Post by Cybermortis on Jun 5, 2017 22:56:07 GMT
Plot; Princess Dianna of the Amazons must leave her home to combat the evil Ares to bring about the end of the First World War.
Given the less than enthusiastic reactions to DC's first three outings there was a hell of a lot riding on this film. Added to this was further pressure from this being the first female lead Superhero film and the first one to be directed by a woman.
Credit has to be given here to DC for ignoring standard Hollywood 'wisdom' and pushing ahead with what seemed to be a risky project.
So was the risk worth it?
Yes.
This is not the best superhero film of all time, and probably won't be the best film of the year. What it is, is a good solid film with good attention to detail. No evident huge plot holes and most importantly isn't spending half its run time setting up or promoting the next couple of films. (I'm looking at you Batman vs Superman and Age of Ultron). By far the best of the DC films to date, which admittedly isn't saying much, and to me on a par with the average Marvel outing.
Its not a copy of Marvel though. Yes, there are funny moments in there along with a lot of action. But the humor is well placed, and the general feel sets it apart in some ways from the first Captain America film having more serious elements within it. THIS is the kind of tone I think DC should have been aiming for in BvS and it works damn well.
Gal Gadot gives a largely solid performance, with maybe one or two minor scenes that 'might' have been improved with a better or more experienced actress. Although to be fair I suspect that those scenes may have been a deliberate choice in relation to her character arc. (No spoilers). You very much get the image of a strong, focused but inexperienced 'young' woman. You also get a very real feeling that you are watching a real warrior rather than someone pretending to be one. (I'll add some further thoughts on this at the end)
Chris Pine gives a good performance, and works very well with Gadot.
The rest of the cast likewise give good performances, and all are fully believable even if few of them get much focus. Although this isn't their film at the end of the day, and in several cases they will most likely get fleshed out in further Wonder Woman films.
The plot is simple, with a few twists along the way. Several of these I saw coming, although most people probably wouldn't pick up on one of them. (Still no spoilers). One did take me by surprise though.
There were elements of the story and the world I didn't like as much, more due to them feeling to me like convenient cop-outs outside the film itself. Although there is no reason they couldn't easily retcon much of this if they decided to do so in the future.
Likewise some of the effects were not as good as they could or should have been. Although that is more an issue for whoever did the effects.
As I said, this is a good solid film that manages to feel very refreshing not just for DC but also in the Superhero genre as a whole, even though its not really doing anything new in itself. A female lead and director aside.
Worth the time and money to see? Yes.
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Thoughts on Gal Gadot; Gal Gadot's casting as Wonder Woman caused some controversy due to her relative lack of experience and perception as not being all that good an Actress. Of course no one would have been happy regardless of who had been cast, but Gadot seems to have earned more ire than anyone else would have. At least up until everyone saw her in BvS.
Personally I believe that Gadot was an inspired choice for Wonder Woman for a number of reasons.
Wonder Woman is meant to be a strong, self confident woman who is not only a warrior but loving and compassionate. Gadot, when you look at her background, actually has all of these traits.
First she started out as a model, so she knows how to bring grace and pose to a role. Added to this is that she was not only a soldier in the Israeli army but a combat instructor. So she knows how to be graceful, and has the pose and inner strength of someone who knows thirty different ways to relocate reproductive organs into someone's ears.
The loving and compassion part comes from Gadot being a mother. At the time she started filming she had a three or four year old daughter, and she was five months pregnant with her second daughter when they did the reshoots.
The acting side is a different matter. She isn't the best actress in the world, but she does have experience working on big films. And maybe we shouldn't forget that English is not her first language.
Her lack of experience, or lack of big roles at least, could be seen as an advantage for DC and the Wonder Woman Character. Ben Afflick was cast as Batman for a lot of reasons, one of the main ones being that they needed a top-notch actor in the role as Christian Bale's Batman was still fresh in everyone's minds. Wonder Woman was a different matter, as the last and only major live portrayal was back in the 1970's on a TV series. So whoever was cast was free to make the character her own.
I this light casting an 'unknown' actress makes sense. There is no risk of them being associated with another role if nothing else. Her acting ability can start 'lower', and I have no doubt that she will improve the more experience and confidence she gets moving forward.
Even Gadot's accent is a boon. It is not an accent we are used to hearing in a Hollywood film, certainly not from a lead character. As such it helps to remind the audience that she is something of an outsider. Something that BvS had to add dialog to remind us about Superman every few minutes.
Overall I think she was the perfect actress to play Wonder Woman.
Given the less than enthusiastic reactions to DC's first three outings there was a hell of a lot riding on this film. Added to this was further pressure from this being the first female lead Superhero film and the first one to be directed by a woman.
Credit has to be given here to DC for ignoring standard Hollywood 'wisdom' and pushing ahead with what seemed to be a risky project.
So was the risk worth it?
Yes.
This is not the best superhero film of all time, and probably won't be the best film of the year. What it is, is a good solid film with good attention to detail. No evident huge plot holes and most importantly isn't spending half its run time setting up or promoting the next couple of films. (I'm looking at you Batman vs Superman and Age of Ultron). By far the best of the DC films to date, which admittedly isn't saying much, and to me on a par with the average Marvel outing.
Its not a copy of Marvel though. Yes, there are funny moments in there along with a lot of action. But the humor is well placed, and the general feel sets it apart in some ways from the first Captain America film having more serious elements within it. THIS is the kind of tone I think DC should have been aiming for in BvS and it works damn well.
Gal Gadot gives a largely solid performance, with maybe one or two minor scenes that 'might' have been improved with a better or more experienced actress. Although to be fair I suspect that those scenes may have been a deliberate choice in relation to her character arc. (No spoilers). You very much get the image of a strong, focused but inexperienced 'young' woman. You also get a very real feeling that you are watching a real warrior rather than someone pretending to be one. (I'll add some further thoughts on this at the end)
Chris Pine gives a good performance, and works very well with Gadot.
The rest of the cast likewise give good performances, and all are fully believable even if few of them get much focus. Although this isn't their film at the end of the day, and in several cases they will most likely get fleshed out in further Wonder Woman films.
The plot is simple, with a few twists along the way. Several of these I saw coming, although most people probably wouldn't pick up on one of them. (Still no spoilers). One did take me by surprise though.
There were elements of the story and the world I didn't like as much, more due to them feeling to me like convenient cop-outs outside the film itself. Although there is no reason they couldn't easily retcon much of this if they decided to do so in the future.
Likewise some of the effects were not as good as they could or should have been. Although that is more an issue for whoever did the effects.
As I said, this is a good solid film that manages to feel very refreshing not just for DC but also in the Superhero genre as a whole, even though its not really doing anything new in itself. A female lead and director aside.
Worth the time and money to see? Yes.
-----------
Thoughts on Gal Gadot; Gal Gadot's casting as Wonder Woman caused some controversy due to her relative lack of experience and perception as not being all that good an Actress. Of course no one would have been happy regardless of who had been cast, but Gadot seems to have earned more ire than anyone else would have. At least up until everyone saw her in BvS.
Personally I believe that Gadot was an inspired choice for Wonder Woman for a number of reasons.
Wonder Woman is meant to be a strong, self confident woman who is not only a warrior but loving and compassionate. Gadot, when you look at her background, actually has all of these traits.
First she started out as a model, so she knows how to bring grace and pose to a role. Added to this is that she was not only a soldier in the Israeli army but a combat instructor. So she knows how to be graceful, and has the pose and inner strength of someone who knows thirty different ways to relocate reproductive organs into someone's ears.
The loving and compassion part comes from Gadot being a mother. At the time she started filming she had a three or four year old daughter, and she was five months pregnant with her second daughter when they did the reshoots.
The acting side is a different matter. She isn't the best actress in the world, but she does have experience working on big films. And maybe we shouldn't forget that English is not her first language.
Her lack of experience, or lack of big roles at least, could be seen as an advantage for DC and the Wonder Woman Character. Ben Afflick was cast as Batman for a lot of reasons, one of the main ones being that they needed a top-notch actor in the role as Christian Bale's Batman was still fresh in everyone's minds. Wonder Woman was a different matter, as the last and only major live portrayal was back in the 1970's on a TV series. So whoever was cast was free to make the character her own.
I this light casting an 'unknown' actress makes sense. There is no risk of them being associated with another role if nothing else. Her acting ability can start 'lower', and I have no doubt that she will improve the more experience and confidence she gets moving forward.
Even Gadot's accent is a boon. It is not an accent we are used to hearing in a Hollywood film, certainly not from a lead character. As such it helps to remind the audience that she is something of an outsider. Something that BvS had to add dialog to remind us about Superman every few minutes.
Overall I think she was the perfect actress to play Wonder Woman.
