I must admit that I was not looking forward to watching Wonder Woman and that I resisted the efforts of my daughters to make me watch what I imagined would be yet another implausible story with over the top stunts; as DC and Marvel movies tend to be. However I was intrigued by the positive reviews of the film and really enjoyed the film as well. I recommend it for the following reasons:
Superman, Spiderman, Batman and all sorts of other ‘men’ have been saving the world since the dawn of cinema. So much so that the word ‘hero’ always had a gendered connotation; we had to come up with the silly term ‘shero’ for female heroes. This is the first time we’ve had a female superhero who is as strong, powerful, as cool as the guys.
Now her ultra short skirt and the torso molding ‘armor’ may be born out of male fantasy, but the tight clothing is pretty much de rigueur for superhero genre in general so we won't take offence there. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman does a superlative job. She is brave, strong, powerful, compassionate and capable and seriously cool. When she leaps across buildings and beats up the baddies we just want to stand up and cheer!
Wonder Woman is brought up by Amazon Warrior Women led by their queen Hippolyta on the beautiful but isolated island of Thermyscira. This is basically another male wet dream: an island full of gorgeous women with no men; but we instantly see that this is not window dressing. Many of the women are older, they are all quite de-glam, dressed in armor and fight beautifully.
OK, OK, not toys, weapons! She has the Lasso of Hestia (aka Lasso of Truth), the Bracelets of Submission and a really impressive shield among other things.
Chris Pine as Steve is breezy and funny and brave and also gets to do display his own heroics. However, he is decidedly secondary to her and has his unsure moments (he keeps insisting that he is 'above average'). And in case you're wondering, there is a bit of romance and the chemistry is excellent.
Apart from all else, this is a great story. The protagonist not all knowing and all powerful; she has moments of doubt. The movie decries war and sends across a strong anti-war message while celebrating the core of human goodness. The narrative is nuanced and interspersed with some gentle, enjoyable humour.
The direction of Patty Jenkins (first female director of any superhero movie) shines through as brilliant. The movie has the best ever opening collections for a female superhero movie or a movie by a solo female director. It has already raked in over $300 million worldwide.
Described as “a gloriously badass breath of fresh air”, the movie about a warrior princess who “reinvigorates the superhero genre with a shockwave of fun” has received some really positive reviews in India and elsewhere.
So if you haven’t already watched the film, may I urge you to go and watch the story about Diana, the Princess of Thermyscira, AKA Wonder Woman?
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