Movie Review: “Wonder Woman”- Changing How We View Female Superheroes

 

Snippet of the Wonder Woman (2017) Movie Poster

BY JALESSA CASTILLO

At last a female driven superhero movie hit the cinematic screen, and in a big way! Taking the lead in the box office for two consecutive weekends, making $570 million worldwide, as well as being one of the best films in the DC Cinematic Universe has certainty cemented Wonder Woman as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.

Incorporating storylines from her original 1941 comic debut in All Star Comics #8, her 2011 DC Comics relaunch dubbed the New 52, and the 2016 DC Rebirth of the comics helped to please almost all of the fans that may have preferred one story over the other.

Gal Gadot shines as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, as she incorporates the fearless nature of a warrior princess from the island of Themyscira with the curiosity of someone new to the modern world, specifically a 1910 England amid a World War.

Although there is no question as to whether the scenes of her fighting along-side soldiers on the battlefield were amazing, I think that some of the best battles were filmed while on the Amazon-Filled Island of Themyscira. The incredibly tough women from the island made almost everyone in the audience want to sign up for sword fighting and bow-and-arrow lessons.

Additionally, Chris Pine as the valorous Steve Trevor and Lucy Davis as Trevor’s cheeky secretary were performances that brought heart and moments of comedy to an otherwise more serious and action filled movie. Along with the other members of their unit Charlie (Ewen Bremmer), Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), and The Chief (Eugene Brave Rock) they captured the familial bond commonly associated with soldiers in battle.

The use of slow-motion fighting and fantastical flips mid-sword battle made the combat scenes stand out from other movies set within the same genre.

Not to mention that Gadot being 5 months pregnant during the shooting of the movie made those stunts even more impressive! In fact, when she could no longer hide her growing baby bump the crew used the help of “movie magic” to hide it from movie goers. They cut out a hole in her costume and covered her belly in a green material, creating a portable green screen, which they later digitally altered to look like the armored abdomen of Wonder Woman.

Another feature of the movie that I personally enjoyed was the refreshing twist put on the romance that is introduced in the movie. Rather than deterring Diana from her original cause or making her seem as anything less than the independent woman and warrior she is, her love for Steve Trevor (Pine) only fortified her compassion for mankind and even aided her in developing her full powers.

Concluding, Wonder Woman was a great watch that was wonderfully directed by Patty Jenkins. In a predominantly male dominated genre and field it is great to see a female at the helm of making a comic book based movie and one starring in it. Not to say that the movie was anti-men, actually it was a great eye opener to many inequality issues, including racial stigmas, and emphasized the importance of men and women working together to get a job done. I would recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind seeing a leading lady in action while also celebrating the men that support her.