The much-anticipated movie Wonder Woman was released this past Friday and has opened a new door for superhero movies in the coming future. Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and directed by Patty Jenkins, is the first female-directed superhero movie with a female hero.
As the fourth installment in the DC cinematic universe, the movie sees Gadot reprise her role as the Amazonian hero after first being introduced in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movie currently has over a 90 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has received generally positive reviews since its release a few days ago.
It is a fresh take on a superhero origin story and brings justice to a character who needed a fresh start in popular media. But what is it that makes this movie so different than the tidal wave of superhero films that have taken over theaters in the past three years? Let's discuss it. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)
A Female Heroine
Superhero movies are generally focused on men who are given powers or opportunities to be the golden boy and save the world. There are the occasional female heroes who come in but they are generally given less screen time, maybe because watching two men in flashy suits argue and try to destroy each other is funny. Who knows.
But a lot is changing and it is refreshing to see a woman be given her own movie and fight both a war and gender norms. The storyline has been altered to take place in World War I rather than World War II, which is where Diana usually meets Steve Trevor. This allows the character to be introduced in a time where the world is seeing the implications of technological and scientific advances in weaponry and creation of mustard gas.
We are also able to see Diana's struggle with the treatment of women in this time. After being on an island of only women, Diana is confused by a place where women are looked down upon and not given the opportunity to speak their mind. This is still a struggle today, just not as obvious. Wonder Woman gives us a movie where the female hero is the savior. Seeing the shocked looks on all of the men's faces when Diana saves a village all on her own was also very satisfying.
War Movie
Like Marvel's Captain America: First Avenger, the movie takes its audience back in time to see the origin of a hero who's sole purpose is to save the world from being torn apart by war. Diana was born to be the savior of mankind from Aries, who wants to show that men are not perfect and can be easily corrupted. After Steve Trevor arrives on the island of Themyscira and informs them of the world war, Diana decides to leave and help mankind, knowing that she will most likely never return to her home.
Steve Trevor agrees to take her to the war and find Aries, although it takes some convincing to actually believe she can handle herself at the war front. One of the most visually stunning parts of the movie is how it does not sugar coat the horrors of war. Gal Gadot's acting when witnessing the injuries sustained by the soldiers and the conditions they are living in is heartbreaking. Her portrayal of someone who is learning about the outside world is stunning and very well done. It does not gloss over the loss and devastation of war.
Steve Trevor tells Diana multiple times that millions, not a few, MILLIONS of people will die if they do not complete their mission. You can also see the internal struggle Diana has when deciding to help her friends after her beliefs have been shattered when the war did not stop after she thought she had killed Aries. Everything she has been raised to believe in was destroyed for a few moments but she remembers that she was also taught to help people. Even though the god of war had not been defeated when she killed the general, there was still a war that needed to be stopped and a world that needed to be saved.
Love
This does not mean romantic love. Yes there is a romance between Diana and Steve but that is not the message the movie wants to make. It means love of people, love of humanity, love of yourself. Diana loves the world. She fights for love. The group she goes on the mission with show her how much they love their country, who they are, and who they are fighting for. Her heart is broken when the man she has grown to love sacrifices himself to save the world but she knows that he sacrificed himself to save others. Diana sees the good that humanity has and spares the life Dr. Poison, despite the fact that she killed so many people.
This movie wants to express to people that love is not a weakness but in fact a strength. Aries only saw the hatred of humans. He found love to be weak and used Diana's love of Steve Trevor in order to turn on the very mission she was born to complete. Diana almost gives in when Dr. Poison is thrown at her feet, the woman who's creation caused Steve to sacrifice himself.
But Diana has come to love humanity after seeing the happiness her new friends and the villagers had when she saved the town earlier in the movie. She uses her love and the goodness inside herself to defeat the god of war. Love is stronger than hatred. It does not have to be romantic love; Diana uses her love of humanity, her love of friends, and the love she has for herself, to defeat the god who killed all of the other gods.
I cannot express how much I love and respect this movie. So I say again, if you have not seen it already I highly recommend you do. There is so much to be learned from it. I hope DC takes a card out of Patty Jenkins' book and continues to make other superhero movies like this.
