Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman
seen @ Movieworld, Douglaston, Queens NY

SPOILERS

So Warner Bros. finally stopped dicking around and gave us a Wonder Woman movie (mostly) worthy of her status within the DC Comics pantheon, and the wider pop culture at large. For years, DC kept selling us the idea of Wondy being one of superhero comics' Big Three, along with Big Blue and Long Ears. WB, the parent company, tended to stick with making movies with just the other two, however. With bombs like Supergirl, Catwoman, Green Lantern and Suicide Squad on their resume, you almost can't blame them. Almost.

Kudos, therefore, to WB for simply getting this movie made. They gave it to a woman director, also a good move. Patty Jenkins might be best known for Monster, the film that got Charlize Theron the Oscar. Jenkins had been lingering in TV since, until this one. Although producer Zack Snyder's fingerprints are detectable, she did a real good job overall.

Gal Gadot has the goods. I didn't expect her to put on an accent (Greek? I suppose). That took some getting used to, but it was no big deal (unless that's her real accent; I dunno). Kinda embarrassed I didn't recognize Captain Kirk at first, but it was nice to see him in another franchise.

All this said, I have a problem with the ending, which is a shame, because I was with this movie until that point. If you don't wanna be spoiled, go no further.

The short of it is this: I'm uncomfortable with the idea that Wondy killing Ares means ending World War 1. (That was One and not Two, right? Even though Wondy is associated with the latter.) See, according to this movie, Wondy and the rest of the Amazons believe Ares, y'know, the god, is responsible for making humanity fight in this large, global conflict, which makes sense if he's really the god of war. Ares himself, however, says he's always believed humanity to be an inherently flawed species, unworthy of life. He wants Wondy to help him eradicate humanity. He calls himself the "god of truth."

Which is it? If he's the god of war, he should want people to keep fighting. If he's the "god of truth," why do the Amazons not recognize him as such? He's part of their pantheon. Wouldn't they know their gods better than anyone else?

When Ares tries to goad Wondy into killing Dr. Poison, it's because he despises humans for their violent ways. If he's the god of war, though, he should want Wondy to kill her to perpetuate the cycle of violence, to keep it going. Ares should get off on violence! If he's not the god of war, then somebody's been lying to the Amazons all this time.

Ares should be the one villain Wondy can't defeat, at least not on her own.
Ares should lose only when people lay down their arms for good and stop fighting each other. So when Wondy appears to kill him, THAT should be the moment when she looks around, sees the war still going on, and wondering why... and that should be the moment when she realizes her true purpose in Man's World: to increase the peace.

So will I line up for Justice League this fall, based on what I've seen here? At the moment, I'm still leaning towards no. As good as Wonder Woman was overall, it doesn't break any new ground storytelling-wise. It doesn't look or feel any different from most modern superhero movies. Suicide Squad might have been different if the studio didn't get cold feet and had stuck with director David Ayer's vision. Also, I hear from people I trust that Logan was not only good, but different. Perhaps I'll watch that when it comes to cable. I guess what I'm hoping for now is a superhero movie that goes beyond the well-established tropes. Male or female.