Wonder Woman's theme gives me chills

Let me get the TL;DR out of the way. I liked Wonder Woman, but it is flawed and missing charm, you still should go see it.

Ok, still here? Great. Let's get into (non-spoiler) details.

To start I would like to state my previous article about DC's lack of tonality completely stands in tact. Although Wonder Woman was a film I would enjoy watching several times, it is not without its flaws, of which are now seemingly typical of DC films. But where films like Suicide Squad and Batman vs Superman lost me, Wonder Woman was able to keep me engaged.

Let's start with characters.

Gal Gadot is absolutely phenomenal in this role. Her acting was emotional, her action was great, her comedic deliverance perfectly on point. I'm very excited to see what other roles she starts landing in the near future.The film opens on modern day Diana and we get a Titanic-esque flashback(no, really). Seeing little Diana run around on Themyscira was amazing. As a Father of a little girl myself I would be lying to say that I did not tear up at the many redeeming moments of seeing her grow, and train, and learn the history of her people and inevitably her destiny.

Her Mother, Queen Hyppolita, played the part of a reluctant parent perfectly. I understood completely why she wanted to shield Diana from the outside world, and her eventual acceptance didn't seem forced. I appreciated this a lot.

Adding to this strong performance was her Sister, Antiope, played by the amazing Robin Wright (House of Cards) as the General of the Amazonian army and trainer of Princess Diana. I loved all the scenes in Themyscira. I only wish there was more to that. The battle of the Amazons when the German's enter onto the beach was fantastic and very well choreographed. Seeing them fly through the air, arrows flying, was beautiful to say the least. This brought us the introduction to Steve Trevor. *Sigh*

Steve Trevor is an American soldier spying on the German's for the British. He crash lands onto a Themysciran beach while being chased and all hell breaks loose. Once he entered the film I felt like every line was written simpler and stupider. What started almost Shakespearean ended more...Hemingway. One liners started being thrown around, Diana's innocence of the modern world became the entire middle of the film. It seemed out of place to me, but only because it came out of nowhere and caused a complete shift in tonality. HOWEVER, and I suppose this is a spoiler of sorts, Steve Trevor does not come to the rescue of a Diana in distress at any point in the film. Which was very important to me, and I'm sure many, many others. He plays his part in the big picture, exactly as he should, and even mentions several times throughout the film that Diana can take care of herself and does not need him. But I could've done without the love story. I think him just showing compassion and friendship would've been enough. But, alas, for some reason if you put a Man and Woman in a movie they need to fall in love or something.

A very under utilized character was Etta, Trevor's secretary. To which they never really explained why he was special enough to have one considering he didn't necessarily have an important job or was wealthy. She delivered some of the funniest lines in the film, but were quickly dismissed, much like her character after her first appearance.

Also, Professor Lupin.

Also, there were a band of misfits that help them win the war. It was a little too reminiscent of The Howling Commando's from Captain America. Like, REALLY reminiscent.

The main villain of the film, I can't exactly go into details as that would spoil a reveal. I will say, in the grand scheme of things, they(royal they, not implicate of a group) were inconsequential. They served their generic purpose of getting Diana off the island and into the modern world. WW1? WW2? They never really say but it is implied via clothing and references. The end battle scene was a mess of giant explosions and really bad/generic dialogue exchanges.

"But I must"

"Join me!"

"No, Humans are bad but good too!"

"You fool!"

"Here's a line a dude I met a few days ago said and I'm gonna repeat it and then do some super hero type power that I've only just discovered I actually have right at this moment"

You know, the usual.

Let's chat about the directing and editing.

Personally, this film had a lot of bad edits. I found myself on many occasions being confused. Scenes would jump and I would miss things like location, proximity, continuity. This happened so many times that it took me out of some pretty powerful scenes. The action sequences (the VERY few of them) were very well done, except the last one (see above). Her movements were fluid, the use of slow motion created a build up to a big hit that made it seem more powerful. I never questioned her level of strength or invulnerability. As an example in some films like this we see a character able to lift a car, but get hurt when a mortal punches them. Diana always reacted appropriately proportional to her abilities. Throughout the film I could sense Patty Jenkins did what she could with what she was handed. The DC Universe, backed by Warner Bros. is notorious for the old "Too many cooks in the kitchen", and it seemed painfully obvious to me throughout the middle of the film. Lines seemed dumbed down, plot points seemed rushed, emotions seemed like they happened because that's how movies work, not because they were built to happen.

Now, in reading this review you probably are thinking "Jesus Michael, are you sure you liked this movie?" Fuck yeah I did! It definitely is the best DC film of the current Universe, of course that is not saying much, but to be honest, it IS actually saying a lot. It was a lot of fun. The few action scenes and the entire beginning of the movie were more than enough for me to make up for the rest. I wish I could've said the same for the other DC films, but I just cannot. I saw Suicide Squad twice in theaters, purchased it, and still can't get past the first 20min. The DC Universe is severely lacking in charm. It's dark atmosphere is ruined by poor dialogue and shaky plots. Wonder Woman definitely adds more charm, and it's a great start, but it's not exactly where it needs to be to be a full contender for Marvel. YET. Justice League will be the true test.

Regardless of the above, go see Wonder Woman. If you have a young woman in your life (I would suggest around 9+) I HIGHLY recommend you bring them. There are a few scenes that would be a little too intense for my 5yr old, or I would bring her to see it immediately. They do mention the idea of sex and there is a scene of implied nudity in which penis size is referenced, but it is all done comically and they never directly refer to the specific body part. It's very subtle. The reference to sex the word "sex" is never used, but "pleasure" is. It might go over the head of a younger viewer, but an older teen would understand.

Let me know what you thought of the film!