Wonder Woman
(cue the epic music)
Directed by Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, etc.
(A Rotten Potatoes review)
Wonder Woman, one of the most iconic comic book characters, finally comes onto the big screen as a feature live-action film that literally amazed the world. No small wonders for this girl.
Directed by Patty Jenkins and supported by an allstar cast; it's not just the acting that saves a (if we're honest) a dying DC comic franchise. Wonder Woman shows just how tough and brave a girl can be, (even without a guy), and teaches that we should always strive to end war. Not make it. It also promotes the value of love (though a bit cheesy in that effect), and also a moral to do right no matter what.
And though Wonder Woman may have all these things slung about her belt along with a super-powered lasso and sword, that doesn't mean that Wonder Woman has her share of moral problems. Indeed, Wonder Woman earns her PG-13 rating quite well.
Wonder Woman, as you'll have to understand, is the origin story of a superpowered lady who can both fight like Superman, and look as cool as Batman at the same time. And ALL that in a comical and serious way as well. Sounds like too much? Like I said, no small wonders for this girl.
I won't go into the specifics of her origins since it's a bit long, but basically, an airplane, followed by soldiers, crashes into the waters by Diana's (Wonder Woman's real name) home island. This island is completely populated by fighting women. So how Diana was born, I'll never really understand...
As luck would have it, Diana saves the pilot of the crashed plane only to find out that he is a spy for the British (then why does he have an American accent?!). This all comes at the cost of Diana losing her beloved aunt and others to the soldiers' gunfire. (Who were incidentally trying to track down the spy pilot)
This all leads Diana and Steve Trevor (the pilot's real name) on an adventure through London, Germany (I think), and a bomb factory. Along the way, we get to see their friends (who are, at times, quite comical), and the villains. Who I'll get into later.
All this with the end result being a heart-touching at times, violent superhero flick with maybe, just maybe, has more to it than just explosions and punches.
Now, onto the problem spots....
The biggest two problems of the movie are probably the violence, and the beliefs. But I'll talk about the violence first.
Though this movie has its morals and good parts, it's still a superhero movie. And as we know, these movies tend to have a lot of punch, kick, BAM in them. Wonder Woman does not disappoint. Though, the action is actuallyl bloodless, there are sequences of gunfire, gas-poisoning, and even swordfighting that would be very disturbing to a younger child who wouldn't know better. Both goodguys and badguys get shot at, poisoned, and one even gets impaled by a sword. Again, it's all bloodless, but the emotional impact of some of these deaths may be too much even for older teens and tweens. There's also an end fight between Wonder Woman and the villain (whom I shall not name), that has an abundance of explosions and otherwise unbelievable sequences of comicbook-type fighting. For someone who wants to end war, Wonder Woman actually makes up about 50% of the violence on screen. Probably more...
Okay, then there's the spiritual side of things. Though there isn't much talk about having a soul and such, Wonder Woman (the movie itself) is based on Greek mythology and really treats it as fact. Though it is not dwelled upon for more than twenty minutes. Wonder Woman (herself) is technically [spoiler] revealed to be a god, which is how she supposedly destroys the bad guy, Ares, (the god of war) [regular review] All this can be disconcerting for our Christian beliefs, but these are not really focused on in the main story so I think that it may be acceptable to watch as long as you have a clear view that the mythological side of things is still wrong. No matter what Wonder Woman stands for. As a side note, Wonder Woman (the person) blames war and death on the bad guy instead of humans themselves. Which I, personally, don't believe. And instead of showing the One, TRUE God as the solution, Wonder Woman would rather destroy the bad guy. Just something to watch out for as well.
As for inappropiate content, Wonder Woman has some as well. It's never as obscene as some other things I've seen in superhero movies before, but it still has its fair share of problem spots. Though it is mostly played for laughs, Diana (who has never encountered a man before) questions him about his gender on certain things with curiosity. She also doesn't have much sense of how society is so some awkard moments include her trying to put on clothes in the middle of the store. (nothing is shown because someone quickly corrects her). She and Steve (as against my wishes) fall in love. This was probably the biggest thing I didn't like about the movie as it was so predictable, but Steve and Diana fall in love etc. However, this creates a problem spot as it is implied that they spend a night together. Again, nothing is shown. Just insinuated. Diana also wears a dress that shows off about 60% of her actual back at one point, but nothing else. Also, if it wasn't already obvious. Wonder Woman herself isn't wearing the most modest of superhero costumes.
Lastly, cursing actually isn't too bad in this movie as in others. H__ is used a few times as well as God's name in vain. There's also some English exclamations like "bloody". As for alcoholic content, you see some people downing a mug, but nothing else really. There's champagne at a party. One guy in the movie (not Steve thankfully) gets drunk a few times, but again, it's played for laughs.
I've already talked about some of it's more positive elements, but I'll say it again. Wonder Woman (the movie, goodness this is frustrating...) shows just how strong a girl and guy can be in times when people need them the most. At one point, a character (whom I shall not name) gives his/her life to save everyone. Wonder Woman also risks her life multiple times to protect people she doesn't even know. She also truly mourns when a people-full village is dead. Diana also has much compassion for others that is shown throughout. Especially for babies apparently. Oh yeah, that and ice cream. Love, (for everyone and others), is also a big focus, though is only much mentioned in the end. Many characters seem to realize this in the end and do heroic things for each other.
Here's my conclusion: Wonder Woman is a great movie for more mature people, but it simply more bad than good for younger viewers. If you want to learn a good lesson, go read the Bible. But if you're looking for a great superhero movie with some goodness along the way, Wonder Woman fits the bill quite nicely. No small wonders for this girl.
13-15+
87%
PG-13 For Fantasy violence, some Language, Innuendo, and some Disturbing Scenes
may not be suitable for children under 13
