WONDER WOMAN
PG-13, 137 minutes. Through tonight only at Westbrook, Lisbon. When even most of the good spectacles carry a strong whiff of prepackaging, try taking in the air of Luc Besson’s sci-fi extravaganza “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” Its atmosphere — vibrant in color, elastic in form — takes some acclimating to after such a barrage of more sanitized summer movies. Watching “Valerian” is to simultaneously and acutely realize what’s missing from so many other big films (visual inventiveness, freewheeling unpredictability) and appreciate what the more controlled studio project does so much better (precision pacing, half-decent writing). Had “Valerian” — a lifelong passion project for the French filmmaker that’s been called the most expensive indie film ever made — been produced in the studio system, it would have been better. — Jake Coyle, Associated Press
WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
PG, 140 minutes. Waterford, Stonington, Lisbon, Westbrook. The recent prequels to the “Planet of the Apes” have created a core of solidly grounded realism in a spectacular fantasy world. It all reaches a breathtaking climax in “War for the Planet of the Apes.” Visually, the film is gorgeous, with complex but clearly presented battles and utterly lifelike computer-generated anthropoids perfectly meshed with on-camera performers. A “simian flu” pandemic has decimated the human population while boosting the intelligence of apes. Mankind’s remaining survivors and their likely successor species live far apart, apes in forested encampments and humans in compounds salvaged from scraps of their old civilization’s infrastructure. By the time we re-enter the story, the apes have evolved over about 15 years, now communicating complex ideas through speech or American Sign Language. Humans have been changed by the plague, as well, many moving closer to violent primal urges. That we meet them at the beginning in military camo, crawling in to ambush a peaceful ape clan, isn’t much of a spoiler given the film’s title. — Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune LOU FAULON/STX ENTERTAINMENT
1/2 PG-13, 141 minutes. Stonington, Westbrook. It’s taken 76 years for the comic book character Wonder Woman to lasso her way onto the big screen in her very own standalone film, and it’s not a moment too soon. “Wonder Woman” arrives in theaters under an intense amount of scrutiny. The first female-starring superhero film directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, carries the burden of representing half the population, and her success could determine the fates of other female superhero films. Not only that, but after a string of superhero blockbusters that have been battered by critics, the DC Comics cinematic universe needs an acclaimed hit. So it’s a pleasure to report that “Wonder Woman” more than delivers on its promise. It is simply awesome. The keys to its success lie in the two wonder women at the heart of the film, director Jenkins and star Gal Gadot. With her scene-stealing appearance in last year’s “Batman vs. Superman,” it was clear Gadot could ably fulfill the duties of the hero: smart, sassy, strong, and in need of no man’s aid. She remains just as headstrong and physically formidable, but in “Wonder Woman,” we get to know Diana better, and she’s one of the most charming and lovable superheroes to come around in a long, long time. Gadot plays off Chris Pine, who plays British intelligence spy Steve Trevor, beautifully. The two have a winning chemistry together. — Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service