Directed by Patty Jenkins
Written by Allan Heinberg (story and screenplay), Zack Snyder (story), and Jason Fuchs (story), based on the character “Wonder Woman” created by William Moulton Marston
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Elena Anaya, David Thewlis, Lucy Davis, Danny Huston, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Wolf Kahler, Ann Ogbomo, Eleanor Matsuura, Doutzen Kroes, Samantha Jo, Brooke Ence, Florence Kasumba, Emily Carey, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Lilly Aspell
Soundtrack: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Ever since Chris Nolan and company packed up shop after The Dark Night Rises in 2012, DC’s been having a rough go of it, to say the least. Their attempt to compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an Extended Universe of their own has so far resulted in three films (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad) that have largely failed to win over critics and moviegoers alike (though at least they haven’t been unprofitable).
However, despite this track record, I got the feeling that Wonder Woman could turn the tide, or at least stand against it, if only because it’s set so far in the past that the filmmakers could pretty much do whatever they want with it, without worrying too much about fitting it in with the rest of the Universe. In other words, the question is not, “Could this be the best DCEU movie?” That’s not difficult to imagine. The question is: “Could Wonder Woman actually be a good movie relative to other good movies?”
Well, disappointingly, no. Wonder Woman is every bit as bloated, confusing, and tonally dissonant as its three predecessors (in some ways perhaps more so). The only real distinction is that it’s a bit nicer to look at.
I’m not joking. There’s a whole bunch of great visual concepts in this film, and some award-worthy production design to back it all up, so in that regard you know there were some talented people who worked on this picture, but, unfortunately, I still found myself saying at the end of the first act “I haven’t connected with this yet; this is a problem,” and nothing much came afterward to change that assessment.
One of the most glaring issues, and it absolutely pains me to say so, is Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot. There’s no question she’s a fine-looking woman, and I bet she’s a first class human being, but her acting shoulders are not broad enough to carry a movie the way she’s expected to here. I’ve seen her do well in supporting roles (I love her in the Fast & Furious movies), but ultimately I think she’s been miscast, and her performance quite often took me out of the film. It’s not entirely her fault, as the proliferation of bad dialogue (and/or poor acting) is not limited strictly to her character, but, as I said in my review of Superman: some call it corny, I call it earnest, but one reason why that movie works is because Christopher Reeve is a great actor whose performance makes you believe what you’re seeing. No such luck with Wonder Woman.
Another major problem, at least for me, is the action. There are times when sequences should be shot more naturalistic or more stylized (you know, one or the other), and this film tends to throw it all together with a lot of signature Zack Snyder SLOW DOWN-SPEED UP-REPEAT (which became a tired trope well before this movie). This messes with the tone of the action scenes which in turn hurts the emotional resonance of the film (not to mention the CGI looks super janky at times; maybe if the movie wasn’t 141 minutes long they wouldn’t have had to stretch the effects budget quite so far).
Beyond that, it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why the film doesn’t work, and I don’t want to get into a DC vs. Marvel pissing contest here (I’m on record as historically being more of a DC guy anyway), but it seems fair to compare Wonder Woman to something like Thor, in that both movies have protagonists with mythological origins (and scenes with mythological exposition) who become fish-out-of-water. Now, I’m not going to argue that Thor is an all-time great, but it is a solid movie, and it succeeds where Wonder Woman fails in reconciling some inherently “silly” elements with more grounded ones (though this issue is not exclusive to DC; The Amazing Spider-Man movies are just as unsuccessful in this regard).
Overall, Wonder Woman is a mix of good and bad ideas, and the result is something that looks appetizing but is ultimately unsatisfying. I wanted to like it; I definitely didn’t hate it (like another recent blockbuster). There’s some stuff that from a conceptual standpoint I love (the World War I settings in particular), and some of the supporting players are a bright spot, but as an entire movie, I can’t give it a passing grade; there just wasn’t enough entertainment.
Rating: ★★½ (out of five)
P.S.
No stingers or any other end credits sequences.