Movie Review: Wonder Woman

Just a couple days after the opening weekend, already the critics were raving and everyone I spoke to highly recommended Wonder Woman. As you know, when I see a film for the first time I try to have very low expectations. (It minimizes the disappointment.) But my ears and eyes and Justice League excitement couldn’t be contained.

Despite my best efforts I had high expectations, but Wonder Woman met most of them.

98.7% of the film is presented as a flashback to Wonder Woman’s first adventure to save the world. (Was that a spoiler?…) Honestly, my biggest issue with the film is the beginning. For the first 10 minutes the viewer is jolted between narration and rapid scene changes. I felt my excitement dwindle, but before it diminished completely the movie made one more jump to Wonder Woman’s childhood. From then on I was hooked.

Similar to my review of Suicide Squad, DC does a fantastic job at creating true family friendly films. As an adult, I’m sick of “adult” films and shows. Why does full nudity, pornography, and overly obscene violence mean it’s a good film for adults? It’s not like after 18 we magically become invulnerable when we see those things… It frustrates me to no end that I get teased for liking kids shows while most companies don’t make adult shows I want to watch! But let’s get back to the show…

Yes, Wonder Woman has some “sex appeal,” but the producers and writers scripted it to be humorous. There are two scenes (that I can remember) that had sexual tension where other companies *cough*Marvel*cough* would have probably lingered for several minutes of “fan service” shots…I’m glad DC (Warner Bros. Pictures) is different.

I laughed. I cried. And it was a joy to watch “Captain Kirk” and his rebellious demeanor while nostalgia rolled through as Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) rocked the role of a powerful general.

Gal Gadot has the alien-like beauty of Wonder Woman, and she has the same determination as the character. Gal was actually 5 months pregnant when they re-shot several scenes.

“It was as good as a Marvel film,” Joel commented after the show. Although I don’t like how much “adult” content Marvel includes, he’s right. Marvel knows the recipe for creating a top-grossing film. But Warner Bros. and the DC universe are learning. The cast, costumes, audio, and editing in Wonder Woman combined to make a phenomenal movie that almost made me cry in the theater. Almost.

Report Card: Wonder Woman
Characters: B+
Animation/Acting: A-
Plot: A-
Overall Score: A-