Wonder Woman

[zslane]

Wow. Where did you get that information from?

 

From Erik Voss, who I confess did far more research than I ever would have on my own.

 

[Lord Liaden]

I finally saw the movie and loved it, as I expected I would. I am quite smitten with Gadot's portrayal. I loved it in BvS and I loved it even more in this movie. Her naïve insistence on charging out across No Man's Land was almost heartbreaking, and also electrifying to watch in its execution. I loved that they didn't hold back on her superstrength, her fighting prowess, or her unwavering commitment and courage.

 

Many people cite that scene as one of the high points of the movie, and I concur. Up to that point everyone in Man's World has been telling Diana what she can't do, what isn't possible. This was the moment when she decided she'd do what she believed was right, no matter what. It's truly moving and inspiring, not only to us as audience, but to the other characters in the film.

 

I agree that Diana wasn't holding back in her fight in the village, but to me it seemed she still wasn't aware of how powerful she truly is. She was fighting like an Amazon, which is still pretty superhuman (they all appear to be around Captain America level in terms of physical prowess and skill). Steve's death triggered her to tap her full potential; for the rest of her duel with Ares she fought like a god.

[Lord Liaden]

From Erik Voss, who I confess did far more research than I ever would have on my own.

 

Thank you for that. But for someone who obviously does his homework, it's annoying that like so many other people, Voss insists on calling the Amazons, "Amazonians." That would imply they come from some place called "Amazonia." Mythically and in the comics, they've always been Amazons.

[zslane]

Yes, Amazon is a noun, Amazonian is an adjective. If we were to take to task everyone whose English is imperfect, we'd have virtually no Internet content free from such criticism. Even broadcast television standards have fallen precipitously over the years. Getting it wrong, linguistically, is simply the new norm in our society from what I can tell.

[Lord Liaden]

Yeah, I know. I'm a teacher, so I recognize it, but it still rubs me the wrong way. Voss presenting so much useful info, but botching such a basic detail about his subject, gets to me like when people around these forums consistently misspell "villain" as "villian." Given the context, there's really no excuse.

[Pattern Ghost]

I'm pretty sure it's "villen." Just spell it like it sounds, right? Hooked on foniks!

[Bazza]

Re Photo. Zack Snyder has a cameo in that scene.

 

So there was definite collaboration between the two productions.

[Old Man]

Yeah, I know. I'm a teacher, so I recognize it, but it still rubs me the wrong way. Voss presenting so much useful info, but botching such a basic detail about his subject, gets to me like when people around these forums consistently misspell "villain" as "villian." Given the context, there's really no excuse.

 

Allow me to take the reigns of this villianous rouge calvary!

[Lord Liaden]

Wasn't Snyder playing a German soldier? It's an honor to get punched out by Wonder Woman.

[Bazza]

Zack Snyder’s Wonder Woman Cameo Finally Found

http://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-movie-zack-snyder-cameo/

 

[Pariah]

Superman II - Story and Character driven.

 

Man of Steel - CGI effects driven.

Quoted for truth.

[Hugh Neilson]

Wow. Where did you get that information from? It didn't feel like that long in the Themiscyra sequences. Diana still acted like she was trying to prove herself to her elders.

Often, we do not "outgrow" our mentors, even when we may equal or surpass them. No matter how old Diana is by WW I, to the Amazons there is likely still that vision of the tot running through the streets of Themyscira.

[Matt the Bruins]

Yep. And living in a utopian all-female society, even for hundreds of years, would still likely yield someone naive about how various things work in Man's World.

[bigdamnhero]

From Erik Voss, who I confess did far more research than I ever would have on my own.

Nice. He definitely caught a lot more references than I did. (Tho I think he's reaching on a couple of them.) And my earlier nitpicks aside, Voss definitely captures a lot of what was gloriously right about the film.

[drunkonduty]

I saw it last week.

 

Really enjoyed it. Good tight plot. Covered the origin story but didn't dwell on it too much before getting to the actual plot. Mostly, though, it was just lots of fun.

 

Over all good pacing and really good, enjoyable character development. Even the minor supporting characters like Scottish Guy the Sniper and Dr. Poison had their little moments of humanity. Gal Gadot was awesome as WW. and I'm sure I'm not the only one who loved Robin Wright as... Antiope (? Diana's cool aunt.) And Etta Candy was adorable. But then Lucy Davis just is.

 

Some minor nit picks. Like the size of the booms from the grenades. I know this is Hollywood but still...

Also found Diana's going over the top moment a bit... over the top? Honestly not sure exactly why but it niggled at me. My partner feels the same about that bit. Niggled but not sure why.

 

If I had to pick a flaw the final fight was kinda bleh. She was fighting Ares but it seemed more like she was fighting Magneto.

 

And why the hell would Ares tell her that she was the god killer?

 

 

Minor nit picks aside (and when is anyone on the internet ever happy?) I rate it a 4.5/5.

 

And if the buzz coming out of the cinema was anything to go by then most people were rating it higher. Seriously, I cannot think when I last heard that sort of excited buzz of conversation when coming out of a theatre. Maybe Empire Strikes Back. Yes, it is probably the movie that saves the DC movie franchise. I hope they are paying Gadot (and the rest)  commensurate to their contribution. I doubt it. They are almost certainly paid a fraction of what Affleck gets as Batman. <sighs but hopes for the future.>

 

Thumbs up WW and GG.

[Christopher R Taylor]

I hope they are paying Gadot (and the rest)  commensurate to their contribution. I doubt it. They are almost certainly paid a fraction of what Affleck gets as Batman. 

 

 

The problem is you never know how well the film will do or what their contribution will be until the movie is out; you can't pay based on a magic 8-ball prophecy.  Michael Keaton didn't get paid crap for Batman for example.  Now Batman is a huge property, it pays huge.  Its not some evil sexist plot, its just economics.

[drunkonduty]

Plot would imply a central, organised body. But it's not economics either. It's sexism.

[Hugh Neilson]

I saw it last week.

 

Really enjoyed it. Good tight plot. Covered the origin story but didn't dwell on it too much before getting to the actual plot. Mostly, though, it was just lots of fun.

 

Over all good pacing and really good, enjoyable character development. Even the minor supporting characters like Scottish Guy the Sniper and Dr. Poison had their little moments of humanity. Gal Gadot was awesome as WW. and I'm sure I'm not the only one who loved Robin Wright as... Antiope (? Diana's cool aunt.) And Etta Candy was adorable. But then Lucy Davis just is.

 

Some minor nit picks. Like the size of the booms from the grenades. I know this is Hollywood but still...

Also found Diana's going over the top moment a bit... over the top? Honestly not sure exactly why but it niggled at me. My partner feels the same about that bit. Niggled but not sure why.

It was over the top. So are Superheroes, so I liked it.

 

If I had to pick a flaw the final fight was kinda bleh. She was fighting Ares but it seemed more like she was fighting Magneto.

 

And why the hell would Ares tell her that she was the god killer?

 

 

Because, as he said, he is the God, not of War, but of Truth. He thought he could sway her to his way of thinking, including the use of her origins to set he further apart from humanity. He massively misjudged her character - probably by a wider margin than any misjudgment of humanity in general.

 

 

Minor nit picks aside (and when is anyone on the internet ever happy?) I rate it a 4.5/5.

Well, if it were perfect, no room for improvement. It wasn't, but it was definitely great, despite imperfections. 4.5/5 says you agree, at least as I read it. 90% is a pretty good score!

[Hugh Neilson]

Also found Diana's going over the top moment a bit... over the top? Honestly not sure exactly why but it niggled at me. My partner feels the same about that bit. Niggled but not sure why.

As I think on it, this is where she becomes most derivative of Captain America. She's been told it can't be done. She's been instructed not to do it. But what's right is what's right, so she goes right ahead and does it anyway, and damn the consequences. And it inspires those around her to the point that they join in the good fight alongside her.

[zslane]

Also found Diana's going over the top moment a bit... over the top? Honestly not sure exactly why but it niggled at me. My partner feels the same about that bit. Niggled but not sure why.

 

Maybe because that scene felt like it was directed by someone else we know. The moment she stepped out of the trench, everything went into Super Snyder Slo-Mo, as if to overstate the obvious: "THIS IS EPIC!"

 

Ever since The Matrix popularized "bullet time", Hollywood has been abusing slow motion during action scenes. At this point I sort of feel it is only really suitable for comedic effect, like the opening sequence of Deadpool. In the case of Wonder Woman, I rolled my eyes and then just tried to enjoy the moment. I only wish it hadn't been such a major part of the advertising campaign because I would have much preferred to have been surprised by it.

[Old Man]

I don't think it's an accident that many WW scenes looked like they came out of 300.  I half expected her to kick some German into a trench shouting "This!  Is!  Belgiuuuuum!!!"

 

I agree about the overuse of slo-mo, but it still beats the hell out of shakycam.

[Lord Liaden]

I loved that moment of slow-motion. To me it was warranted by the symbolic impact of that moment, to the audience and to the characters in that scene. Overall I felt the balance of slow-mo use in this film was almost perfect. Just highlighting once again that art is subjective.

[zslane]

I have found that slow motion is often used to hide issues that would be painfully apparent if you saw the stunt performers moving at full speed. Or saw the CG digital doubles moving at regular speed (the lack of weight and momentum being the most common issue). So quite frequently it is less of an "artistic choice" and more of a dishearteningly pragmatic one.

 

As a rule, I feel that full-speed is more exciting and immediate and visceral than slow motion because the latter gives you an immersion-breaking opportunity to "step back" and look at the moment with leisure, which undermines the rhythm of the action and modulates the energy of the scene unevenly. This is especially problematic for combat action where, I feel, scenes like those in Saving Private Ryan are far more effective than your standard Sam Pekinpah slo-mo carnage porn (not that WW showed the blood and carnage, but you get the point).

[Bazza]

Patty Jenkins fought for one scene in Wonder Woman — and conquered Hollywood’s biggest problem
This movie’s secret weapon is its terrific second act.
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/6/8/15742716/wonder-woman-script-second-act

Patty Jenkins to Fandango:

"I think that in superhero movies, they fight other people, they fight villains. So when I started to really hunker in on the significance of No Man's Land, there were a couple people who were deeply confused, wondering, like, “Well, what is she going to do? How many bullets can she fight?” And I kept saying, “It's not about that. This is a different scene than that. This is a scene about her becoming Wonder Woman.”"

 

[Bazza]

Why Wonder Woman’s Ending Doesn’t Work

http://screenrant.com/wonder-woman-movie-ending-twist-ares/3/