Wonder Woman film (2017)

[LoweGear]

Spoiler for Impressions:

I can honestly say that as far as DCEU movies go, Wonder Woman is the best of the currently released crop of movies - it's suitably dark without being edgy, it's funny without being cringey, and it's got a story that's not trying to be all "artistic" or "poignant", while still delivering what it has with a good clarity. In particular, Diana's black & white view of the world starkly contrasting with how complicated the situation is in WW1 is really endearing and understandable under the circumstances she grew up in, and they show her motivations and character so much better than Superman in Man of Steel.

I do like how they didn't have to mire down Diana with edgy grimdarkness like in Batman vs Superman in order to show Diana just how naive her world view is, and just lays down how horrific the Great War was, which is a period of human history that's not difficult to show in such a light. At the same time however, they show believably how Diana could stick to being noble after a period where her once proud beliefs are shattered.

It may not be groundbreaking in a storytelling sense, but Wonder Woman shows that perhaps the DCEU is best served laying down good, solid foundations like how Marvel did it, and here they show considerable restraint in making sure that the movie tells only Diana's story, and not try to cram a million subplots for the sake of the greater cinematic universe, and it works. If I were to compare this to Marvel's releases, the obvious comparison would be Captain America: The First Avenger, and it does compare favorably to said movie.

[Von Himmel]

I don't know man, I cringed a bit when Diana just got into London.. but I guess that's to be expected from someone as backwater as her Also the movie is pretty darn good which was honestly a surprise. It managed to show what simple message they want to convey from the film while also gives pretty great action scene while on it.

I feel like the human side war isn't shown enough though..much of it was just Diana carrying the war and decimating everyone

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

So it was confirmed that the canon ending created by BvS, that of Diana abandoning humanity for 100 years, was removed entirely after test audiences hated it.

So now what"? Is BvS being retconned? Is superheroes accepted now, or are they still suppose to be hated? Current Diana basically have nothing to be inspired by Superman because she is already better than Superman.

[LoweGear]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

Current Diana basically have nothing to be inspired by Superman because she is already better than Superman.

This is way too true. Diana in this movie is a more compassionate and noble hero than Snyder's Superman is. While it speaks well for how they portrayed Diana, unfortunately it brings back just how much they botched Superman's characterization.

[Seafoam]

I'm pretty sure I know where they're going with Supes in a few movies here, based on a few iterations I've read before. Although they should've waited to do it until further into the movies to do it, and started off with the typical characterization for him. Otherwise it doesn't make me feel bad about where he's gone because I barely know the guy.

Anyways, I liked the movie. It proved true to Warner Bros'/Geoff John's words that each movie will have different tones. This was precisely what this needed. Now I just need my buddy cop Cyborg/Flash movie.

[LoweGear]

Watched a couple of reviews, particular Angry Joe's, and one of the things he said articulates quite well about why this movie succeeds where Man of Steel and Batman v Superman failes: Wonder Woman is inspiring.

Spoiler for scene:

The particular scene mentioned, which I remember from my time in the cinema being quite giddy about, was when Diana rises up from the trenches for the first time and just charges towards the German lines like a seemly unstoppable force of nature. What happens next though is that the Allied soldiers on the trenches, seeing this bold move, become emboldened and then charge down the lines of battle, until they finally reach and clear out the village.

The one thing people forget that superheroes of Wonder Woman's caliber tend to be is that they shouldn't just be superpowered warriors, they should also be inspirational, to make others around them look to them as examples and act upon such. I mean, see the first Spiderman film by Sam Raimi, where the New Yorkers on the bridge, seeing Spiderman in danger, pelt and taunt the Goblin, or Captain America rising up and taking command of people into action whether in his own films or in the Avengers.

This inspirational acts where the heroes act as a beacon for others to take action and do good is something the Wonder Woman movie does nicely, and is something that previous films in the DCEU really should've had more of. Superman really shouldn't have been a monster to be feared, he should've been a figure of hope to inspire people, and the fact that Wonder Woman manages to beat Snyder's Superman in such things is really sad.

*sigh*

Just thinking about how good Wonder Woman as a movie is makes me sad at the same time about how Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were such wasted opportunities.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Seafoam

Anyways, I liked the movie. It proved true to Warner Bros'/Geoff John's words that each movie will have different tones. This was precisely what this needed. Now I just need my buddy cop Cyborg/Flash movie.

Problem is, make of those times (like the one used for the latter half of MoS and for BvS) isn't one that people want to see for any of the core superheroes...at least early on. You have to work your way up (or arguably down, depending on execution) to grimdark, unless you're dealing with a character with an element of horror, like with some of the JL Dark members.

And no, Batman does not have an element of horror. He scares bad guys, not the audience.

[Seafoam]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

Problem is, make of those times (like the one used for the latter half of MoS and for BvS) isn't one that people want to see for any of the core superheroes...at least early on. You have to work your way up (or arguably down, depending on execution) to grimdark, unless you're dealing with a character with an element of horror, like with some of the JL Dark members.

And no, Batman does not have an element of horror. He scares bad guys, not the audience.

Yeah, you're right. You can do a dark Batman movie though without it being overboard or straight up horror. That's where DC's start has been weird, because it's working backwards it seems. Although with the way its been set up, it seems more likely that a flashback movie would be the darkest for the likes of him.

[TnAdct1]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

So it was confirmed that the canon ending created by BvS, that of Diana abandoning humanity for 100 years, was removed entirely after test audiences hated it.

I haven't seen BvS, but given what I've seen in terms of the ending of the Wonder Woman, my interpretation is that

Spoiler for Wonder Woman:

Diana realizes that humanity isn't black and white, and even if Ares is defeated, humans will still declare war on each other and harm innocents. However, Diana has also seen the good in humans (with the biggest influence being Steve Trevor's sacrifice to prevent a massive gas attack on London). As such, she feels that she should not intervene with normal human incidents like war, as a godlike intervention will not change anything. However, once more metas begin to appear (along with outer worldly threats), she feels obliged to protect the Earth itself.

[FlareKnight]

I have to say...this was easily the best DC-verse movie to date. That was actually really good and an entertaining movie. They made Wonder Woman work and not make her an unlikable source of depression like Superman has been.

Spoiler for Movie Thoughts:

Honestly they made Wonder Woman inspiring. She started off not having a full grasp of the world and humanity, but she learned. And while she saw the evils that humanity can unleash all on their own, she also saw the good. A straight forward, but good moment in seeing her choose to focus on the good humanity has in them (like the capacity to love) and not letting the tragedy overwhelm her. That Ares was right, but he didn't see the full picture.

I'm actually kind of glad the London bits were so short. The awkwardness made sense, but I was just glad to get her out and into the action. And really the action shined for this. The one thing DC has over Marvel right now is that their heroes have some insane power sets. Diana can do some really incredible things and they let her do them. They have a character who is a literal god and they don't have a problem letting her go nuts. The MCU started off with Iron Man and has been rather tech based, only just really delving more into mystical territories. But here we just had Diana kill the God of War.

That was good and I'm glad they ended it like they did.

Just a really solid and enjoyable movie. This movie certainly gives me hope for the DC films. They can do it right.

[germanturkey]

solid movie. third act was messy, but i enjoyed the other two thirds greatly. Gal's chemistry with Chris was outstanding.

[quigonkenny]

Just got back from seeing it. Easily the best of the DCEU movies, by a long shot. Gal Gadot was mesmerizing, which is nothing new, but her acting was pretty good in this as well, and she convinced me she could be right for the role. And of course Chris Pine was Chris Pine. Always good.

There's one thing this movie had that neither of the previous did, at all, and that was hope. Even in the midst of all the sorrows of this story and the horrors of war (which, gladly, they did gloss over a bit, because if you thought war was nasty in WWII...), there's still a strong feeling that things will get better at the end of this, when neither of the previous movies suggested things even could get better.

[zztop]

No Amazons knew that Hestia actually made the Lasso of Truth to compel the young adventurer Bell Cranel to admit if he was truly in love in her, but gave it up after realizing she preferred to hear him say it out of his own free will.