6/5/2017 - Wonder Woman (2017)  -  6+/7-/10

Wonder Woman was mostly a triumph, knocking the teeth out of the drab Snyder DC ‘verse. Superior for sure, but godliness was a pedestal Diana couldn’t quite attain.

They did a terrific job making this film and the character feel iconic. Maybe the most of any film since Reeve's Superman. She bursts forth off the celluloid, cementing her status as powerful, important, and memorable.

Some of this is done through the beautiful design of the mythic gods of fantasy. It felt otherworldly but had a sense of grounding, all with illustrious hints and a Spartan core. They did a better job than Thor in this area, which felt plastic and put upon. It was so bright, clean, and otherworldly in a historic & fantasy vein. 

The decision of when and how to set the film really worked. It grew into a great period piece, in both design and execution. Intelligent character creations in the surrounding peoples that gave depth and diversity to the tale. It stood out as a marvelous treatise on war and the innate complexities of mankind for this story. The dingy harshness of the front lines and the despair of conflict persisted and instilled a weight to the story, its point, and the characters' personas. 

Gadot, who I was extremely wary and doubtful of upon hearing of her casting, inhabited her role. Bringing a naturalistic power and confidence to Diana, while pairing it with a doe-eyed innocence and believable passion. The sculpting of her portrayal and character that owned her sexuality, rather than ever having it pointed at, exploited, or used against her was a welcome and needed step forward. Similarly, Pine’s Trevor was funny and strong in both his misplaced rogueishness & earnest “do right ness”; all while rightly playing second fiddle.

I was hooked in and really enjoying this film and all that it was doing… at least until the last act. The final quarter unfortunately devolved into standard cgi punchem-up of other big budget tentpoles. That is the weakest part of the film, and it is depressing that this becomes the taste left in your mouth as you leave. Paired with the "love will save the world" bit of cliched claptrap felt contrived and undercutting, because the emotional and relational beats needed to make that a stirring conclusion are lacking. That all said, I did welcome a return to the beautiful and heroic majesty that these four color figures can represent with this. Shedding the “dark and gritty” and having the “bright shining glory” of what makes humanity special power the larger-than-life heroine to win the day was nice. It just came out as sappy within the context of the previous couple hours.

Overall, Jenkins and Godot did a wonderful job of showing humanity by way of godliness. The spot perfect affable, conflicted, and heroic Trevor is shown to be not only a man, mortal, but hu-man. Diana, as opposed to some of her DC brethren, comes across as beyond normal in a humane and empathetic fashion. She finds humanity by being a god. This film finds hero by being heroic, not dark, flawed, and broken. WW relit the torch of impassioned and iconic which made for a thrilling and heartfelt ride.