I know of only one prominent theater in LA that doesn't have reserved seating. Went there a few months back for the first time in years and it was the weirdest feeling actually walking into a theater and thinking, "Ok, where do I want to sit?"
*** WONDER WOMAN ***
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Last: 5 yr ago by Bruce Almighty
Went to a 3:30 show at Studio Movie Grill and just got back. Was quite crowded. A lot of people kicking off their kids' summer vacation by going to the movies.
Let me start by saying that I have been skeptical. This looked really good from the trailers, but I kept tamping down expectations. I can safely say that this is DC's best movie since TDKR. I know that's faint praise, but it's still something to build on. I really liked the movie.
However, I do think the movie is getting a little overhyped. That's not to say it wasn't very enjoyable, but I've seen a lot of people on my FB feed and stuff like that... just normal people, not critics, whose reviews I haven't read... comparing it to TDK and Iron Man.
This movie was very fun. I really enjoyed it. Gal Gadot just IS Wonder Woman in a way that no DC character has owned a role since Chris Reeves was Superman. I really liked Bale and Batman and I love Cavill as Superman, but somehow Gadot owns Wonder Woman. I can't even quite explain it. I think she just sells the action and the goodness and the naivete.
It's a B or a B+.
Gonna get into specifics here, so here come the black bars:
I'm gonna keep rolling with the good first. The ice cream scene embodies what was really great about the movie. It pays great homage to a (new) classic moment from the comics. It displays Diana's naivete and goodness so well. Gadot really sells it.
The other truly great moment, as others have mentioned, was No Man's Land. Thematically it played well against the paradise of Themyscira (another No Man's Land). It handled her costume reveal brilliantly, and it was genuinely chilling to watch. I was transfixed and maybe even slightly emotional watching those soldiers get up out of the trench and follow her across a stretch of ground that would literally have been suicide only moments before. I thought it really showed Diana's power and care for others. Maybe the best superhero fight since Cap just kept getting up to fight Stark to protect Bucky... "I can do this all day."
I loved her getting so excited about seeing the baby and being so unphased at Steve's nudity.
Themyscira was beautiful and believable. The whole WWI setting was genius. Letting Steve die a hero was absolutely the right move. I think they would have gone with keeping him around as an old man in the modern day, except for Captain America already doing that and stealing the thunder. Right call by WB/DC.
The story was tight. The twist predictable, but they even almost had me convinced the general was Ares during the gala. Diana was obviously the god-killer, but that was all executed very well.
Lots of other good things, but here are the problems that hold the movie back -
The biggest groan moment in the whole thing was the SJW anti-prejudice moment in the village. I have a tip for you, DC/WB - you can't dress your Muslim character just like the monkey from Aladdin and then have him complain indigently about having the wrong color skin. You put the Scottish dude in a kilt on the mission and called your Native American smuggler Chief while putting him in braids and making him send up smoke signals. That shows such little respect for the audience. You have this SUPER incredible, powerful female hero who is leading a diverse bunch of misfit soldiers into battle. The audience will get the message without a total stop-down to telegraph it.
The look of this movie's action scenes in particular are still SUPER Snyder-y. Overly CG'd and all the flipping and slo-mo is super obnoxious. You can shoot action sequences very acrobatically (the way Achilles and Patrocles fight in Troy is a good example) and not make people do somersaults in slow-motion for no reason. The final battle was the superheroiest fight ever and nothing about it really stood out. I know DC has established a certain look for their movies, but they need to just abandon it.
So, can Wonder Woman fly? Remember in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, when Roger was only able to slip out of the handcuffs when it was funny? Well, I've decided Wonder Woman can only fly when it is visually dramatic.
The last battle also sort of threw away everything we had established as her power base. I realize that she was still figuring things out, but by the end of that fight Ares was Magnetoing shards of metal at her and they were just disintegrating without effort like she was Neo. And does she have super speed? Because a couple of times she definitely pulled moves that are straight out of the Flash.
Speaking of powers, giving Ares a bunch of lightning powers made no sense. When he first started doing electric fingers on the lasso, I thought they were about to pull a switcheroo and have the god be Zeus, but it wasn't. He then proceeds to go so far as to pull a lightning bolt from the air and throw it at Diana, which is exactly how we saw that Zeus defeated him. That was ALL over the place. Didn't they establish that Ares's main power was sowing dissent and influencing people? Why not have him fight with his sword and armor like he did, but also have all of these other German soldiers come to his aid? Then the moment where his control is lost would have had some relevance.
And finally on the powers front, this movie was great as a stand-alone, but it exacerbates an existing problem that WB/DC has no answer for. You already had Superman, but now you have unleashed an actual god on Earth. A god that has already killed the only last other remaining god. This isn't Thor, who is really just an alien being with incredible power. Diana just legit killed the god of war, using a whole host of sorta unspecified powers. Can she do all the stuff that Ares was doing, like the teleportation and throwing lightning bolts? If not, why not? Darkseid is a god as well, so a worthy foe, but when they roll out a traditional WW villain like Giganta or Cheetah, how is that gonna stack up? I think they'll have to conjure more monsters and gods for her to fight.
I thought the "love" message fell flat. It felt tacked-on to me, without the needed base to set it up. Like they needed a way to allow Diana to win. It's not like I've had repeat viewings to look for it, but I don't think that bones of that theme are there in Act 1 at all, and really maybe only between her and Steve in Act 2. The opportunity was all there, but they never seized it. On the island, after the battle, it would have been easy to display that Amazon strength comes through discipline and honor and duty. Diana could have been surprised to find that after the meeting with the generals and in the trenches during Act 2, what kept these men going was dedication and love for each other despite them being decidedly undisciplined and in many cases lacking honor or a sense of duty. She could have tapped into that feeling trying to battle Ares because it's her duty and coming up short, but after losing Steve and seeing the other members of their squad huddling together waiting for death, she realizes that only fighting for THEM was enough to overcome him.
Kudos to WB, DC, and Patty Jenkins. It was a really good movie, and while they haven't quite figured this thing out yet, the outlook for the DCEU is good for the first time in years.
Let me start by saying that I have been skeptical. This looked really good from the trailers, but I kept tamping down expectations. I can safely say that this is DC's best movie since TDKR. I know that's faint praise, but it's still something to build on. I really liked the movie.
However, I do think the movie is getting a little overhyped. That's not to say it wasn't very enjoyable, but I've seen a lot of people on my FB feed and stuff like that... just normal people, not critics, whose reviews I haven't read... comparing it to TDK and Iron Man.
This movie was very fun. I really enjoyed it. Gal Gadot just IS Wonder Woman in a way that no DC character has owned a role since Chris Reeves was Superman. I really liked Bale and Batman and I love Cavill as Superman, but somehow Gadot owns Wonder Woman. I can't even quite explain it. I think she just sells the action and the goodness and the naivete.
It's a B or a B+.
Gonna get into specifics here, so here come the black bars:
I'm gonna keep rolling with the good first. The ice cream scene embodies what was really great about the movie. It pays great homage to a (new) classic moment from the comics. It displays Diana's naivete and goodness so well. Gadot really sells it.
The other truly great moment, as others have mentioned, was No Man's Land. Thematically it played well against the paradise of Themyscira (another No Man's Land). It handled her costume reveal brilliantly, and it was genuinely chilling to watch. I was transfixed and maybe even slightly emotional watching those soldiers get up out of the trench and follow her across a stretch of ground that would literally have been suicide only moments before. I thought it really showed Diana's power and care for others. Maybe the best superhero fight since Cap just kept getting up to fight Stark to protect Bucky... "I can do this all day."
I loved her getting so excited about seeing the baby and being so unphased at Steve's nudity.
Themyscira was beautiful and believable. The whole WWI setting was genius. Letting Steve die a hero was absolutely the right move. I think they would have gone with keeping him around as an old man in the modern day, except for Captain America already doing that and stealing the thunder. Right call by WB/DC.
The story was tight. The twist predictable, but they even almost had me convinced the general was Ares during the gala. Diana was obviously the god-killer, but that was all executed very well.
Lots of other good things, but here are the problems that hold the movie back -
The biggest groan moment in the whole thing was the SJW anti-prejudice moment in the village. I have a tip for you, DC/WB - you can't dress your Muslim character just like the monkey from Aladdin and then have him complain indigently about having the wrong color skin. You put the Scottish dude in a kilt on the mission and called your Native American smuggler Chief while putting him in braids and making him send up smoke signals. That shows such little respect for the audience. You have this SUPER incredible, powerful female hero who is leading a diverse bunch of misfit soldiers into battle. The audience will get the message without a total stop-down to telegraph it.
The look of this movie's action scenes in particular are still SUPER Snyder-y. Overly CG'd and all the flipping and slo-mo is super obnoxious. You can shoot action sequences very acrobatically (the way Achilles and Patrocles fight in Troy is a good example) and not make people do somersaults in slow-motion for no reason. The final battle was the superheroiest fight ever and nothing about it really stood out. I know DC has established a certain look for their movies, but they need to just abandon it.
So, can Wonder Woman fly? Remember in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, when Roger was only able to slip out of the handcuffs when it was funny? Well, I've decided Wonder Woman can only fly when it is visually dramatic.
The last battle also sort of threw away everything we had established as her power base. I realize that she was still figuring things out, but by the end of that fight Ares was Magnetoing shards of metal at her and they were just disintegrating without effort like she was Neo. And does she have super speed? Because a couple of times she definitely pulled moves that are straight out of the Flash.
Speaking of powers, giving Ares a bunch of lightning powers made no sense. When he first started doing electric fingers on the lasso, I thought they were about to pull a switcheroo and have the god be Zeus, but it wasn't. He then proceeds to go so far as to pull a lightning bolt from the air and throw it at Diana, which is exactly how we saw that Zeus defeated him. That was ALL over the place. Didn't they establish that Ares's main power was sowing dissent and influencing people? Why not have him fight with his sword and armor like he did, but also have all of these other German soldiers come to his aid? Then the moment where his control is lost would have had some relevance.
And finally on the powers front, this movie was great as a stand-alone, but it exacerbates an existing problem that WB/DC has no answer for. You already had Superman, but now you have unleashed an actual god on Earth. A god that has already killed the only last other remaining god. This isn't Thor, who is really just an alien being with incredible power. Diana just legit killed the god of war, using a whole host of sorta unspecified powers. Can she do all the stuff that Ares was doing, like the teleportation and throwing lightning bolts? If not, why not? Darkseid is a god as well, so a worthy foe, but when they roll out a traditional WW villain like Giganta or Cheetah, how is that gonna stack up? I think they'll have to conjure more monsters and gods for her to fight.
I thought the "love" message fell flat. It felt tacked-on to me, without the needed base to set it up. Like they needed a way to allow Diana to win. It's not like I've had repeat viewings to look for it, but I don't think that bones of that theme are there in Act 1 at all, and really maybe only between her and Steve in Act 2. The opportunity was all there, but they never seized it. On the island, after the battle, it would have been easy to display that Amazon strength comes through discipline and honor and duty. Diana could have been surprised to find that after the meeting with the generals and in the trenches during Act 2, what kept these men going was dedication and love for each other despite them being decidedly undisciplined and in many cases lacking honor or a sense of duty. She could have tapped into that feeling trying to battle Ares because it's her duty and coming up short, but after losing Steve and seeing the other members of their squad huddling together waiting for death, she realizes that only fighting for THEM was enough to overcome him.
Kudos to WB, DC, and Patty Jenkins. It was a really good movie, and while they haven't quite figured this thing out yet, the outlook for the DCEU is good for the first time in years.
I enjoyed the movie, but felt something was lacking. Can't put my finger on it. I would say good, not great, though Gal Gadot did a pretty great job.
Still think Man of Steel is better, and probably BvS as well.
Still think Man of Steel is better, and probably BvS as well.
I watched it. My 5 and 11 year old daughters and my wife loved it. I thought it had good moments. I did think it was about 30-45 mins too long. I was ready for it to end and it's not something I'd watch again.
Agreed.
By the time the final fight started I was about ready to go home, to be honest.
By the time the final fight started I was about ready to go home, to be honest.
I loved the movie!! The fight scenes were pretty good. I see why people loved it. Great job. She was casted perfect.
Tone2002 said:
I loved the movie!! The fight scenes were pretty good. I see why people loved it. Great job. She was casted perfect.
I agree. Gal Gadot makes a great Wonder Woman.
Heck, all the casting was well done if you ask me.
This is my new favorite Super Hero movie. I was a big fan Christopher Reeves in Superman and Michael Keaton in a Batman, but this beats them both imo. I even take it over Iron Man.
This is going to be the biggest block buster of the Summer.
It's already well behind Guardians 2.
A few more thoughts.
I always kind of figured D.C. as the more "realistic" franchise. I don't read a whole lot of comics but D.C. always seemed a bit more grounded in reality than Marvel. Much less mystical if that makes sense:
You've got batman..an ordinary guy with neat toys. Superman, even though he had amazing powers, that was explainable due to being from the red sun of Krypton. I don't follow the comics so I don't know all the characters but it seems most of them are explainable in the real world.
The problem I had with this one were the Greek Gods angle. I don't get into WW that much but I thought the whole Greek God thing was over the top. Maybe it was my exposure to the tv series, but I thought she was just an Amazon, not a deity.
Are we to take from the movie that the Judeo-Christian god isn't in play and that the Greek mythology is true?
Maybe I'm over analyzing a fun movie.
I always kind of figured D.C. as the more "realistic" franchise. I don't read a whole lot of comics but D.C. always seemed a bit more grounded in reality than Marvel. Much less mystical if that makes sense:
You've got batman..an ordinary guy with neat toys. Superman, even though he had amazing powers, that was explainable due to being from the red sun of Krypton. I don't follow the comics so I don't know all the characters but it seems most of them are explainable in the real world.
The problem I had with this one were the Greek Gods angle. I don't get into WW that much but I thought the whole Greek God thing was over the top. Maybe it was my exposure to the tv series, but I thought she was just an Amazon, not a deity.
Are we to take from the movie that the Judeo-Christian god isn't in play and that the Greek mythology is true?
Maybe I'm over analyzing a fun movie.
you are over analyzing it.queso1 said:
A few more thoughts.
I always kind of figured D.C. as the more "realistic" franchise. I don't read a whole lot of comics but D.C. always seemed a bit more grounded in reality than Marvel. Much less mystical if that makes sense:
You've got batman..an ordinary guy with neat toys. Superman, even though he had amazing powers, that was explainable due to being from the red sun of Krypton. I don't follow the comics so I don't know all the characters but it seems most of them are explainable in the real world.
The problem I had with this one were the Greek Gods angle. I don't get into WW that much but I thought the whole Greek God thing was over the top. Maybe it was my exposure to the tv series, but I thought she was just an Amazon, not a deity.
Are we to take from the movie that the Judeo-Christian god isn't in play and that the Greek mythology is true?
Maybe I'm over analyzing a fun movie.
The Big Two comics companies have their own set of pantheon deities and their own version of "God".
For DC it is something like the "Presence" and he is modeled on JudeoChristian hoohaw.
They tried to steer clear of Jesus, etc due to not wanting to offend what was a very Christian America in the 30s.
Brian Earl Spilner said:
I enjoyed the movie, but felt something was lacking. Can't put my finger on it. I would say good, not great, though Gal Gadot did a pretty great job.
Still think Man of Steel is better, and probably BvS as well.
I enjoyed both of those movies as well. You and I are in the minority I believe there...
BUT what in the Sam Hill fuq?! This movie is 50 times better than either of those.
I can usually understand holding a contrary opinion on most anything. Heck, I actually liked Man of Steel, too. But to say Wonder Woman was worse than MoS or especially BvS makes zero sense. In what way were those two movies better? Aside from better recreating the levity in a room during a root canal.
Called it.
Nothing to do with being contrarian. MoS is one of my favorite superhero movies ever, and I really liked BvS. WW is a solid movie but it just never grabbed me like I hoped it would. Still glad it's doing well.
Sorry, not gonna pretend otherwise just to fall in with the crowd.
Sorry, not gonna pretend otherwise just to fall in with the crowd.
Just got out. Gal Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman. I also seem to always underestimate how much of a smoke show she is
This was definitely my favorite of what DC is trying to get rolling so far. The ending was a tad flat or at least it felt that way. The NML scene with the armor reveal was awesome.
This was definitely my favorite of what DC is trying to get rolling so far. The ending was a tad flat or at least it felt that way. The NML scene with the armor reveal was awesome.
Brian Earl Spilner said:
Nothing to do with being contrarian. MoS is one of my favorite superhero movies ever, and I really liked BvS. WW is a solid movie but it just never grabbed me like I hoped it would. Still glad it's doing well.
Sorry, not gonna pretend otherwise just to fall in with the crowd.
I'm not going to doubt your opinion of this movie, but c'mon dude, you thrive on being a contrarian and your post about WW not being as good as BvS is a typical You post.
Correct
$38.85 million Friday
Tracking pretty close to Guardians 1
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4297&p=.htm
Tracking pretty close to Guardians 1
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4297&p=.htm
Brian Earl Spilner said:
It's already well behind Guardians 2.
Guardians 2 had 146 mil opening weekend. Wonder Woman is projected to have over 100 mil (which is on pace with Guardians 1 and Thor).
However, Wonder Woman received a 94 on Rotten Tomatoes and is picking up steam (just as kids are getting out for school).
Guardians 2 will probably do better internationally though due to Wonder Woman being a female super hero (doesn't play well in many parts of the world).
Dr. Watson said:
I can usually understand holding a contrary opinion on most anything. Heck, I actually liked Man of Steel, too. But to say Wonder Woman was worse than MoS or especially BvS makes zero sense. In what way were those two movies better? Aside from better recreating the levity in a room during a root canal.
Uhh Doc, I was quoting the other guy and questioning that decision/opinion as well. I said Wonder Woman was 50 times better than either of those.
wangus12 said:
Just got out. Gal Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman. I also seem to always underestimate how much of a smoke show she is
This was definitely my favorite of what DC is trying to get rolling so far. The ending was a tad flat or at least it felt that way. The NML scene with the armor reveal was awesome.
The chemistry between her and chris pine was amazing. The action was amazing. The story and writing was great.
I've thought about it, and I truly feel this is the best superhero movie I've ever seen.
Caught Wonder Woman last night and enjoyed it, but didn't think it quite lived up to the very highly-built expectations, mostly because of the end.
The final fight with Ares was terrible. As others have mentioned, neither combatant's powers were well-defined, so you never knew how much peril WW or Ares were in, and that DC style of fighting is just a bore to me. They really need to dial it back a bit.
It also felt a LOT like captain America in the resolution of the poison gas plot, An American named Steve jumps aboard an unstoppable plane that's taking off and destroys it in an act of self sacrifice to save countless lives. I'm surprised they didn't make any effort to find a different way to end that story.
Lastly, WW having this realization about love at the end was ridiculous. She'd known Steve for what, less than a week? All she's seen is people killing each other, and she suddenly has some random realization about love? Oy!
Most of the film until Ares revealed himself was good fun and compared very well to the marvel movies. The casting was spot-on, the humor generally worked, and the other action sequences were generally strong, but that ending knocked it from an A- to a B.
The final fight with Ares was terrible. As others have mentioned, neither combatant's powers were well-defined, so you never knew how much peril WW or Ares were in, and that DC style of fighting is just a bore to me. They really need to dial it back a bit.
It also felt a LOT like captain America in the resolution of the poison gas plot, An American named Steve jumps aboard an unstoppable plane that's taking off and destroys it in an act of self sacrifice to save countless lives. I'm surprised they didn't make any effort to find a different way to end that story.
Lastly, WW having this realization about love at the end was ridiculous. She'd known Steve for what, less than a week? All she's seen is people killing each other, and she suddenly has some random realization about love? Oy!
Most of the film until Ares revealed himself was good fun and compared very well to the marvel movies. The casting was spot-on, the humor generally worked, and the other action sequences were generally strong, but that ending knocked it from an A- to a B.
If you take out the colon the spoiler tags will work.
Thanks! Was just trying to figure that out
Totally agree with your thoughts on the final fight, btw.
But more so than that, none of the action scenes really stood out much to me, to be honest. I don't know if it was due to the slow-mo being overdone throughout the movie, or the shaky CGI, or what.
I liked the No Man's Land scene in theory, but not so much the execution. If the slow-mo was a little less over-the-top in that moment, it might've worked better for me. Also I felt the music was lacking in that scene in particular. I wish they'd taken advantage of that badass WW theme in that moment.
But more so than that, none of the action scenes really stood out much to me, to be honest. I don't know if it was due to the slow-mo being overdone throughout the movie, or the shaky CGI, or what.
I liked the No Man's Land scene in theory, but not so much the execution. If the slow-mo was a little less over-the-top in that moment, it might've worked better for me. Also I felt the music was lacking in that scene in particular. I wish they'd taken advantage of that badass WW theme in that moment.
yeah, the action sequence where they enter no man's land and then storm the town was a mix of good and almost good. Like, it was kind of odd that killing something like 12 Germans was enough to open a hole in the front. We also never saw the regular soldiers who followed Wonder Woman out of the trenches again (did they all die?). And a couple other little things like that.
I did really enjoy her short fight with the German general for some reason, though.
I did really enjoy her short fight with the German general for some reason, though.
BallerStaf2003 said:wangus12 said:
Just got out. Gal Gadot is perfect as Wonder Woman. I also seem to always underestimate how much of a smoke show she is
This was definitely my favorite of what DC is trying to get rolling so far. The ending was a tad flat or at least it felt that way. The NML scene with the armor reveal was awesome.
The chemistry between her and chris pine was amazing. The action was amazing. The story and writing was great.
I've thought about it, and I truly feel this is the best superhero movie I've ever seen.
Your preferences are your preferences and I don't know what you've seen, but you think this is better than GOTG, any of the Nolan batmans, the Reeve superman?
I'd put this ahead of all the Supermans and TDKR.
Havent seen it yet but its above BvS already simply bc Gadot looks amazing in the costume!
Just got out. This is the best DCEU movie so far IMO. Gadot and Pine worked great together. There were a few moments that took me out of it with bad CGI, but other than that it was very enjoyable.
I agree. Yes. Better than all of them.
Nolans batmans a distant second.
I think it's because she represents this ideal, amazing woman that I wish actually existed in my life. She was such a badass.
Nolans batmans a distant second.
I think it's because she represents this ideal, amazing woman that I wish actually existed in my life. She was such a badass.
BallerStaf2003 said:
I agree. Yes. Better than all of them.
Nolans batmans a distant second.
AggieLitigator said:Dr. Watson said:
I can usually understand holding a contrary opinion on most anything. Heck, I actually liked Man of Steel, too. But to say Wonder Woman was worse than MoS or especially BvS makes zero sense. In what way were those two movies better? Aside from better recreating the levity in a room during a root canal.
Uhh Doc, I was quoting the other guy and questioning that decision/opinion as well. I said Wonder Woman was 50 times better than either of those.
Sorry, I wasn't clear. I was agreeing with you disagreeing with BES.
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