Wonder Woman

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In DC's fourth film of the new universe, I think it's safe to say they finally made things work for them. Yeah, I'm afraid I'm one of those "Team Marvel" guys, disappointed in how all three of those first movies went down. But that's just me, and I fully recognize that this universe still has its fan base.

I always judged this universe to "move too fast". It couldn't be argued in comparison to the Marvel universe, jumping from 'Man of Steel' to 'Batman v Superman' and then getting sidetracked with 'Suicide Squad'. I would personally compare this to Marvel releasing their universe in the order of 'Iron Man', 'Civil War' and... hm, 'Guardians of the Galaxy'? Anyway, this film came along and put some ease on the whole situation by FINALLY giving us another solo movie - my Marvel comparison probably being 'Captain America: The First Avenger' as the whole movie takes place during World War I (and yes, I know 'Cap' was WWII).

We open up with Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) receiving a letter and photo from Wayne Enterprises portraying her during WWI; the photo he finds when investigating metahumans in 'Batman v Superman'. From there, the movie is a flashback origin story, taking us to the island of Themyscira where we're introduced to the Amazons; an all-female race created by Zeus to protect mankind against the corruption of Ares. They live in peace and harmony, but stick with their warrior training in case Ares ever returns.

Eventually, pilot and spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash lands nearby the island after getting gunned down by Germans. The Germans pursue the crashed plane, and soon an epic battle takes place on the beach of Themyscira. After interrogating Steve using the Lasso of Truth, the Amazons learn about the war taking place outside of their hidden island. Diana takes it as a cue that Ares has returned, and decides to help Steve and hunt down Ares herself in order to end the war.

What truly makes this movie stand out is probably the contrasting environments and a "woman's place" on either side. For example, on Themyscira, they are a race of women who live in peace among no men. Once she heads to the war, you see just how women were treated back then, and Diana is overall confused and often disgusted by what mankind has become. In this day and age of women's rights, it makes for a good reminder of various ways women can still be treated, and that it was just commonplace back then.

On top of that, there's just the fact that we finally have a female superhero movie that doesn't suck. It manages to highlight women's issues, but it doesn't get preachy about it, and it doesn't just straight up put down the male race in the process. It pokes at us here and there with a sense of humor, but I was never actually insulted by anything (unlike last year's 'Ghostbusters' with Chris Hemsworth's role)

Anyway, the action sequences don't really stray from what we've seen in recent DC Universe films, so it manages to be a part of everything just the same. And if the DC Universe does have anything really going for it, it's the visual style. All in all, it's the best of the new DC movies, adds to the universe nicely, and I daresay will provide a landmark in entertainment as this is still something the Marvel universe is lacking. Good on you, DC.

5/5

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