Directed by: Patty Jenkins. Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright.

Finally we can all agree on something that the DCEU has produced. Wonder Woman is a really good film! An origin story that doesn’t get too preachy, action sequences that drop your jaw and a storyline that you are actually interested in. Wonder Woman does a great job of setting a comic book hero into our real life world. That is something the DCEU has been struggling to accomplish so far.

Diana has grown up on Themyscira her whole life. An island containing only women and created by Zeus himself. The island is hidden from the outside world allowing these women to train as the earths best warriors. The sole purpose of their training is to save the world in the event that Ares, the god of war, returns and attempts to destroy us all. Diana has something special about her. Her mother Hippolyta, played by Connie Nielsen, is the Queen of these Amazonian women and she holds the secret that makes Diana so special. She knows how and by whom she was created, as well as exactly what kind of powers Diana holds inside her.

Instead of beating us over the head with what powers this super hero holds and how she got them, how she can use them and their exact limitations; this film allows us to learn about them naturally and through Diana’s eyes. Her innocence throughout the film is defined by the element of wonder she expresses while learning about herself.

The film also does a fantastic job of equalizing women and their role in our world. It doesn’t preach about girl power, yet it greatly shows the differences in how women vs men were/are viewed. Taking place in the World War 1 era it was easy to show where men felt a womans place should be. Sadly, quite a few of the ideals expressed do still hold today. Yet, Diana doesn’t go overboard protesting why she belongs because she is a woman. She walks right to the front of the line, physically and metaphorically, and expresses her views on the world as an equal. It is never once about what a woman or man deserves in our world, but is about what a person who is equal to the one next to them should can achieve.

I enjoyed Gal Gadot in this film. Her performance was very similar to Henry Cavill in Man of Steel. She wasn’t given an abundance of range to work with. She did a good job of keeping it simple and introducing us to a character as well as introducing us to herself as a leading actress. Hopefully the character and Gal both get a progressing arc that allows her as an actress to grow in future films.

This storyline easily trumps the rest of the plots that the DCEU has given us so far. This storyline gives us hope. It gives us a hero we actually get to cheer for. We quickly fall in love with Diana for her innocence to the world. We wish we could see it through her eyes still, almost as a child would. She allows us to realize that no matter the amount of hate and conflict that exists, we can still have hope and fight for what is right. After previous films of doom and gloom finally DCEU presents us with a “feel good” comic story. It is easy to see why so many fans have put this film at the top of their list, it’s the only one that actually makes you feel emotions with your heart.

The film is a must see. For as much negativity that surrounds the DCEU, Wonder Woman helps set the franchise right on course. If she opens the door for the rest of the films to follow in this positive and smiling superhero, then we are in for a treat the rest of the way!

8.5 outta 10

-Brian

TAKE TOO

Where Marvel has succeeded with tying all of their movies together with post credit scenes and multiple characters playing in the same movie, DC has struggled. Batman v. Superman was the first to combine their characters in one movie. It was also the introduction of Wonder Woman, which was arguably the best part of the movie.
Fast forward a year later and we get Wonder Woman’s stand alone movie. It’s an origin story starting with Diana, played by Gal Gadot, as a young girl living among Amazonian warrior women. Built out of clay and brought to life by the god Zeus, she was made to be a weapon to kill gods.
Chris Pine is Steven Trevor, a spy in the first World war who stumbles upon the secret Island of Amazon warriors and explains to them of a great war that could destroy everyone including them. Diana decides to go with him to help end the war, which sets her on her path to find out who she is and what she is able to do.
I really enjoyed this movie. The movie had humor, which DC seems to not focus on in their films, and the action scenes were amazing. The acting was great and the special effects were well done. The moment when she steps out on the battlefield in her Wonder Woman gear and helps advance the troops was a GREAT breakout moment. And she just gets more badass as the movie goes on. Definitely a home run by DC and a template for future successes.
9 lassoes of truth out of 10

-Beau