Review - Wonder Woman (2017)

    Hey guys, Chuck here. Over the years, ever since the earliest years of superhero feature films, studios have made attempts at female-led superhero films, with the likes of Supergirl with Helen Slater, Catwoman with Halle Berry, and Elektra with Jennifer Garner. Unfortunately, all three movies  were just outright terrible, with Catwoman being the worst of them. However, in 2017, a year after the character made her big screen debut in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, actress Gal Gadot got the chance to lead her own solo superhero film, and with a sequel on the way, now is an excellent time to take a look at the 2017 film: Wonder Woman. 

    The movie opens with Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot, who is at the Louvre in Paris, receiving a briefcase from Bruce Wayne, containing several mementos belonging to Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine. We flash back to Diana's childhood on Themyscira, the secluded island home of the Amazons, where she is raised by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, played by Connie Nielsen, and begins training in combat with Antiope, played by Robin Wright. During her training, Diana also learns that the Gods of Olympus created the Amazons to help protect mankind, especially from the vengeful god of war, Ares. It is here that we also learn of an ancient sword known as the "Godkiller." One day, Diana sees and airplane crash into the ocean, and she rescues the pilot, who turns out to be Steve Trevor. Following Steve are a battalion of German soldiers. Just to clarify, these are German soldiers from World War I, not the Nazis from World War II. Anyway, so the Amazons fight the invading Germans, with several casualties, including Antiope, and Hippolyta takes Steve in for questioning, using the Lasso of Hestia ( also known as the Lasso of Truth) to get the truth of what happened from him. Steve reveals that he stole a notebook containing notes from Dr. Isabel Maru/Doctor Poison, played by Elena Anaya, regarding a new form of mustard gas that she's developing for the German army general Eric Ludendorff, played by Danny Huston. The gas is being designed in such a way that gas masks would be useless. After hearing this, the Amazons aren't sure what to do, but Diana believes that the horrors Steve described are the work of Ares, and it is the duty of the Amazons to act and stop him. Hippolyta refuses to send the Amazons to the world of man, but Diana grabs some equipment, including the Godkiller sword, the Lasso of Hestia, a shield, and armor and takes Steve by boat back to the world of man. 

    The two arrive in London, and after buying Diana some clothing to blend in, she and Steve meet with the Supreme War Council to deliver Dr. Maru's notes, and Diana translates the notes to reveal that the Germans plan to unleash the deadly gas at the Western Front. Unfortunately, Sir Patrick Morgan, played by David Thewlis, is more focused on securing the armistice with Germany and bringing a peaceful end to the war, thus refuses to send Steve and Diana to the front. Steve, however, brings together some friends to join himself and Diana in going to the front and stopping the gas from killing humdreds of innocent people. Steve recruits Moroccan spy Sameer, played by Said Taghmaoui, and Scottish marksman Charlie, played by Ewen Bremner. With help from Steve's secretary Etta Candy, played by Lucy Davis, Steve, Diana, and co. head out with approval of Sir Patrick, and meet with a smuggler named Chief Napi, played by Eugene Brave Rock, near the Western Front. 

    At the front in Belgium, Diana walks into No Man's Land, drawing the German Artillery fire to herself, giving Steve, Chief, Sameer, Charlie, and the troops in the trench a chance to advance and take out the Germans. Diana then fights the German troops stationed in the nearby village of Veld, taking them out and freeing the villagers.  After a brief celebration, which includes Diana and the team posing for a picture, and seeing the sparks of love growing between Steve and Diana, we learn that a gala is being held at the nearby German High Command, and Steve and Diana infiltrate the event. Steve's goal is to locate the gas and destroy it, while Diana, who believes that Ludendorff is Ares, plans to kill Ludendorff and end the war. Steve stops her, however, and the gas is unleashed on Veld, killing the villagers. Diana and Steve, too late to stop it, then head to the base where the gas is loaded onto a bomber, and Diana kills Ludendorff. However, she quickly becomes disillusioned when his death does not end the war. Sir Patrick then appears, revealing himself to be Ares, and that he merely suggests ideas, but it's humanity's choice to resort to violence. Diana attempts to use the Godkiller sword, but Ares destroys it easily, and reveals that the sword is not the Godkiller, but as the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus, Diana herself is. Steve, in an effort to keep the bomber from taking off and unleashing the gas on London, hijacks the plane and blows it up with explosives, sacrificing himself in the process. Heartbroken, but using Steve's last words as inspiration, Diana fights and defeats Ares, who unsuccessfully tries to get her to kill Dr. Maru, and with Ares' death, the war ends. In the present day, Diana emails Bruce, thanking him for the photographic plate of her and Steve, and she takes off, continuing to fight on humanity's behalf as Wonder Woman. 

    This movie was, at the point of its release in the summer of 2017, the best entry in the DC Extended Universe. Director Patty Jenkins did a phenomenal job with bringing the story to life, and seeing Themyscira and the Amazons on the big screen was awesome. Gal Gadot was, once again, superb in the title role, and Chris Pine was at his best in this movie and, heck, I probably liked the guy more in the role of Steve Trevor than I did his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek. Now, while in the comics, Diana's first encounter with man's world was during World War II. I think shifting it to World War I makes it unique, and avoids any unfair comparisons to another superhero movie set in WWII: Captain America: The First Avenger. However, I think the reveal that David Thewlis' character was Ares the whole time was really weak, and is probably the only thing I don't like with this movie. Other than that, Wonder Woman was fantastic, and I give it a rating of 4.75/5. Now, pretty soon, we'll be seeing a sequel titled Wonder Woman 1984, where Diana will have to contend with both Maxwell Lord and Barbara Ann Minerva/Cheetah. 

    However, Diana had one more big screen appearance in 2017, and that will be the subject of our next review: Justice League.