One of the quintessential things that make the entrance of a hero or heroine appropriately epic is the choice of music.
This is why we still think of Superman as indispensable without John William's rousing, operatic swells and we still remember the thudding, thundering notes of Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's score for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. It is also fitting, then, that Wonder Woman, who has made a rather belated entrance in the modern superhero cinematic universe, already has her own theme from the beginning; yes, it is that roaring guitar riff that we have been hearing in snatches right from her intriguing little cameo in 'Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice' to the trailers for her own highly anticipated stand-alone venture. In the film, directed by newbie Patty Jenkins, that riff is what defines that truly stunning moment in the middle of the film when, after a few glimpses of the blue girdle and those golden bracelets, we finally get to see a sight for our sore eyes; Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman decked out in all her glory and ready to kick ass, as she goes on to do whistle-worthy feats that leave you no time at all to stop and stare at her beauty. It is a moment for ages.
Alas, it takes quite a while to hear that guitar riff though.
There are a lot of things that 'Wonder Woman' gets right as a superhero, sorry, superheroine film. To begin with, this is the kind of cinematic origins story that we needed the most from DC Comics, which seems to have already ruined the fundamentals of our favourite characters. Instead of overarching ambitions or weighty subtext, Jenkins' film plays smooth and safe, predictably but effortlessly sticking on a World War 1 setting to add some historical gravitas to the tale and letting her heroine play out her exploits in the midst of those infamous battlefields. It is also a reasonably entertaining, even lively ride, even as it cannot quite resist this new-found yet inexplicable tendency to blow the climax completely out of proportion, and it has a fair amount of witty repartee between the frenetic action to make it all comfortable and cool for the audiences. Its biggest triumph, however, might just be in the casting.
Remember the first time you saw Christopher Reeve dressed up as both Superman and Clark Kent? Those winsome blue eyes, that perfectly square jaw, that smile that oozed with good, old-fashioned sincerity and that charm that could win even the most hardened cynics. Boy, what Jenkins does is something of that irresistible screen magic. Gal Gadot was already being lauded as a perfect fit for the sword-wielding, ass-kicking Amazon princess (she was the best thing in the last film she was in) but this, her own stand-alone outing, is on a different league already. Instead of just her own deftness at both action and naturally alluring sizzle, the truly special thing about Jenkins' portrayal of her heroine is how she allows the same to stumble and yet rise again to earn her moment in the sun.
And Gadot delivers it all, from the doe-eyed naïveté that brightens up her exquisite eyes when she pauses in silence to try and make some sense to the loveably goofy way she banters, befuddled over what is marriage or why should she shut up when serious matters are being discussed by men. Make no mistake though; even as this Diana Prince is charmingly wet behind the ears, she still has enough of brains and beauty to make you go weak at the knees. That is if you still have not felt the edge of her slashing sword.
'Wonder Woman' is more than a fittingly soaring ode to the power and charisma of a glorious screen heroine and Jenkins' film celebrates all that with unbridled enthusiasm. Gadot is not a particularly exceptional actress but here, she shines throughout in these moments of heroic confidence, either when flipping casually between languages or when dismissing the necessity of men for reproductive biology; and as for the truly larger-than-life moments, she knocks them out of the park. The actress is a natural when it comes to the fights and it is refreshing to see a female superhero so full of sass and spunk. The way she mows down an entire bell-tower might be worth the price of the ticket itself.
Alas, while the film does a splendid job of cheering and applauding the lady, the rest of it feels fairly middling or even uninspired. For all the talk of the film exploring the tribal origins of Wonder Woman with real style, all we get is some hoary backstory located in what could have been the backlot for '300' and all of its is plainly passable. (why should we get to see only those poorly animated freeze-frames of backstory?) There are a few striking ladies here, indeed, especially Robin Wright as the tough-limbed teacher Antiope, but one does wish that Jenkins, being a woman herself, could have fleshed out the truly subversive feminist politics at the core of the original comic books itself.
The problem here is that Allan Heinberg's script packs in a lot of male characters for Prince to depend upon for advice and counsel. That itself feels a bit of a sore point: for all the buzz of it being a resounding argument in favour of letting women doing all the talking, 'Wonder Woman' conforms, regretfully, to the same big stereotype of most other superhero films: that, behind every smart and fearless woman, there must be a dashing hero after all.
It is a bit of a relief, however, that the said hero in this film is Steve Trevor, a mostly out-of-his depth golden-haired archetype who initially brags about himself being 'above-average' but cannot help but give way to the lady, when the time comes to deliver the biggest sucker punch. Chris Pine is an absolute treat as Trevor, delightfully finding himself at a loss to keep up with Prince, who becomes his endlessly smart-talking companion. But the film makes the mistake of transforming him, in a climax, from a merely efficient sidekick to the heroine to almost a martyr worthy of more hero worship than her (was it necessary for Jenkins to make him more of a Steve Rogers than Steve Trevor?)
The rest of the men, including Ewen Bremmer, Danny Huston and David Thewlis, are mostly fine, including the big villain of the piece who turns out to be a really worthy reveal in the end and it is also interesting to see how well does 'Wonder Woman' capture the steampunk feel like any solid science fiction yarn set in the World War milieu should do. The way the plot shuttles from misty London to sandy Ottoman camps to the sordid trenches on the Western Front lends a certain enthrallingly globe-trotting vibe to the action and there is some satisfying hokum about a conspiracy to release a dangerous gas that lends a lot of real, even believable stakes to the tale.
And yet, even as it looks and feels frequently sensational, 'Wonder Woman' could have been a lot, lot more. There could have been more leg space given to Gadot to prove that there is a lot more to this lady than just the way she throws her punches and kicks or plays around with her lasso. Maybe, it is because she is so lovely to look that we cannot have enough of her. It is also hoped that the later films will dig out this effortless, almost ever-present charisma to shut up the other big boys in masks in the team. Though I wish that she could have taught Trevor just how did they all dance back in Themyscira.
For all the little but crucially important things ignored, this is still a solid superhero outing, without the confusing self-indulgence of Zack Snyder or even 'Suicide Squad'. Like any of the lesser songs from John Lennon's output during the Beatles years, this one has enough deliciously preposterous fun to enjoy. But I also wish that it had sung 'Dizzy Miss Lizzy' instead of just 'All You Need Is Love'.
My Rating- 3 stars out of 5.
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