That time Wonder Woman became my new favorite superhero

Like many people, I thought the first trailer for Wonder Woman looked really good. I loved the music and her theme that plays when the logo is shown at the end. But, like many people, I was hesitant to believe this one would be good.

Remember how we were fooled into thinking Suicide Squad would be good? To be fair, that movie should’ve been great, and I think there’s a great movie buried somewhere in it, but it’s really garbage. Even Batman V. Superman seemed promising, even through the opening scene showing Bruce Wayne’s perspective of the showdown from Man of Steel.

Essentially DC promises a lot but so far hasn’t delivered. Until now? We’ll see.

Basically the plot is simple. Diana (Gal Gadot) and the Amazons live in a paradise called Themiscyra where they endlessly train for the return of Ares because he wants to destroy the world and it is their sacred duty to protect it. One day, a plane crashes through the protective wall and Diana rescues the pilot – a very dashing Chris Pine – named Steve Trevor. The Germans are following him and bring a brief battle to the island, and while the Amazons win, it is not without casualties. Upon learning of The Great War (WWI), Diana realizes she most go and help, seeing as it’s likely Ares orchestrating everything.

Before I get into spoilers, I’m going to say this is the best DC movie so far. It wasn’t perfect, but it also wasn’t a steaming dumpster fire like the others. More importantly, I think it gives hope that this universe can be a good one, contrary to what its predecessors have tried to prove

Ok.

Spoilers.

Stop if you don’t want to know.

For a long time I rejected Wonder Woman being my favorite hero because it felt so on the nose for a feminist and also I hadn’t really seen a good Wonder Woman in my lifetime. Until now. Gal Gadot’s portrayal made her my favorite. Not only is she a total BOSS, she’s kind and empathetic. She believes in the good of humanity and more importantly, love.

Yes, I know the latter is a lesson she learns after great loss and her faith in humanity is understandably questioned, but it’s still there. Steve gives her perspective when telling her it’s not because people deserve being saved, because humanity doesn’t under any circumstances. But you still have to try.

As a Christian, I loved looking at the flaws of humanity and how yeah, we don’t deserve a savior, but it’s never a question of what we deserve, any one of us. That is the definition of our actual Savior and while obviously this movie (featuring Zeus mentions), doesn’t follow that route, I liked it nonetheless.

Quick thought but Chris Pine must have it in his contract to always randomly discover an out of place motorcycle he can ride. I’m not complaining, but it’s definitely a thing.

Now back to love. Diana easily has the best luck in meeting an attractive and brave man her first time out. I’ve been trying for years with no luck, but whatever. She had also never seen a man before, so maybe she deserved it more than me. Moving on. I really enjoyed how their relationship played out. There was obvious instant attraction, but the movie didn’t really shy away from it. She sees him naked and just looks and he just kind of owns it without quickly scrambling to cover up.

I think this is an important point because while the movie hit the points of propriety at the time, you never felt that between Diana and Steve. Diana was raised in a world where the women are warriors and hardly dressed and yeah Steve is respectful, but he’s also really cool with Diana not following the norms of his time.

The entire scene on the boat, where they discuss a lot about relationships and sex, was improvised, allowing the audience to feel the chemistry behind a genuine interaction.

After saving a village on the other side of No Man’s Land at the front, the townspeople are celebrating with their liberators and Steve decides to show Diana how to dance, or as she calls it, swaying. They share an intimate conversation about regular life and you can feel the heat between them. But not as much as what happens in the next scene.

You see a lot of actors on screen together who maybe make you feel the passion or maybe you feel it’s strange or rushed. That was not the case with Pine and Gadot. I think the movie did an excellent job of setting up their relationship without making it strange.

I nearly blushed at the passion they created.

It happens after the dancing. He walks her to her room where they’re staying and goes the walk out and shut the door. He looks back and she looks VERY expectant, but in too many movies this would turn into the male lead stumbling over his words, panicking and leaving. Honestly, it’s what I thought would happen.

Instead, he walks back in and closes the door behind him. He walks over to Diana and this is where my blushing began. You can just feel how badly they both want to be together. At first, they just stare at each other and do the face touching thing until finally and perfectly, they kiss. We don’t see what happens next, but it shows us the room from the outside and as adults we can assume what happened next.

Obviously, as I’ll discuss in a moment, time was of the essence for their storyline, but I still loved how it wasn’t so drawn out. In The First Avenger, Steve and Peggy play the will they won’t they game for way too long with stupid plot points separating them. They were two people who clearly liked each other and they went for it without worrying about one being in danger or complicating anything. Life is too short for excuses.

Sadly, they had to have their moment because Steve Trevor wasn’t going to make it through. This was one of the clearly telegraphed points found in Wonder Woman, but also a point that was clear as early as BVS. This world had scorned Diana by taking Steve, making her unwilling to step in again. Plus, he was mortal and as we learned, she was an immortal god so it would make certain things a little more complicated.

Early on there was speculation that maybe Chris Pine was actually playing Hal Jordan, or at least a Green Lantern character, which would help solve some of the problems with aging that might plague their relationship (I think). Part of me is sure we’ll see Chris Pine again, maybe as a descendant from Steve Trevor and this time he is Green Lantern, making him a part of the Justice League. His role in this movie was a big one, but it still seems strange to cast Chris Pine with no ongoing plans to use him, so we’ll see.

Anyway, back to his death. While Diana is fulfilling her destiny as the god-killer (turns out she wasn’t made from clay but an actual creation from Hippolyta and Zeus), Steve realizes he needs to fly the plane away and blow it up. He gives his dad’s watch to Diana, says he has to go and wishes they had more time. As he runs away he says I love you, words she remembers in the climax of her fight with Ares.

I’m tearing up writing this. I read spoilers so I knew how he would die, but it still made me cry in the movie. Just like I’m crying now. As you’ll learn, I want movie people to have happy endings. This life is hard enough and I need things to work out in my fictional worlds. It’s the same kind of sadness I felt watching Rogue One. When a movie properly crafts these relationships, you feel the loss.

As much as I enjoyed this movie and loved the characters, there were definitely points that were so obvious.

1. Diana being the god-killer

It was clear based on all the comments from the Amazons that Diana was not like them and had a greater purpose. I did enjoy how they made it seem her birth was like one of her origins where she crafted from clay, only to learn she was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, making her a god. I also loved when she called Ares brother right before destroying him.

2. David Thewlis being Ares

I don’t even remember his character name and I’m not going to look it up. As soon as I saw him softly arguing for peace, I knew. There’s no way you cast him for that kind of role. He clearly had a greater purpose. However I did enjoy the realization that he whispers the keys people need for war, like giving Dr. Poison the right formula

3. That German general not being Ares

Those gas pills Dr. Poison gave him were clearly just plot devices so Diana would think he was Ares because he was strong enough to fight him. Both things really annoyed me.

4. This movie was kind of The First Avenger

Different World War, same plot, down to discount Howling Commandos and sacrifice via plane by hero. Saying that, I enjoyed this one way more that the original Captain America film. I didn’t mind the similarities, but they were there.

5. Too much slowmo

Don’t get me wrong – I thought this was a cool effect to really focus on the incredible things the Amazons can do, but it just felt a little overused and back to back in certain scenes.

Most importantly, more than any complaint, I loved the statement this movie makes. Diana is from an island of strong women. Coming into our world in the early 1900s, she’s facing a world where women have little to no rights. Etta even makes a comment at one point about fighting for the right to vote. She distracts an entire meeting of men because she’s a woman and she shouldn’t be there. Despite the fact that she knows the languages to decode Dr. Poison’s notebook, the general still wants her to leave.

While the world is different now, women still face those kinds of situations where what shouldn’t be ridiculous is made that way by backwards people who don’t believe we’re actually equal. Diana doesn’t see anything other than people and it was a really beautiful thing.

One of the high points, praised by people all over, is when Steve is explaining No Man’s Land and how no man can cross it blah blah blah and she just throws off her dress and does it. This is her attitude all the way through, any time Steve tells her to stay. She’s Wonder Woman after all, why should she listen to some man? It was beautiful.

Let’s not forget all the women of Themyscira. I saw this pointed out via a tweet before watching which allowed me to notice it – when the women battle and kill, they live for it. Robin Wright Penn is SMILING in battle. Our other heroes are so hesitant to kill, but Diana and the Amazons don’t care. It’s what they do. I didn’t realize I needed a BA heroine storming into battle with a smile on her face, but now I do.

Most importantly, when this movie went into reshoots, Gal Gadot was FIVE MONTHS PREGNANT. They cut a hole in her costume and green screened her belly, but her being Wonder Woman five months pregnant is such a great representation for how tough women are I can barely stand it.

Basically, this movie made Wonder Woman my favorite and reinforced how incredible women are, a point rarely made in movies. Hopefully this is only the beginning of female heroes we can look up to.

Plus, I have a little more hope for Justice League. Maybe Zack Snyder learned from BVS and is giving this a lighter tone with a more sensible plot. I am cautiously optimistic.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, or the superhero movie that gave me all the laughs and tears

[Fair warning: I didn’t really think about spoilers while writing this, so spoilers below!]

I know at some point we’re going to hit superhero fatigue. I have friends who are already there. What once was a random occurrence in theater now feels like a monthly routine, with Marvel, Fox and DC all trying to compete with connected universes and bigger stars.

Fox is releasing three X-Men films next year and a whole slew of mutant tv shows. Netflix has four superhero shows plus a fifth that combines them all. The CW is home to Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Riverdale which yeah isn’t a superhero show but it’s based on comics so it gets included. This year in theaters we’re seeing Wolverine, Wonder Woman, the Guardians and Spider-Man.

Those are just what I could remember off the top of my head.

In a world full of superheroes on the screen, most fall in the middle as far as quality. We’ve seen enough blue beams into the sky to last us a lifetime, not to mention mindless alien robot monsters we can see destroyed without mercy. You have some that exceed expectation, like Logan, and then others like Suicide Squad which is possibly the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

All of this to say, it takes a lot to stand out, which brings us to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

As a Parks and Recreation fan, I was stoked when Chris Pratt was brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Obviously his incredible transformation made it even better (plus the joke on Parks and Rec when Ben asked him how he got so fit and Andy replied he stopped drinking beer). I enjoyed his first turn as Star-Lord/Peter Quill and overall really enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. I couldn’t get over how real Rocket appeared (for real though, is he actually real??) or how funny Dave Bautista was or how much I loved a tree.

For the most part, Marvel does sequels well. Captain America just keeps getting better, which is insane. Iron Man 2 is pretty good, but let’s ignore Iron Man 3. Sure, Thor: The Dark World wasn’t as high of a note, but Ragnarok looks incredible. I know there are faults to Age of Ultron, but I still really enjoy it as a film. We care and enjoy these sequels because of the character development established by the MCU.

We don’t see these people as isolated characters in one movie. Their presence is felt everywhere and we care because so much effort is taken to make sure we know and understand the motivations and relationships and there are so many movies at this point we have evidence of the bonds created.

This is what made Guardians 2 so dang good.

I went into this film expecting to giggle at some points and care, but I didn’t realize how many emotions I would feel. I laughed. Out loud. I cried. Real tears. Even though I knew it would be okay because the Guardians are definitely in Infinity War, I still worried for their safety and wondered how it would all work out in the end.

It starts on a really high note, with Baby Groot dancing around like the angel he is, trying to wave to his team members while they battled a giant monster. I was instantly hooked. A fear I think I shared with many would be the reliance on Baby Groot given how cute he is, kind of like how the minions took off, but he never felt overused. His baby-ness definitely played into several plot points, but it never felt like ‘NOT AGAIN!’

The concept of family is a big deal as well, with every character dealing with some aspect of the idea. Nebula is angry at Gamora because she just wanted a sister and only received an enemy. Peter’s found his father, but is blood really the most important family? Rocket is an a-hole to everyone because of personal issues about deserving love. Drax opens up about his family more, but is much more at peace because he knows he’s found a new one in the Guardians. Baby Groot just clings to them all for love and care and they’re all there for him. It’s all pretty powerful and I definitely cried in several of these moments.

Basically the plot is the Guardians fight this interdimensional  squid creature who wants batteries from the Sovereign’s planet. The Sovereign being gold people who breed people specifically who are perfect, so naturally they’re a very proud race. Rocket steals some of the batteries to sell which isn’t just a one gag thing. As a result, the Sovereign are offended and begin showing up trying to kill the Guardians. One fight leads to the Guardians crashing their jet on a planet, but only after a mysterious tiny man on a spaceship blows up the remaining ships chasing them.

Turns out, he was only tiny from a distance and is actually Ego, Peter Quill’s father. He invites him back to his planet to teach him about his heritage, and Peter goes with Gamora’s encouragement. Side note: but I love how we actually address the Gamora-Peter relationship, even if it isn’t happening. The movie doesn’t pretend like there aren’t real feelings). The team splits up, with Groot and Rocket plus some friends getting captured by Ravengers.

After some really great scenes, the team reunites to take down the real bad guy and there is a death, which is really sad. The movie doesn’t end with a jump back into adventures, but a real moment where the team is feeling the loss and Baby Groot is cuddling with all of them. At first I was a little bummed because I didn’t want to leave feeling down, but the credits fixed everything. There are like five end credit scenes and then there are random little clips of the characters dancing and honestly it’s worth staying through to watch. Plus some of the words are changed to ‘Groot.’ You have to love the attention to detail.

Mostly, I think this movie succeeds because it’s not as formulaic as others in the MCU. I mean maybe in the pacing and how we have the opening battle, the splitting of the team, the final come together to destroy the enemy moment. But it feels refreshing and not so focused on boosting up infinity stones. It’s a different world filled with endless color. Plus, imagine how great it will be when the team meets the Avengers. Basically anytime Drax interacts with people I’m all in, and I think he’ll have a good time with Tony Stark’s sarcasm. I’m also hoping Teenage Groot will bond with Spider-Man.

Overall, I think the MCU will continue to be better than DC because we actually care about the team. It spent years carefully crafting everything and building these stories, whereas DC made Superman and thought it could achieve the same thing with Justice League after Batman v. Superman and Wonder Woman.

I know it sounds like I’m a Marvel fanboy and whatever, it’s your opinion. Some of my oldest memories are watching Batman VHS’ with my dad so I want to love what DC does. Not to mention they’re doing the first solo female superhero film. But they just haven’t got it right yet, and I’m worried Wonder Woman will be the same, even if the trailers are good. All the trailers are good. The movies are garbage.

Like Suicide Squad. I’m not sure if a trailer has ever made me more hyped than the one with Bohemian Rhapsody, but the movie was basically too many intros, terrible musical cues, poorly constructed conflict and Cara Delevigne awkwardly waving and creating a machine that does ????

Whatever. Tangent. Sorry.

In a nutshell, Guardians 2 was great. People I know who don’t even like movies like this enjoyed it. James Gunn, you are a master. You plus the Russo brothers give me hope for the MCU’s future.

Trying to explain my feelings about Batman v Superman

Listen everyone. Last Thursday I saw Batman v Superman and my thoughts have been on a rollercoaster. Before I dive in, let’s talk about what was going through my head before, during and immediately after.

Before: I do not have a great feeling about this movie, but the trailers are great

During: All these flashes of light may induce epilepsy. I did not see that explosion coming.

After: That was good. I was entertained.

The next morning, my head stopped throbbing from all the lights clashing with the dark tone of the movie and I was able to think clearly. Yes, I still believe I enjoyed the movie while admitting it’s really a mess.

To be clear, this is coming from someone who’s read two comics in her life but listens and reads a lot about the subject. Basically this isn’t my knowledge but what I’ve learned from others.

When I separate what I know about the comics from what I saw on screen, I can forgive a lot and just enjoy it as a nonsensical action movie. I think Batfleck was great. Jesse Eisenberg was all in and unnerving in many of his deliveries. Henry Cavill was so attractive but basically man candy without anything to do (but he did it well).

Eliminating all knowledge, the plot was a disaster. There were at least three movies squeezed in with a fourth trying to flow in for Justice League. More than all the characters, it felt like someone spliced several movies together. Superman’s screen time felt different from Batman’s and then there was a lot of reading email and clicking files.

This is what should’ve happened: Lex Luthor is super annoyed about the return of Batman as he has like a crime ring or something in Gotham while Clark Kent (who he knows is Superman) is investigating Lex’s corporation’s activities. Annoyed by their actions, he orchestrates conflict between the heroes to make them fight each other, hopefully eliminating each other or wounding enough he could finish the job. Meanwhile, Diana Prince spies and learns all of this about Lex and foils his plan. He cleverly covers his tracks after she exposes him and breaks up the fight, but there is no evidence against him and he’s released from jail and the public loves him more. Maybe he gives a speech about running for some political position as the trio of heroes watch and begin to think about a plan when Diana reveals what else she found from Lex, revealing an introduction to the Justice League. Roll credits.

I know this isn’t a great plot, but it’s better than what actually made it to the screen and much easier to understand. In reality, all the motivations were complicated and not fleshed out enough to be believable. If you know the comics, you understand how terrible the movie makes the nefarious Lex Luthor appear while totally changing the anti-killing stances of Batman and Superman. My favorite podcast the Weekly Planet wisely pointed out Zack Snyder clearly doesn’t understand this universe.

Luckily, it wasn’t all a disaster. I really enjoyed the opening showing the destruction of Metropolis from Bruce Wayne’s point of view. I didn’t want to see a flashback of his parent’s death for the 155799 time, but I actually matching the panels from the Dark Knight Returns down to Martha Wayne’s necklace getting caught in the gun, combined with young Bruce falling made it more fresh than I anticipated.

The idea of Batman and Superman working on two separate storylines that led to the same conclusion could’ve worked, but again, neither had enough meat to make them satisfying. Then again, we don’t see a Zack Snyder movie for satisfying plot.

Basically, this doesn’t bode well for the DC cinematic universe. I’m not saying the MCU is flawless, but no movie is as messed up as BvS. At this point, as much as I enjoy the creativity of Snyder, I think it’s to the detriment of this property to have him continue to helm these films.

We know the Aquaman movie is going to have a lighter tone. I think Wonder Woman looks promising, but maybe that’s wishful thinking. Suicide Squad may be the saving grace for DC. It looks balls to the wall and it’s not relying on copying the Avengers-style hero get together. The villains fit the tone of the DC universe. If it’s bad, all faith might be lost.

Now that I’m educated via the Internet, I plan to see it again so I can better understand the dream sequences and see if I like it less when the thrill of the initial screening is past. So maybe I won’t find any redeeming qualities or maybe it will be just as adequate as I remember as long as I ignore the plot and Superman’s stupidity when he walks into the second Kryptonite grenade.