19 Miles Apart: Wonder Woman
Ryan Fasciano, kylebahl, and special guest Heather Lamour aka Fabulous Foodie discuss the new film, Wonder Woman.
Ryan: We just watched Wonder Woman and the first thing I stated after the film was “thank God, Zack Snyder wasn’t involved.” As soon as the credits rolled, I realized I was wrong. Snyder helped produce the movie, but to tell you the truth it felt like he wasn’t involved. Snyder hasn’t had much critical success being the mastermind behind the DC universe, and most percentage of the time the films have floundered, and I like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice more than the average Joe. I think the fact I felt pleasantly surprised and happy with Wonder Woman was due to the fact Patty Jenkins directed. She did a phenomenal job with how much material she had to work with, remember, at the end of the day this is an origin film that eventually turns into the superhero saves the world movie, just like every other comic book film. Jenkins deserves a lot of the credit, but so does Gal Gadot. Gadot shines as Princess Diana. Her facial expressions were phenomenal, and she felt vested in the performance. I was always questionable of Gadot’s acting ability, but she shut the door on my uneasiness. She was Wonder Woman. Her chemistry with Chris Pine (who shines as well) was undeniable; they made the ending of the film seem real, a little cheesy, but real nonetheless. I’m not going to give away the ending, but let’s just say it involves their connection and relationship. How did you guys feel about Jenkins directing job and Gadot’s acting ability? It seems that Jenkins isn’t signed on for the sequel. She needs to be involved; I’m backing the truck up and dumping a ton of money at her. She’s a necessity. Do you agree?
Fabulous Foodie: Finally a superhero movie I can get behind where the lady kicks ass and takes names. I was a little worried when I saw the previews that this was going to be a movie they didn’t put a lot of effort into since there is a lady in the lead but I am so glad I was wrong! Gadot was amazing as Wonder Woman I couldn’t imagine anyone else now. I was also happy when you guys told me there was a female director. I hope she’s on board next film . This movies breaking all kinds of gender barriers and I’m loving it. Do you think the typical comic loving audience can get down with a female lead or do you think since the audience is mainly men that will cause some problems in popularity of the movie? So far it seems to be doing really well.
Kyle: Audiences are flocking to the movie, and for good reason. It’s a fresh tale and well told story in an increasingly tired genre. I can’t say I’ve ever seen women in media presented the way they are here. They’re powerful warriors that exude confidence and power, in both the foreground and background. I think it’s the background that’s most important. We’ve seen a few kickass women in lead roles here and there, but rarely if ever, do you see them also as the unnamed guards filling out the war room. Its that feeling of strong women filling the whole island and culture of Themiscara that adds to the fresh take on the genre. (from the looks of the trailer, we’ll see the same strong representation for black men and women in Marvel’s Black Panther.) I’ve seen so many mothers and daughters (and boys!) rocking Wonder Woman gear in the past two weeks. Clearly the audience has been in waiting for the film studios to remove their heads from their asses and see 51% of the population wants representation in big popcorn flicks.
Gadot lights up the screen with charm, intelligence, wisdom, and strength. She nails all aspects of the part. Jenkins did a fantastic job with the production. She clearly grasped the DC comics themes that to this point have been undeveloped in the film universe. DC comics have always been about gods struggle to be better than man. To be that shining Beacon of hope to inspire humans. The No Man’s Land sequence is already being touted as the iconic movie moment to remember. What were you feeling during that sequence? How does this film rank compared to others in the superhero genre?
Ryan: To answer Heather’s question, it looks like plenty of men watched the film, as they should, it’s a great movie. I don’t have numbers, but I am assuming this since it is such a box office success. It delivered us the perfect blueprint to a summer blockbuster. It felt fresh and inviting.
I would agree that the No Man’s Land sequence was truly a fantastic scene that showed how awesome Wonder Woman is, and the scene almost didn’t happen! I was feeling a sense of awe during the scene, because until that point we didn’t see Princess Diana become Wonder Woman in front of mortals, ya know, in the sense of wearing the costume and such. She does something no man can do and moves the ally forces forward. She embodies the spirit of all the Amazonian women and delivers us the greatest hero anyone during Word War I has ever seen. It was a perfect way for her to introduce herself to the common folk.
I think it falls into the second tier of superhero movies along with Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man 2 and the two Andrew Garfield led Spider-Man films. I will say it’s one of the more refreshing comic book movies though, for many reasons: 1. We haven’t seen a female- led superhero movie besides Elektra, and I hear that’s not so good. 2. Wonder Woman has always been a fantastic comic book character and deserved her time to shine. 3. Women are not the damsel in distress in this movie; they are heroic and badass. 4. Gal Gadot played a complex character, and we need more of these roles for women. 5. Wonder Woman has the best theme music easily for any superhero ever. It’s a great score to kick ass too.
Due to the brilliance of Gadot, I hope she gets her time to shine as well in the upcoming Justice League which has a male dominated cast. I am worried about it though. Do you guys think Justice League will give Princess Diana enough screen time? She’s probably DC’s strongest character right now, and I like Ben Affleck as Batman.
Fabulous Foodie: I’m really anxious to see what happens in the upcoming films. This will be the true test to see if Hollywood is ready for some females to take on lead roles and show empowerment when lined up with male leads. I’m not one for superhero movies but Gadot made me a believer. It’s definitely refreshing to see this kind of character on the screen. I really would like to see some more superhero movies like this. The films would make so much more money if girlfriends could get on board with the comic book films.
I agree Kyle, I had the Wonder Woman theme song stuck in my head for days after seeing the movie. I have not seen Ben Affleck as Batman yet because I’m still mourning the loss of Christian Bale as Batman and can’t bring myself to watch Ben.
Kyle: Well other than more wonderful Gal in Justice League this fall, the next superhero film starring someone without a Y chromosome will be Evangeline Lilly in Ant Man and The Wasp (2018) and then Oscar Winner and all around real life superhero Brie Larson as Captain Marvel (2019). There’s also a Spider-Man universe female led movie being fast tracked at Sony.
Progress has been slow, and the genre is growing stale, but I think we’ll all gladly follow Wonder Woman into battle.
