Unfortunately, I did not have a chance this weekend to attend any of CAB’s screenings of Wonder Woman, but I did see it earlier this summer when it came out in theaters. If you haven’t seen it, I highly encourage you to do so when you get the chance.
Like many people (but unlike many others), I’m a pretty casual consumer of superhero media: I often enjoy superhero movies, but I’m usually not desperate to see them and I don’t know a lot about the extensive cannons of the various favorites or the lesser-known characters. Not because I have anything against superheroes, just because it seems like a big commitment to learn everything there is to know. Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to see Wonder Woman, especially when I saw it was getting great reviews. Here are some reasons why you, too, should watch it:
1. Great actors and actresses
Gal Gadot is an Israeli actress who’s been in other U.S. movies and first played the part of Diana (Wonder Woman) in the 2016 movie Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. In Wonder Woman, she did an awesome job portraying Diana: it could be a difficult role to play, since Diana is simultaneously rather naive after living only with the Amazons for so long, but also entirely clever and bad-ass. Her love interest, Steve, is played by Chris Pine, one of the several popular and talented Chrisses of Hollywood.
2. Fantastic cinematography
This movie is beautiful. The coloring, shots, etc., are all so visually pleasing. Furthermore, there are some really well-done effects with CGI. Overall, a very impressive movie visually speaking.
3. Experience a range of emotions
Wonder Woman deals with a lot of intense scenes: grief, heartbreak, fascism, war, and more. Everything, from the writing to the aforementioned expertise of the cast, perfectly conveys these emotions. Feel Diana’s ambition and excitement in adrenaline-fueled action scenes, and try to keep the tears at bay during the couple of sadder moments in the film. I won’t give anything away!
4. Female empowerment
It’s so exciting to see a woman occupy such a strong role. Even though my appreciation for superheroes is more passive than some people’s, it’s awesome to see someone of my gender represented in this genre. Superheroes are the pinnacle of strength and admiration in pop culture, and Diana is an amazing role model, not only for little girls who desperately need to see women in positions like this in pop culture (please click that link; it’s adorable), but also for any woman who wants to be represented onscreen in an empowering way. Furthermore, the movie was also directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins, and her choices portray Wonder Woman in a totally normal way that ignores a lot of the sexualization of heroines in most movies.