“These females are strong as hell”
Though Patty Jenkins’ film doesn’t see the hero literally carry the planet on her back (they’ve saved that for the sequel), Wonder Woman really does have the weight of the world on her shoulders. For Wonder Woman, the latest entry in the hurried ‘DC Extended Universe’ and the last before November’s Justice League team-up, bears the responsibility of proving once-and-for-all that the fairer sex can direct, star in and pay to see a massive-budget superhero movie. If Wonder Woman had failed, the bigoted belief of Hollywood executives and internet trolls that “only men can make successful blockbusters” would have been in some way vindicated. As it stands, Jenkins’ film — an extremely solid, enjoyable if flawed summer movie — has been a huge hit financially and critically. These females, it seems, are strong as hell.
Returning as the Amazonian princess Diana is Gal Gadot, the Israeli model-turned-actress who stole the show in Batman v Superman with her statuesque physicality — as if a figure in a baroque artwork — and the sense that, more than the film’s grumpy male stars, she understood the purpose of the product: to be fun. While Batman v Superman had a certain, pantomimic appeal, ‘fun’ is hardly a word many would use when discussing the Zack Snyder project. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, is enormous fun. It has no choice; after all, the first act takes place on an island of all-female warriors who move exclusively in bullet-time, and things only get sillier from there. But Gadot anchors the silliness with elegance and ease, seemingly-unburdened by tonal shifts as she handles the film’s operatic and comedic elements like an experienced movie star.
The film distinguishes itself from more generic Marvel Studios fare, though not to the extent of Fox’s Logan or Deadpool, with an authorial personality that can largely be attributed to Jenkins’ distinctly-female perspective. The lack of lechery in shooting a figure like Gadot as she jumps, swings and fights is refreshing, and this film should be used as a template for male directors handling similar projects in the future. The decision to set Wonder Woman’s first solo outing during World War 1, with much of the film taking place in 1917 London and France, sets the action apart from pretty much every comic-book movie since Captain America: The First Avenger, a project from which Wonder Woman undeniably borrows heavily. Chris Pine’s character, Steve Trevor, is an interesting inverse of Chris Evans’ Cap: also named Steve, also sporting a stupendous jawline and a delightfully-dated boy scout patriotism. Yet, with Gadot’s Diana the title role of the film, Pine is forced to play the traditional hero Steve as a romantic interest and a sidekick; it’s a fascinating step for a modern blockbuster (though decades overdue).
Once Diana leaves that all-female island (also populated by Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen etc.), the matter of ’Male Representation’ comes into question; Diana has never met men before, so what sort of men will she encounter that will shape her opinion of our gender? Amazingly, the film opts for a charming group of reliable character actors, atypical comic-book figures: whoever had the idea of sticking Spud from Trainspotting (the great Ewen Bremner) in a superhero movie deserves our greatest thanks. Similarly, Saïd Taghmaoui and Eugene Brave Rock are enigmatic figures of compassion and diversity, and we quickly come to appreciate how Diana’s sense of duty of mankind is shaped. Also in the cast are David Thewlis, in a significantly less juicy role than he has on Fargo currently, but nonetheless chewing some scenery, Danny Huston and the superb Lucy Davies from The Office UK: once again, atypical comic-book figures.
Wonder Woman is the second major film in as many weeks (after Pirates 5) not scored by Hans Zimmer, but utilising existing themes of his with thrilling vitality: Rupert Gregson-Williams reimagines Wonder Woman’s electric cello melody as hook to a bombastic drum-filled soundtrack. He holds back on the theme for quite some time, but as it springs into life as Diana crosses No Man’s Land, there shan’t be a man, woman or child in the audience who doesn’t feel the weight of this glass-ceiling-shattering moment. Wonder Woman certainly isn’t exactly a great blockbuster — it isn’t even the best comic-book movie of the year — but in the vein of The Hunger Games franchise, it’s extremely inspiring to see a film of this size that’s overtly aimed at women and girls, never pandering to a male demographic, without the obvious feminine elements of Frozen or Beauty and the Beast. Jenkins’ film doesn’t shy away from being as tough as any other PG-13 blockbuster, but it’s a toughness that females can surely feel an involvement in.
