Review: ‘Wonder Woman’ is an Excellent and Important Superhero Movie — But That’s All It Is
By: Ariana Aboulafia
I had been looking forward to seeing Wonder Woman for over a year.
As an avid follower of film-related blogs, magazines, and Facebook pages, I remember reading about the making of Wonder Woman at just about every step. I love comic books, and grew up as an equal-opportunity appreciator of both the Marvel and DC universes, reading everything from Superman to Spider-Man, Ironman to Batman, and the Fantastic Four to, of course, the Justice League. I also love superhero movies, even those that don’t do very well critically (I will probably go to my grave contending that Daredevil is tragically under-appreciated) so, I would have seen Wonder Woman regardless of what type of reviews it received from critics.
On the day that Wonder Woman was released, I was on a flight from Miami to Madrid, Spain. I had read bits and pieces, here and there, of advance reviews of the film, almost all of which were positive — but, I knew that I wouldn’t have the chance to see the film until I returned from Spain, almost two weeks after Wonder Woman’s release. By the time that I touched down back in the United States, positive buzz for Wonder Woman seemed to be coming at me from all sides. It was not only the top box-office hit for the second week in a row, it was breaking records — Wonder Woman had the largest-ever opening weekend for a female-directed film and, according to Mashable, it is also on track to become the highest grossing female-directed live action film ever. On top of all that, critics from almost everywhere (including reviewers from the New Yorker and The Atlantic), have heaped praise onto Wonder Woman, lauding it for everything from its casting to its plot and action sequences. Mostly, though, critics and audiences across the country seemed to be applauding Wonder Woman for serving as a fantastic representation of feminist film, especially considering that it is the first female-directed, female-centered film of its genre to hit theaters.
So, it would be an understatement to say that I walked into my local screening of Wonder Woman with high expectations. And, the thing is, for the most part, Wonder Woman actually met those expectations.
There are so many good things about this film. First off, the casting was on point — Gal Godot, particularly, wonderfully embodied the role epitomizing a strong woman, which is, more than anything, exactly what Wonder Woman is supposed to be. Robin Wright (more commonly known as Claire Underwood, the fierce wife of Frank in Netflix’s hit series House of Cards), as Amazonian General Antiope, surprised me with her intensity, as did Danny Huston (whom I had most recently seen in the rather disappointing Tim Burton flick Big Eyes) in his role as the evil German General Ludendorff. The best thing about the casting, though was actually Chris Pine — choosing such an utterly forgettable actor (one whose most recent monologue on Saturday Night Live was all about how everyone confuses him with Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth) to serve as the “leading lad” just further cemented his role as supporting actor to Godot’s lead, which I appreciated despite the fact that his actual performance was barely above average in quality. In addition to the casting, I enjoyed the special effects, and found the score (done by Rupert Gregson-Williams, most recently known for scoring the live-action Legend of Tarzan film as well as Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge) to also be rather enjoyable, despite the fact that it didn’t come close to being as good as anything scored by Hans Zimmer, from the masterpiece Dark Knight to the much-maligned Batman vs. Superman.
The thing that I loved the most about Wonder Woman, though, was without question the action sequences — there are just enough of them to keep the movie exciting, without making it seem solely driven by action (rather than plot or character, as was the case with so many of the various incarnations of Bond films). There is one scene, in particular, where Wonder Woman (also known as Diana, who was drawn into an involvement in WWII by Chris Pine’s character, a spy named Steve who crashed a plane on Diana’s home island) is brought to a trench filled with Allied soldiers on the front lines of Belgium. When Diana realizes that there are people suffering on the other side of the “no-man’s land” that lies in front of her trench, she leaps out of her safe haven and bounds across the war zone, deflecting bullets every step of the way, until she reaches the opposite side and is able to liberate the people there that have presumably been suffering under Nazi German control. For that scene alone, Wonder Woman is worth seeing — its direction and effects can serve as a masterclass in everything that action sequences should be that, so often it now seems, they are not. In that scene alone, Jenkins shows that she has earned every single view that Wonder Woman has received, and every single dollar that it has brought to her; her deft hand and admirable skill in showing Diana’s power, tenacity and general badass-ness without hitting viewers over the head with it is nothing short of impressive. Even if that had been the only awesome action scene in the film (which it wasn’t — there is at least one other notable action sequence where the Amazonian fight German sailors directly on their home beach that is equally as masterful as this one), or if the entire rest of the film had been below average (which it wasn’t), that scene alone would have cemented Wonder Woman as a fun, enjoyable theatrical experience that was worth seeing.
Wonder Woman is a great action movie, and an excellent superhero movie — it is one of the best films that I’ve seen so far this year (along with Get Out and Beauty and the Beast) and is probably also one of the best superhero movies that I have seen in several years. For those reasons, it deserves some of the praise that it has been receiving. But, not all of it.
Wonder Woman currently has a 92% positive rating on film review website “Rotten Tomatoes.” To put that into perspective, Jurassic Park has a 93% rating, while Raiders of the Lost Ark has a 94%. Star Wars Episode IV has a 93%, and Episode V has a 94%. Perhaps most comparably my favorite superhero movie ever, the aforementioned Dark Knight, also has a 94%. Within the action/adventure genre, the above films — Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars — are universally considered classics. Furthermore, I would contend that Dark Knight is not only one of the best superhero films ever made, but absolutely one of the best films in general of the past ten years, if not of the entire 21st century so far. Wonder Woman is good, it really, really is. But, I don’t think it’s good enough to be considered a classic — certainly not in the world of film in general, and not in the action/adventure genre either. If Wonder Woman ends up being considered a classic in any way, it would be within the significantly smaller sub-genre of superhero films; and, even then, it would pale in comparison to Nolan’s masterful Dark Knight.
So yes, as recent films go (and perhaps particularly as recent action, adventure, and superhero films go) Wonder Woman was great — it truly was. But, I have seen far too many critics trying to turn Wonder Woman into some sort of bastion of feminist film, purely because it stars a woman and is directed by a woman; the thing is, though, that feminism has its roots in controversy and politics, and Wonder Woman is at best mildly political and barely controversial and, as such, is really rather limited in terms of its feminist scope. Sure, it unapologetically shows Diana and the rest of the Amazonian as strong, fierce women who sustain themselves and fight off intruders without the presence of men. Furthermore, Jenkins does a great job in firmly portraying Diana as the hero, at every single moment of the film — at no point does Steve (or any other character, for that matter) overshadow Diana’s power, and this is important. In addition, I appreciate the introduction of a female character like Diana, who is almost invulnerable, knows hundreds of languages, is steadfast in her convictions, and whose physical beauty is completely secondary to all of her other qualities, and believe that she can serve as an exceptional role model for young women.
Finally, if for nothing else, Wonder Woman’s very success makes it an incredibly important film because of the ways that it will have future influence over the types of films that Hollywood decides to invest in and, eventually, to make and market. If it accomplished nothing else, Jenkins’ direction and Godot’s performance in Wonder Woman showed everyone — from Hollywood executives to average, everyday viewers — that women not only can be superheroes, but can essentially create them as well. And, the importance of that message is hard to downplay.
However, just because Jenkins’, Godot’s, and Wonder Woman’s success portrays a strongly positive, feminist message, does not mean that the film itself does. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly bits and pieces of feminist ideas and ideals that sneak their way into the film. For example, there is a scene where Diana and Steve are on a boat on their way to London, where they begin speaking about sex and Diana asserts that according to her research, men are wholly unnecessary for sexual pleasure. Through this exchange, Diana (and, by extension, Jenkins) dance around myths of female sexuality and pleasure and also mildly challenge the male role of superiority throughout all of society by bluntly explaining to Steve that his presence is wholly unnecessary for her sexually, which serves to emasculate him at least a bit. There is also a scene shortly thereafter wherein Diana arrives in London wearing her skimpy, Amazonian outfit — Steve covers her with a coat, ensuring that none of her bare skin peeks out from underneath it, and immediately enlists the help of his secretary to change her into more “respectable” clothes; this scene, of course, tackles the mistaken, yet pervasive, idea that female bodies are “distracting” to men, and therefore must be covered up at all times.
I do believe that these feminist moments, while brief, should be noticed, recognized and appreciated. But, they are not without their issues: Steve’s relative uselessness throughout the film, for example, is gently contradicted in the film’s ending, where he sacrifices himself and dies a hero. Furthermore, while the casting of the film is largely female (which makes sense, considering that a good portion of Wonder Woman takes place on Diana’s home island, and the Amazons all women) it is also overwhelmingly white — I can’t remember a single scene where a person of color, particularly a woman of color, features prominently or even says anything of substance. This, then, reinforces harmful structures within mainstream feminism and becomes less of a feminist film and more of a white feminist film, which is an important distinction. Finally, while the feminist messages in Wonder Woman are definitely there, many of them are subtle enough that I fear that less discerning or analytical viewers may not notice them, or absorb them, which sort of defeats the purpose of including them in the first place. After all, if the only people who notice your message are those who already agree with it, then doesn’t that render the message itself as well as its presence in your film basically useless?
Wonder Woman is absolutely worth seeing, and is particularly worth seeing in theaters where the larger screen and surround sound will help you to better appreciate the film’s excellent action scenes. Gal Godot gives a wonderful performance, as do several of her supporting cast members, and the music and special effects combined with Jenkins’ fantastic direction make Wonder Woman a thoroughly enjoyable cinematic experience. But, make no mistake: the plot is slightly above average (if that), Pine’s performance is the same, and none of the characters save Diana — Wonder Woman herself — are strong enough to leave any sort of lasting impression on viewers, or to roll over from this film into any other franchise film, including the upcoming Justice League. Wonder Woman is an excellent superhero movie, and a good action movie, and if you go into it with that expectation there is slim to no chance that you will leave disappointed.
However, if you go walk into a screening of Wonder Woman with its “Rotten Tomatoes” score in your mind expecting a new classic, or with the words of certain film critics in mind expecting a girl-power anthem for the ages? No promises here that you will leave wonder-struck.
Ariana Aboulafia is a writer and film enthusiast living in Miami, Florida. Follow her on Medium here, or on Twitter here.
