Wonder woman
Gal Gadot emerges as the superhero of the year. Cue the electric cello…
You’ve got to feel sorry for Black Widow. For all the storytelling innovations that extended universes have delivered, it’s galling that it’s been such a boys’ club until now, with no solo female superhero movies in the last decade. You have to head back to the less-than-stellar likes of Catwoman (2004) and Elektra (2005) to see a woman headliner, all the crazier when Moana, Rogue One and Beauty And The Beast (to name just three recent Hollywood hits) are putting ladies first.
So Diana Prince bagging her first solo big-screen adventure is no small matter, especially as Wonder Woman taps into a wider debate about studios giving big-budget projects to female directors. There were insinuations of tokenism in the hiring of Patty Jenkins, no matter the quality of her first film (the Oscar-winning Monster),
the strength of her TV work, nor her previous form with superheroes (she almost directed Thor: The Dark World).
To most, Jenkins is an artistically wise, long-overdue and very exciting choice.
None of the hot takes would matter, though, if Wonder Woman wasn’t one of the sharpest superhero movies in years. What’s interesting is how much it shuns the baggage of extended universes, wearing its connection to its DC stablemates lightly. That grants the space for a satisfying standalone story that avoids the clutter of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice or Suicide Squad (both of which it beat at the US box office).
PARADISE FOUND
Admittedly, Wonder Woman shares DNA with many of its peers. The theme of a god making their way in the real world recalls Thor’s fish-out-of-water comedy. The wartime origin story is a straight lift from Captain America: The First Avenger, while the copious experiments with frame rate and CGI betray the influence of producer and de facto DC showrunner Zack Snyder.
Yet Jenkins brings a fresh eye. And yes, being female helps, because the film itself is a meta-commentary on bringing a woman to the fore. Diana’s cameo in Dawn Of Justice provided a