What Hollywood Can Learn From Wonder Woman
And Why We Need More Films Like It
Wonder Woman is currently taking the country by storm, and like many, I made my way out to the theaters this weekend to see the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe (and then a second time on Tuesday). Now, Wonder Woman is a really, really good film. There is a lot of praise around the film and the people involved, and it is rightfully deserved. I do not think it is the best superhero film since The Dark Knight, which a few of my friends have been saying over the past few days. But, Wonder Woman has a lot of things going for it that are not always present in superhero films or even Hollywood films in general nowadays. It is a breath of fresh air when it comes to both superhero films and blockbusters.
The big thing that everyone will talk about is that Wonder Woman is the first female superhero blockbuster movie amongst the ever growing superhero genre. It is also the first superhero film in both the DC and Marvel universes to have a female director. I think we can all agree that we need more of this in Hollywood. Having a female lead doesn’t limit your audience. Having a female director doesn’t make your film less likely to be successful.
This article, however, isn’t about that. We’ve talked about this before and we will continue to talk about it, so I’m not going to talk about it much. But, I want to give a shoutout to Patty Jenkins for doing a phenomenal job on this film. I don’t think people will realize how much pressure she was under she while making this movie. If Wonder Woman failed both critically and financially, you know some studio executives would use the film’s failure as an example of why female directors shouldn’t helm big-budget films or action films. If a male director’s film or a male star’s film didn’t do well, they would have just blamed the marketing probably. Wonder Woman disapproves all of that. It was all on Jenkins’ shoulders, and Gadot as well, and they delivered. But why does Wonder Woman work? Why is it receiving love from both critics and fans alike? Why do we need more films like this one? Well, let’s talk about that…because even Marvel fans are going to see it.
Less Cinematic Universes, More Stand-Alone Films
When Iron Man was released in 2008, I don’t think anyone truly knew just how big “shared cinematic universes” would become in Hollywood. Then in 2012 when The Avengers was released, every studio had to play catch-up and create their own cinematic universes. Universal went in with Fast and Furious and their recent “Dark Universe” (we’ll see how that goes), Fox has X-Men, Sony is trying with their Ghostbusters and Spider-Man universes, Legendary has King Kong and Godzilla, and Disney is the king of them all with Star Wars, Marvel, and the fading Pirates of the Caribbean. Warner Bros. is expanding the Harry Potter universe, but they have also been doubling down on their DC Extended Universe the past few years.
The major complaints from movie fans and critics alike within this “Cinematic Universe Era” is that films are starting to feel more like extended trailers for the next film. If you don’t see every film, television show, or play the video games then you might miss something in this film. Even the origin films like Ant-Man or Doctor Strange still feel like they are there to set up a future adventure, like Falcon popping up in Ant-Man so Scott Lang can pop up in Captain America: Civil War or how Stephen Strange has an Infinity Stone that will later be needed in Avengers: Infinity War. Now even though I like this sometimes, especially with Marvel, I don’t need this for every film I see in theaters. Can’t movies just stand on their own?
Wonder Woman does that. It is the origin of Diana Prince as Wonder Woman. We aren’t focused on introducing the upcoming villain to the new Justice League movie or the item that will help kill the villain five films from now. We are focused on learning about Diana. Who she is, where she is from, and seeing her develop. We desperately needed this.
Wonder Woman does not feel like a trailer for the DC Extended Universe, which was one of the biggest flaws to both Batman v. Superman and The Suicide Squad. Wonder Woman has a scene at the beginning and the end that ties it into the DCEU (which you might not know the context of unless you saw Batman v. Superman), but besides that it is a stand-alone film. I don’t need anything else to enjoy this film. There is a growing fatigue for cinematic universes amongst audiences and critics and we need more true stand-alone films like Wonder Woman.
Not Every Superhero Needs to Be Modern
Wonder Woman showed us a world and time period we have yet to see in a superhero film, and that’s World War I. This might just be me, but I want more period pieces within the superhero genre. Not every superhero film needs to be set during the present. Some people do not like Captain America: The First Avenger because it is set during World War II, but I feel like that is one of the film’s biggest strengths and I love it. It’s setting makes the film standout from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It feels different. The X-Men universe also did this incredibly well by showing the early years of the X-Men with X-Men: First Class and even Days of Future Past.
Wonder Woman is set during World War I and this helps the film stand apart from the rest of the past films, and probably future films, from the DC Extended Universe. You aren’t wondering if Batman or Superman are going to stop by to help Wonder Woman. She is alone and that raises the stakes for her and the film. The look of the film is also incredible and a good bit of that comes from the use of the setting. The scenes at the village of Veld are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen in a blockbuster in a while.
Superheroes didn’t just pop up in the 2000s, they’ve been around for decades. Just look at the comics. Batman and Superman have been around since the 1930s, Wonder Woman since the 1940s, and majority of the major Marvel heroes came into existence in the early 1960s. If studios weren’t investing so much into cinematic universes maybe we could get a stand-alone Batman noir film setting during the post-World War II (I’d at least be down for that). The comics provide not just numerous stories for films, but also numerous time periods for the characters live in. Why can’t we use them more?
Films can be relevant and entertaining to a modern audience without it being set during the present and Wonder Woman does that. If you just make one period piece superhero film every few years, then it could be a breath of fresh air for audiences after they have watched numerous superhero films that focus on another unstoppable villain trying to destroy the world (I’m looking at you X-Men: Apocalypse).
You Do Not Need an A-List Star to Lead a Franchise
Casting Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is the best casting decision DC and Warner Bros. has made for their Extended Universe, with Ben Affleck as Batman being the second best. Everyone is falling in love with her, including myself. Gadot is charismatic and infectious in the role. Her comedic timing is impeccable and she is a badass in the action scenes. Her chemistry with Chris Pine is also wonderful. I cannot see any other person playing this incarnation of Wonder Woman. I’m now really excited to see what she does next. Her casting shows that you do not need a current A-list star to lead a franchise.
Now, I know this isn’t the first time that a lesser-known actor was cast to lead a superhero franchise: Henry Cavill and Brandon Routh as Superman, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, and Christian Bale as Batman. You could even argue Chris Evans as Captain America and Chris Pratt as Star-Lord. But, because there is so much riding on how each film does because of it’s overall effect on the “universes”, I feel that both Marvel and DC are not as confident as they used to be in casting a lesser-known actor as a superhero, unless they are introduced in an earlier film or if it is an ensemble film. Gadot was introduced in Batman v. Superman, Tom Holland (Spider-Man) and Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) were both introduced in Captain America: Civil War before their upcoming solo films, and Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (Flash), and Ray Fisher (Cyborg) will all be officially introduced in Justice League this year before their solo films. But, bigger stars like Benedict Cumberbatch and Paul Rudd were given their solo movies first before being added to future films in the series. This is a strategy and there is nothing wrong with it, but what if we got a few more stand-alone films with lesser-known actors before they were incorporated into “cinematic universe”? What would the outcome be? I’d be interested in finding out.
You Need Heart to Standout
One of the biggest things lacking in majority of the films coming out today, especially when it comes to Hollywood films, is heart. The films that are written with heart usually have a better chance of succeeding with audiences, and sometimes critics. When looking at some of the best superhero films in the past few years, they are the ones with the most heart. The characters have purpose and they take true risks in their stories. Logan, the Guardians series, and now Wonder Woman fit into that category when looking at superhero films from the past few years. I’m sorry, but Doctor Strange doesn’t have a lot of heart even though I enjoyed the film. Batman v. Superman and Suicide Squad doesn’t have any heart at all (Don’t try to sell me on “Martha!” because it won’t work).
I cared about all of the characters in Wonder Woman. They all had a purpose and they were all written with heart. The third act of Wonder Woman gets a little wonky for me, but because the film has so much heart I don’t really care. Hollywood needs to learn how to put heart back into their films. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales wasn’t really a good film, but it at least had some heart to it. Hollywood needs to make audiences care about their characters in their films again. It’s not all about explosions, car chases, and laugh out load jokes. You can have all of that, but if you don’t have heart then the films won’t hold up with audiences (get ready for Baby Driver because it has everything I just listed).
Wonder Woman made me care about a superhero and that’s a big deal. When it comes to DC, I haven’t truly cared about a character from their universe since Nolan’s Batman series (even though I’m a sucker for Batfleck). It’s one thing that majority of superhero films are losing because they are more focused on building the cinematic universe. I want more people like Patty Jenkins, James Mangold, and James Gunn making these films because they make me care for their characters.
Recap
When it comes to the basic structure of Wonder Woman, it doesn’t do anything new. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, which is fine. It’s an origin story. But, it is told from a different perspective, fun characters, great action, and it is giving audiences what they want. It’s what summer blockbusters should be. It isn’t a bloated franchise flick that is focusing more on world building and less on characters. It is an entertaining stand-alone story set in a world we are not accustomed to and at the core of it is a charismatic character with a lot of heart. I’ve seen a lot of films have a couple of these things I’ve listed above, but Wonder Woman is one of the few Hollywood films in the past few years that has it all. It’s a movie that makes you want to go to the theater. Hollywood can learn from this film. They can also learn to cast Gal Gadot in films as much as possible.
