Thoughts on the Wonder Woman trailer
A beach is a powerful image in the world of Wonder Woman. In the earlier renditions of the character, she was sculpted from clay by her mother Hippolyta in the shores of Paradise Island. Choosing to start the Wonder Woman trailer to the sound of the ocean gave me goosebumps and an absolute boost of hope for this film. In Wonder Woman history, the beach is also where Diana Prince meets Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine) for the first time. This is the scene that sets up the trailer and it works beautifully to show that they have an understanding of their source material.
I’ve been collecting Wonder Woman comics and action figures since I was 12. I know her origin story like the palm of my hand. This is the movie I’ve been waiting for, and I’m going to be incredibly judgmental about it.
Here are my thoughts on what I’ve seen so far:
Liked:
Gal Gadot — We’ve already seen her in action thanks to Batman v. Superman. I like her presence as Diana, and I think she’ll do a fine job given she has a good script to work with.
Production Design — I adore the costumes. The movie is set to World War I and there was never a moment in the trailer that felt disconnected from that.
ETTA CANDY — Wow! I was not expecting to see her, mostly because past movies in the DCU haven’t given due credit to certain secondary characters (Jimmy Olsen for example). Etta Candy is Diana’s best friend in the comics. She seems lovely in the trailer and I can’t wait to see more of her in the movie.
Disliked:
“You’re a man” — This is the first line in the trailer. Maybe I’m nitpicking, but this is about Wonder Woman! I love Steve Trevor, and I understand he’s the catalyst for this story to even take place, but I just don’t like that being the very first line in the very first trailer, even though I’m okay with it being the first scene.
There aren’t any scenes of Wonder Woman being a diplomat. — Wonder Woman kicks ass! There’s no doubt of that in this trailer. I expect to see her at war, but I also expect to see her being a wise diplomat, advocating for peace and equality in man’s world. There isn’t even a hint of that in this trailer. I know politics have been dreaded in certain comic book films, but it’s irrevocably a part of the Wonder Woman story, I need it!
—
It’s also worth pointing out were this trailer is coming from. The context in the DCU right now is that we are in desperate need of FUN. I’ve walked out of the last few DC movies completely drained out of all hope and joy. Wonder Woman is their chance to bring back some light and optimism, but I hope it doesn’t do so by sacrificing some of the more serious aspects of the character.
I’m also curious to know if they’ll include some of the mythical aspects of the Wonder Woman canon. In the trailer, she mentions she was given life by Zeus. It’s a good start! This might be asking for too much but if this is a franchise, it’s important to set up the more surreal facets of Wonder Woman lore. It might ease up to her fighting some of her most notable villains in the future, such as Circe and Ares.
Wonder Woman comes out June of next year and is directed by Patty Jenkins. We need this to be good! I’m very optimistic. We’ve established this movie looks like fun, I hope the next trailer shows us it will be smart and true to the character.
