Wonder Woman

[Insidious Rex]

Anybody seen this one yet? There was a lot riding on its shoulders. Most important female super hero in history in her first real movie. First female director of a super hero movie. And the DC comics needing a hit after years of misfires. Well it looks like this one worked out pretty well. Its getting good reviews and it made decent money at the box office. Ive heard a lot of people out of their minds about this film. I dont really see that but I did enjoy it even if the ending is an amateurish CGI train wreck. And the villain "twist" completely undermines the movie. Not sure what they were thinking there. But the character of Wonder Woman was just awesome. Say what you want about Gal Gadot's acting but I thought she did a great job in the lead roll. She absolutely embodied Wonder Woman in every way more so than any other actor has for a super hero role since I dare say Christopher Reeve did with Superman. And Patty Jenkins (the director) has a few homages to Superman the movie including pretty much a reshoot of the alley mugging scene from that movie and it works great. Chris Pine is fantastic in this as well. Hes really impressed me here lately. Hes definitely not just the flavor of the week newest Star Trek captain anymore. Hes got some real talent as weve seen in movies like Hell or High Water and now this. And the dynamic between his character and Diana is really well done.

The humor in this movie is really well done as well. And there are a couple scenes in this movie that were just stellar. The best being when Diana first breaks out the costume and steps out on the western front lines of WW1 and charges the german lines by herself. Holy crap what a scene... If you werent drowned in adrenaline and completely inspired by that scene, man or woman, boy or girl, then there is something wrong with your soul. Despite all the feminist hoohaa surrounding the film, there was ZERO male bashing and the dynamic between Diana and Steve and the rest of their gang transcended the whole notion of any kind of modern agenda which was so wonderful to see and experience. It was about the movie and the character. Not about politics in the least.

But the final battle scene is a huge disappointment and the villains in general were pretty weak. The film is pretty formulaic and predictable and paper thin (which is fine as it is a comic book right?) and there is at least one cringingly ridiculous plot hole involving deadly gas that one of the villains creates (I made a gas that can make all our soldiers super human but nevermind that... Our only chance is to make a gas that kills better than the gas that already kills people...) But Wonder Woman was so awesome of a character that I just cant wait to see what the next film brings us. Im fully on board.

[Insidious Rex]

By the way, I meant to mention that theres an aspect of this movie that reminded me a lot of certain elements from Lord of the Rings (Sauron's power over weaker creatures) and from the silmarillion as well (Morgoth's jealousy of the elves and his desire to corrupt them and keep men at war with each other). I think my fellow Tolkien heads will pick up on it right away. It made me wonder how much influence Tolkien may have had on the writers for this movie and actually how much influence ancient Greek tales about Ares and the Amazons influenced Tolkien himself.

[Valandil]

Still haven't seen it, but I really want to. Trying to find a good time to see it with my sons - if they'll all go. We've had lots of other stuff crop up.

It looks like we'll be going to see Spiderman tomorrow though. Maybe I'll start a thread on that.

[Earniel]

I have been hearing a lot of good things about it but the cinema experience lost appeal to me over the years, so I'll see it eventually when it comes to TV.

Originally Posted by Insidious Rex

It made me wonder how much influence Tolkien may have had on the writers for this movie and actually how much influence ancient Greek tales about Ares and the Amazons influenced Tolkien himself.

I wouldn't be very surprised at the latter. I've always been pretty certain that for instance lady Haleth from the Silmarillion harked back to Atalanta from the Greek myths. And the One Ring making its bearer invisible echoes the Ring of Gyges from Plato, more so -I daresay- than mythic jewellery from Anglo-saxon origin.

[b.banner]

One of my favorite superhero movies of all time! I can watch this over and over.

[Snowdog]

This one was actually quite a good movie!

[Valandil]

Finally watched it with my 16-y.o. last night. I liked it. He didn't.

One thing that was interesting... read in a few reviews that while set in WW1, it included Nazi's, which would of course be historically inaccurate. Only... that wasn't the case at all. There were no Nazi's. Maybe the reviewers can't tell a swastika from an iron cross???

[Snowdog]

I only saw Imperial German Empire insignia which was reasonably correct.
Reviewer probably flunked European History.