humanity into committing such
atrocities, Diana decides to leave her home, despite the express wishes of her
mother, Hippolyta (a fiercely tiaraed Connie Nielsen). Nevertheless, she
persists, taking command of her people’s most powerful weapons and following
Steve back to the pointedly termed “world of men”.
Her values are soon challenged by the prejudices and
practices of 20th century London, as well as the sinister plotting
of German General Ludendorff (Danny Huston, wearing his best sneer) and his
scientist accomplice, Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya). They plan to unleash a new form
of gas to scupper the oncoming armistice, so – after some smartly funny
fish-out-of-water escapades in London – Diana, Steve and his hand-picked gang
set off to the Western front. At this point, the film threatens to stick Diana
in the backseat while Steve and the trio (engagingly played by Ewen Bremner,
Eugene Brave Rock and Saïd Taghmaoui) momentarily take centre stage. This is one of few
points where the pace limps somewhat, but how refreshing that it’s in service
of character building rather than crash-bang-wallop.
Other pitfalls (due to genre and period) can’t quite be
avoided. The special effects occasionally overwhelm and comparisons to Captain America: The First Avenger are
in abundance, but they’re momentary setbacks that can’t harm the film’s
feminist message. No matter how broad the strokes, the statement feels genuine
and direct, and the moment when Diana climbs into No Man’s Land is unspeakably
powerful. It’s a set piece that feels long overdue, delivering on a spectacular
and emotional level that no amount of trailer footage can spoil. If Gadot
batting away bullets can bring a tear to my eye, I can only imagine what it’ll
mean to an entire generation of young girls.
Jenkins proves a confident action director in these sparse
but thrilling sequences of derring-do, shedding the gawping male gaze and murky
composition of her contemporaries. Cinematographer Matthew Jensen streamlines
the Snyder aesthetic into something appropriate (it’s several shades brighter,
but doesn’t let up on the speed-ramps and slow-mo), and composer Rupert
Gregson-Williams proves me right about that signature guitar riff: it's a
killer cue, and works incredibly well when embraced by a full score.
Tom Holkenborg’s leitmotif is the only hanger-on from the
wider cinematic universe: the film spends less than a minute tying itself to the
DC web, managing subplots you can count on one hand and connect without the
assistance of Wikipedia. Given time to develop a single central character as
opposed to the lead, their partner, their nemeses and – lest we forget –
Granny’s Peach Tea, Wonder Woman builds
to a satisfying series of emotional payoffs that are all to do with rooting for
real heroes, not a brooding bulk or
snarky pretty boy (Pine easily deflects any Kirk comparisons).
For Diana is not one of the boys, nor is she a damsel. Her quest
for peace is taken utterly on her own terms and speaks to something often
spoken but rarely felt in this genre: optimism. Not the staunchly-defended
principles of Captain America or Batman’s misguided faith in his corrupt city,
but a genuine belief that people are innately good, that lives are worth saving
for more than the purposes of reparation or showboating. Batman V Superman failed to deliver on the promise of Clark’s smile
at the end of Man of Steel, but Wonder Woman takes up the charge with
conviction. When tragedy strikes, Diana is visibly shaken. When her powers
manifest, she learns to command them without aid or exposition. When faced with
the awful truth of humanity, she lassos the last vestige of goodness available
and digs in her heels.
This refusal to go all self-referential or edgy seemed to
draw out a smattering of sighs and snickers from the audience, but none from
me. The unabashed display of hope and courage brought me back to watching my
Dad’s DVD of Superman: The Movie as a
child, and Gal Gadot’s performance succeeds entirely on her ability to convey
that yearning, that desperation, even, to do the right thing. I don’t believe
this to be some overcooked attempt on the behalf of Jenkins, Snyder and co. to
counteract criticisms of the series’ dire grittiness, but because the movie
honestly means to be so. It left me
beaming, occasionally through watery eyes, but never through derision. My
prayer that the DCEU (or, Goddess forbid, the genre as a whole) learns the
right lesson from Wonder Woman may go
unanswered, but it’s one as genuine as Diana’s desire for justice. I’m with
her.
