Wonder Woman *Eventual Spoilers*
- Thread starter whateveritis1224
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Just saw this movie over the weekend and I enjoyed it. A significant redemption after the garbage that was Batman v. Superman.
Gal Gadot's performance is entertaining, albeit a little clumsy and disconcerting. She plays a strong Wonder Woman but occasionally sours the role by acting a bit too naive.
The plot is also well-crafted and understandable. I felt like the film didn't try to do too much or throw too many variables/elements at me. It stayed within itself and I found that incredibly rewarding. However, it reminded me a lot of Captain America's origin film, not only because they both took place during one of the World Wars, but because the main romances followed a similar trajectory.
I also think they dropped the ball with the Ares angle. It would have been more powerful, and more influential on Wonder Woman's character development, to kill the general and realize that perhaps humanity just isn't as good as she thinks it is. Instead, they brought Ares into it directly and made everything appear to be sunshine and daisies after his death. It just felt a tad too outrageous and convenient.
All that said, this is certainly worth the watch.
Gal Gadot's performance is entertaining, albeit a little clumsy and disconcerting. She plays a strong Wonder Woman but occasionally sours the role by acting a bit too naive.
The plot is also well-crafted and understandable. I felt like the film didn't try to do too much or throw too many variables/elements at me. It stayed within itself and I found that incredibly rewarding. However, it reminded me a lot of Captain America's origin film, not only because they both took place during one of the World Wars, but because the main romances followed a similar trajectory.
I also think they dropped the ball with the Ares angle. It would have been more powerful, and more influential on Wonder Woman's character development, to kill the general and realize that perhaps humanity just isn't as good as she thinks it is. Instead, they brought Ares into it directly and made everything appear to be sunshine and daisies after his death. It just felt a tad too outrageous and convenient.
All that said, this is certainly worth the watch.
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Saw the movie on Sunday. It was a good entertaining movie. The best that DC has put out. I wouldn't call it great, but it was very good.
I think I read somewhere that WW was suppose to be seen as a little naive at this point unlike she was presented in BM vs SM. I guess I felt that was the point of Aries, he was showing her that mankind is evil and should be destroyed and she found they do have some redeaming qualities. I didn't get the feeling that she thought everything was OK after she killed Aries.
This just shows that 2 people can watch the same movie and get different views from it.
I think they were going for the Captain America comparisons. Which I don't think was a bad way to go about it. It was a safe way to appoach the charactor IMO and get things going. It also doesn't hurt that I really liked the first Captain America movie.
I think naivety made sense for her character, don't get me wrong. It just felt overdone and like they were really trying to hammer the point home. It was pretty clear from the boat scene that she had a lot to learn and I (personally) didn't need to have it routinely reinforced in minor conversation and actions.
Your take on the Ares ending is interesting. I recall when she killed the general that she noticed nothing had changed - enemies were still moving and carrying out their mission. Then, when she kills Ares, the sun rises and a German soldier is seen smiling/laughing/hugging one of the people in Wonder Woman's group, as if a spell had been lifted. It felt like a missed opportunity for a more intellectually creative ending. They could've made the fight with the General more exotic, and then concluded with a realization that hey... maybe humanity is just a little f***ed up.
Your take on the Ares ending is interesting. I recall when she killed the general that she noticed nothing had changed - enemies were still moving and carrying out their mission. Then, when she kills Ares, the sun rises and a German soldier is seen smiling/laughing/hugging one of the people in Wonder Woman's group, as if a spell had been lifted. It felt like a missed opportunity for a more intellectually creative ending. They could've made the fight with the General more exotic, and then concluded with a realization that hey... maybe humanity is just a little f***ed up.
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zoogs
Assistant Coach
I like the way you're thinking here, Enhance. It's too neat a bow to tie on things to be able to say, oh, there's this external source of evil and that's all it was. That's a soothing fiction. I don't expect blockbuster comic flicks to actually confront topics such as this, but it's good to see that come out in critical evaluation!
zoogs
Assistant Coach
Okay, this is actually quite an interesting topic to me. I of course find the backlash to be inane. I'm also bemused by how easy it has been for them to flash their feminism street cred over this. Why are we falling for that?
This is a comic book movie, at the end of the day. The comic book world is male-dominated in a by men, for men industry. Wonder woman's had her own comic and TV show; that's a decades-old "accomplishment". Her standalone film in the universe comes after just about everyone. And her character's place in this universe has always principally been a bare-shoulder bare-thighed avatar of American firepower. Her worth is measured in the popping-ness of her sex appeal and glamor. If they execute those aspects well -- and Gal Gadot certainly hits all the right notes -- in what sense is that a win for women in cinema?
"Feminism" for them is expanding their customer base. Call me cynical. But championing women should mean something.
--
I tried to see if there were any reviews echoing my thoughts here, since I understand the movie's largely been given accolades. Here's one! From Slate: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2017/06/02/i_wish_wonder_woman_were_as_feminist_as_it_thinks_it_is.html
There's no particular shame in WW being unsophisticated male fantasy. It's how eager everyone wants to see it as more than this that is perplexing.
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I guess I wasn't even thinking of that when you were talking about sunshine and daisys. They could have just been happy that the really bad guy was dead. I see your point when you mention that scene though, but I wasn't getting that feeling from the WW charactor. She didn't kill the crazy chemist lady becasue of Steve Trevor saying he loved her, which was rather cheesy, but I think that is the point where she found humanity worth fighting for.
It is a comic book movie. I really don't look for a ton of hidden meaning to things.
In fairness, they did set this ending up. WW has a mental breakdown upon the realization that killing the general didn't change or stop anything. Had they instead made the general a more commanding figure, and removed this whole notion of the actual God of War influencing humanity, it wouldn't have taken much explanation.
I do see the point you're making. I just think they could've gone a different route and still satisfied the audience.
I guess, but kinda had the David Thewes charactor pegged as Aries when I saw his first scene. It was an entertaining movie, but it wasn't great. My 20 year old son, who would rather watch a super hero movie than a porno, thought it was OK.
JJ Husker
Assistant Coach
Finally saw WW tonight. Pretty solid for a superhero movie. I won't go as deep as some of you. All I expect for my entertainment dollar, especially with this type of movie, is to be entertained and this movie did that very well. And maybe this is out of place with a discussion about empowering women etc. but damn, Gal Gadot is pretty hot. I could look at her all day long.
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I think admiring the attractiveness of a person is not an inherently wrong thing to do. The first thing most humans do when they meet or see another human is evaluate their looks.
It often becomes a problem when their looks become the way they're defined, or their looks become the focal point. More simply, it's the difference between saying "The movie was good, also Gadot is hot" vs. "Gal Gadot is hot, and her movie is good." It's an important subtlety. You did the former which is a good thing.
zoogs
Assistant Coach
Gal Gadot is gorgeous!
Why is the latter not such a good thing? Isn't her beauty more or less the point of the movie? Wonder Woman exists for the purpose of finding an incredibly attractive woman to showcase its titular hero. And by all accounts, Gal knocks it out of the park.
Why is the latter not such a good thing? Isn't her beauty more or less the point of the movie? Wonder Woman exists for the purpose of finding an incredibly attractive woman to showcase its titular hero. And by all accounts, Gal knocks it out of the park.
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Because it suggests we find her beauty the most important aspect of her being. Wonder Woman is beautiful, but she's also incredibly tough, witty and passionate.
It's not like I'm going to call someone a pig or bigot for thinking she's hot and that's it. I also think it's totally fine to discuss her attractiveness in relation to her person and the role of Wonder Woman.
It's not like I'm going to call someone a pig or bigot for thinking she's hot and that's it. I also think it's totally fine to discuss her attractiveness in relation to her person and the role of Wonder Woman.