Wonder
Woman (2017/DC
Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B Sound: B+ Extras: B-
Film: B
Wonder
Woman, one of the most successful fictional characters of all time,
the top female superhero ever (one of the first too, and not without
competition over the years) and an American icon arriving in time for
WWII when she first appeared in the rightly named Sensation
Comics
75 years ago. She is also one of the most successful heroes
anywhere, the subject of several books, endless analysis, tons of
comic books and part of a progressive liberal tradition that faced
the Axis Powers and The Depression upon arrival, then resurged
rightly in the 1960s and 1970s, though she never went away.
Bringing
her to life in live action has been another matter. After a failed
short pilot in the 1960s that led nowhere, he was a hit on the huge
hits animated TV series Superfriends!
(1973) for over a decade, when at the same time, a TV movie was made
in 1974 that did not sell a series, but DC Comics and Warner tried
again, landing Lynda Carter perfectly in the role for three seasons
(on two networks) and Carter was such a perfect fit for the role, it
took four decades before another woman (and it was not without trying
all those years) before a few years ago, Gal Gadot became a tougher,
more warrior-oriented (much like the current animated cycle of DC
Superhero animation) version in the mixed Zack Snyder Batman
Vs. Superman
film.
The
big surprise of that film was how good Gadot was and fans responded.
At the same time, after delaying a few revivals (including a WWII-set
script by Joss Whedon), a new stand-along Snyder produced film was
under way. The underrated (no more!) Patty Jenkins was hired and the
result has been the stunning across-the-board critical and box office
success of Wonder
Woman
2017!
So,
is it that good. Often, yes. Since Christopher Nolan completed his
Batman Trilogy, DC Comic movies have fallen behind Marvel Comics, a
situation that would have been unthinkable before 1997, but the
original Blade
with Wesley Snipes slowly changed all that and eventually bloomed
into an independent Marvel Studios (run by people who actually love
and know the characters) producing so many critically acclaimed
blockbusters with the characters, Disney could not resist buying the
whole company. DC's films have suffered post-Nolan since, but
despite being based on a story co-written by producer Snyder (and a
film co-produced by the usually misguided RatPac productions unit),
this is the film that finally delivered the impact all DC comics
films should have.
Going
all out, the film begins with a pre-teen Diana on Paradise Island and
what it is like to live there, be there and be at peace there. Even
at a young age, she wants to learn how to fight and be a warrior like
her older sisters. Followed by a brief teen period, Gadot shows up
as the fully-grown Diana, little changed and ready for anything.
Just when al seems steady, she spots an airplane in fire in a dive,
heading through the Island's protective cover, hitting the ocean at
high speed. Without thinking, she jumps in and intercepts what turns
out to be a German plane, though she has zero idea what it is. In it
is not a German, but a spy from the U.S., Steve Trevor (Chris Pine in
yet another great turn) whom she saves and brings back to the island.
Needless
to say the populace is shocked to have a man there, let alone one who
is older and mature, one they suspect of being there to hurt them.
Fortunately, they have the Golden Lasso that compels all who are
captured by it to tell the truth, then the ladies get far worse bad
news when Trevor explains that The Great War is going on, millions
will be killed, they are all in grave jeopardy and he has to stop
them. This includes an attack on the island when several German
ships accidentally breach the security mirage surrounding it. Now
helping him, he is going to soon leave, but the Queen refuses to let
Diana join him, but Diana (fortunately) has other plans.
Soon,
after Steve and Diana get to know each other, they are in WWI London,
England and after a brief, fun set of culture clash moments, they are
joined by three tough fighting confidantes and are off to the
entrenched battle lines. Now armed with her Godkiller sword, shield,
magic lasso, magic bracelets and advanced fighting skills, she cannot
stand the murder and genocide of innocent lives, stops listening to
Trevor's advice (who she's trusted to this point) and single-handedly
charges the German trenches, thus competing the smart screenplay's
kick into high gear.
Whether
DC feature films can keep their momentum, it is fair to say this may
be the most significant DC movie since Superman:
The Movie
in 1978 because it proves that if you get the right script, excellent
casting, dead-on casting of an unknown in the lead role and have the
best talent backed by serious money that is put on the screen (the
way Hollywood used to do it) and not thrown around mindlessly like
most blockbusters these days, you get a film that delivers and the
result is a classic of the Superhero genre that exceeds it. Gadot's
debut in the previous film was not just a fluke or brief luck, but a
classic moment of brilliant casting that shows Hollywood has been
playing it way too safe before and the non Nolan DC live action
movies have been coasting badly since Superman
Returns
in the 1990s. There is zero excuse for that!
The
script starts from scratch in some ways, despite following much of
the original comic books (Diana does not have to win an Amazon
olympics in disguise to leave the island, in one interesting change)
and like the little moments in the original Star
Wars
(1977) that really worked, there are smart, fun, charming and
unexpected moments (so well handled by Jenkins) that make a big
difference in the film like nothing we've seen in any DC or Marvel
movie. Jenkins gets what she has in Gadot and runs with it, even if
some elements of the film were inherited from Snyder's work, anything
of that that could possibly weight the film down, Jenkins steamrolls
over like Tina turner on Private
Dancer
with unlimited energy (without overdoing it, yet) that won't let any
limits stop her, her great lead, her cast or her crew. This is
excellent commercial blockbuster filmmaking at its very best and save
for the final act maybe going a little over the top, Wonder Woman is
not just an instant classic DC Comics movies and even Marvel Comics
movies, are going to have to match or try to top, but that all
action films (including the Bond films) are going to have to reckon
with. Like Bond, Batman, Spider-Man and Superman, Wonder Woman is an
evergreen classic character for a reason, there's no one else like
her and this film is very, very long overdue, though it is yet
another example of how hard such excellence is to achieve in any
large-scale filmmaking.
Joining
Gadot and Pine are the great Danny Huston as the main villain
Ludendorff, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya
(downtrading her beauty as the deformed scientific genius Dr. Maru),
Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Lucy Davis as a great new Etta Candy,
who could never be on screen enough and one of the most impressive
and strong supporting casts we've seen in any film in a while. True,
the film might play a little loose with history as Raiders
Of The Lost Ark
did, but its fantasy and not a documentary. Be sure to catch one of
the best films of the year in this new, original Wonder
Woman!
Before
I get to the tech section, I wanted to briefly address a recent
debate that sadly stopped before it could get the proper exposition
we all deserve. The great James Cameron, without enough detail to
stop a backlash, went on social media and stated roughly that the
film was progressive, yet still got stuck in iconic, limited ideas of
female heroes. Of course, he has had several great, progressive
women in his hits, including advancing Sigourney Weaver's Ripley from
Ridley Scott's Alien
(1979) in his own Aliens
(1986), among others. The backlash was quick like mob rule that we
often see in misguided social media, but that does not help us
uncover his point, it just drowns it out.
The
argument I can gather is that it is about two kinds of female heroes
that I've touched on in the past, including in my interview with
Bionic Woman
creator Kenneth Johnson (who also created 'V'
and the 1970s Incredible
Hulk
TV series for Marvel) of a heroine already arriving with her powers
or one just discovering them. Johnson rightly argues the latter
makes for more interesting storytelling, especially since the latter
(Lindsay Wagner on the original Bionic
Woman,
Jodie Foster in Silence
Of The Lambs,
Diana Rigg's Emma Peel in the earliest episodes she appears in of the
British TV spy classic The
Avengers)
asking us all how a woman without any powers in advance suddenly
deals with them when she suddenly finds she has them. We certainly
were only getting the fully-formed Wonder Woman from Zack Snyder,
though with the current, contemporary period his films happen in, an
origins story does not apply, fit and would be a sidetrack in films
that are already too long.
James
Cameron even produced an action film with strong women directed by a
woman, now Oscar-winner (and his one-time wife) Katherine Bigelow's
Strange
Days
(1995, a commercial dud and mixed-up film I did not think worked
despite all the talent involved) that at least challenged some
conventions of male-dominated action films. If Cameron is
criticizing the film for its make Wonder Woman to powerful without
depth, that would/could be from issues in the final act of the film,
yet, the film does one more very clever thing here that is a great
move that shows how smart this film can be.
Unlike
any other heroine in superhero history or action film history, Diana
comes from a a place that is all about strong women and not just
because she is from working classic (Ripley, Sarah Connor in the
Terminator
films) or places of wealth (Mrs. Peel is a millionairess in high U.K.
society) or socio-economic success (Jaime Sommers is a highly
educated school teacher and an internationally successful tennis star
dating a famous astronaut (Lee Majors' Steve Austin, who has
unknowingly become The Six Million Dollar Man to her) before she
becomes anything bionic) and the others are already powerful and
empowered to begin with. Diana is at least partly powerful and
empowered not just by birth, but by environment, so she cannot be in
total shock of having great powers from none, yet having her show up
all powerful does not tell us her story. The script splits the
difference by asking us about her faith, about the existence of Ares,
the God of War. This is not to make her look stupid, nor is it a
lame plot device, but asking the fan in us all (especially
consequential for young females) how sick is the world, which world,
how sick can each get and how do they affect each other. Wonder
Woman is the only character and hero that could possibly deal with
this.
It
is through that we see who she is, understand her roots, what she
wants to be, why she stands for justice and can afford the luxuries
of compassion, caring and even (don't say it?) love. Not a
right-wing, phony or illicit appeal to pity stereotype of love, but
the real thing, which itself takes all kinds of honest thinking
against the real
politik
of angry, early 21st
Century living. Yet, the truth is, no lasso required, it is always
what she stood for since day one and ultimately, that is why this
Wonder Woman works because it is about who we all are as human.
Great thing it has found such a huge audience. I hope the sequels
and connected films can hold onto this, which is why Jenkins and
Gadot need to be on board for the foreseeable future as long as
possible.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, HDR (10-Bit color; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced 2.35
X 1 Ultra High Definition image on the 4K Blu-ray is the the best
performer here, resolving detail and especially the darkness in many
scenes better than the still-decent, regular 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital
High Definition image transfer on the Blu-ray. Because there is
still more extensive digital visual work than expected, despite most
of the film being shot on Kodak's remarkable Vision 3 color negative
35mm film stocks, the decent-enough CGI work remains just that.
Fortunately,
locations, production design, costumes and the actors are so on the
money here, Director
of Photography Matthew Jensen. A.S.C., (Killer
Diller,
Filth,
several impressive TV shows and two previous superhero films that
didn't work out) really brings all of his skills and talent together
here, going dar visually often, but not to the point where it ever
becomes a joke or cliche. That's actually not easy, though it plays
against a natural look a bit more than one might like, partly due to
Zack Snyder's dark look in previous films.
As
for sound, both discs offer lossless Dolby Atmos 11.1 mixes (core
Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for older systems) and it is pretty good for the
most part (also available in IMAX 11.1 and Sonix DDP for IMAX
presentations, including 70mm) and the mix has some fine breakout
moments, but other moments are more subtle and that holds it back
slightly at the expense of narrative integrity. I'd prefer the
integrity over sound mix overkill.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and other
cyber iTunes capable devices, while the Blu-ray adds clips and
featurettes (extrapolating from the press release) including...
Epilogue:
Etta's Mission
- Etta Candy gets the boys back together for a secret mission that
could impact humanity's future.
Crafting
the Wonder
- Wonder Woman finally comes to life in her first, breathtaking solo
film. Explore the journey to create an adventure worthy of DC's
greatest warrior.
A
Director's Vision:
Themyscira: The Hidden Island
A
Director's Vision:
Beach Battle
A
Director's Vision:
A Photograph Through Time
A
Director's Vision:
Diana in the Modern World
A
Director's Vision: Wonder Woman at War
- Join director Patty Jenkins as she takes you on an exclusive
journey through Wonder
Woman's
most pivotal and exciting moments.
Warriors
of Wonder Woman
- Witness the creation of the Amazon army as the women of Wonder
Woman
transform emotionally and physically into the world's most powerful
and heroic warriors.
The
Trinity
- Filmmakers and comic book creators explore the legend of Wonder
Woman and how she stands shoulder to shoulder with Superman and
Batman to create the pillars of the DC Universe.
The
Wonder Behind the Camera
- Meet the women behind the wonder as they welcome a group of
aspiring filmmakers on set for an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime
experience.
Finding
the Wonder Woman Within
- Feel the power of Wonder Woman as award-winning poets and inspiring
public figures reveal the impact and importance of DC's greatest
heroine.
Extended
Scenes (including some parts that should or could have stayed in the
film) and a fun Blooper Reel.
This
is all good, but I still wanted a bit more, yet you won't be
disappointed otherwise.
For
more Wonder Woman, try these earlier, underrated feature length
releases, staring with the 1974 Cathy Lee Crosby telefilm...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12109/The+Falcon+Mystery+Movie+Collection,+Volume+T
and
the 2009 animated feature film...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14921/Wonder+Woman:+Commemorative+Edition+(2009
-
Nicholas Sheffo
