Wonder Woman, anyone?

[bookbard]

It's just come out over here, watched it today. I loved it. I had tears in my eyes for so much of it! I think there was something so validating about seeing a woman constantly being told to go away, that they can't do it, they're not welcome . . . and then she shows them all. And her personal character development was one which so many young people go through, from hopeful naivety to sad wisdom . . . I thought it was fantastic.

 

It felt like finally a movie was written and directed by grown-ups. 

[Matryoshka]

I'm going on Sunday! Can't wait!

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

 

 

Watched.

 

Loved it isn't an adequate statement.

 

I cried.

[Peaceseeker]

Opinions on relative appropriateness for 11-13 year olds? We were debating going as a family this weekend.

[Tanaqui]

The girls went with their dad, and they're 11 and 14. Neither he nor they thought it was inappropriate.

[OneStepAtATime]

Opinions on relative appropriateness for 11-13 year olds? We were debating going as a family this weekend.

Depends on the kid.  There is violence.  And although they don't show it in a gruesome way quite a few people die.  There are also at least a couple of scenes that look like they are heading in a sexually charged direction that might not be appropriate depending on the family and the child but they really don't actually go there except mainly through some innuendo and flirting.  There is one semi-nude scene but only one person is mostly unclothed, they are either seen only from about shoulders up or from a distance and it is a funny scene (not a sex scene) that is quickly dealt with and then they move on.  

 

FWIW, my 13 year old went to see it with my mother, brother and I.  He did fine.  He enjoyed the movie.  So did my very conservative mother.  My brother liked it, too.  :)

[Peaceseeker]

Thanks for the opinions- I think we will all go Sunday so I am jumping off this thread before I hear any spoilers!

[happi duck]

Seeing it soon! Can't wait!

[bettyandbob]

It was fantastic. I took my 77 year old mother and my 19 year old DD. When I suggested we invite grandma, DD thought that was weird. I schooled DD in the development and history of Wonder Woman and the history of the women's movement, pointing out that anyone Grandma's age had first hand experience. When I asked Grandma she was excited to go. All three of us loved the movie.

 

It is directed by a woman. It has a level of complexity beyond a typical superhero movie. Someone else suggested that is brought out in the female perspective of making it.

 

The actress, Gal Gadot, is fantastic. She has a full range of emotions. You can see her processing and learning to accept humans as complex.

 

I don't have a tween and wasn't focused on whether it was a good tween movie, but I think it would be ok.

 

And someone who doesn't want to think and feel I think the movie will be great too. This is a reference to my boss, who has made adolescent male references regarding superheros and entertainment. I don't think one needs to experience the complexity to enjoy this film.

[Rebel Yell]

My girls LOVED it. (ages 22, 17, & 15)

 

They are all superhero fans to varying degrees, with eldest being a huge WW fan. They liked that it was about a powerful woman without the story beating you over the head that it was all girl-power. They liked the costuming, and the battle scenes were clearly battles but not gruesome.

 

I don't remember every great thing they said about it, but they just raved about it, and these are girls who normally come home from movies very disappointed.

[Soror]

I took dd to see it last week, we both loved it. That is how a super hero movie should be done!

[Annie G]

Loved it! I'm hoping some friends want to see it so I can have an excuse to see it again in the theater.  

[catz]

We loved it so much!  My dd who just this week turned 13 absolutely loved it!  :D <3  So well done.  In terms of violence and tone, I thought it was along the lines of the Star Wars movies.  If those are ok at your house, this should be too.

[catz]

It is directed by a woman. It has a level of complexity beyond a typical superhero movie. Someone else suggested that is brought out in the female perspective of making it.

 

The actress, Gal Gadot, is fantastic. She has a full range of emotions. You can see her processing and learning to accept humans as complex.

 

 

:iagree:  My DH is a comic collector, we see a bunch of superhero/action movies in the theater.  Some of them just feel like a string of action sequences with some one liners in between to me.  This felt different.  Real character development.  The action scenes were in context and didn't drone on and on.  :hurray:

Edited June 9, 2017 by WoolySocks

[TheReader]

We all loved it in my house, and I'm the only female. Just "ditto" to everything said so far.....but adding it's universally appealing even to the guys, even to tween/teen boys, etc. It was well liked by all of us. 

[Chelli]

My girls and I saw it on opening night.

 

It was fantastic. The best superhero movie I've ever seen.

 

I think what I liked most about it is she didn't have some psychological problem that drove her to help (it seems like most superheroes need time with a therapist to work through their issues more than anything!), but just an innate kindness and caring for humanity.

 

Really a fantastic movie. We're going to watch it again on Tuesday.

[Peaceful Isle]

We loved it. Went with my two teen daughters . I felt it was very clean considering and much better that batman vs super man for sure.

[heartlikealion]

I went to see it opening weekend with the boys and the showing we wanted was sold out. We were really disappointed and didn't want to see the next one which was 9:30 pm. Dh and ds went another day with the neighbor, but we no longer had someone to watch dd so I stayed behind. I guess I'll go myself one of these days. I really want to see it.

 

Did you know that during some follow up shooting the actress was 5 months pregnant? They used CGI to cover it up.

 

http://www.scarymommy.com/gal-godot-pregnant-during-wonder-woman-reshoots/?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=hip2save

[GailV]

Dh was the one who most wanted to see it because he loved the television show.  Older dd went with us (younger dd was out of town).

 

It was so much fun!  By far the best DC movie.  Dh is somewhat over the disappointment of not having the TV theme song used at all -- he admits it wouldn't have been appropriate, although it would've been okay in the end credits.  Dh is still wandering around the house singing the television theme song, by the way, and then discussing random bits of the movie.

 

Dd points out that Wonder Woman is a combo of Captain America's clean cut personality and Thor's powers.  So,  yeah, a superhero that is really heroic.

 

The garbled mythology of the story line really bothered me, but I assume that's part of the comic book.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

We saw it last weekend. I didn't love the beginning ... her back story.  I felt that the acting was wooden and the accents were horrible.  I was sorely disappointed in Robin Wright.  I though she was a better actress than that.  Maybe it was the endless trailers for really terrible movies (where I was covering my eyes and ears because I was so annoyed.)  I enjoyed the scenes with Chris Pine and loved it after they left the island.  If I could go in after the opening scenes, I would see it again. 

[Loowit]

Our family went to see it and we all loved it.  I was a bit nervous that it was done in a WW I setting rather than WW II but it worked out fine.  It is the best DC superhero movie that I have seen.  I have always loved Wonder Woman, so I was really excited to see it.

[El...]

We really liked it!  I took dd9, even though violence-wise it was right on the edge of appropriate for her.  It was important to me for her to see it.  I looked it up on one of those media websites first.

 

DH loves superheroes, and the kids are into them because of him.  I've been looking for classic superhero stuff for the kids to learn the backstories, but in many cases the female heroes seem hyper-sexy, and mostly bad.  That's not what I want for my daughter OR my son to see! 

 

I loved the way they did the Amazon warriors.  They were so matter-of-factly strong. 

 

(Did you know that Princess Buttercup played the general?  Nerd-delight.)

 

I'll probably buy it on DVD when it comes out. 

[Annie G]

We saw it last weekend. I didn't love the beginning ... her back story.  I felt that the acting was wooden and the accents were horrible.  I was sorely disappointed in Robin Wright.  I though she was a better actress than that.  Maybe it was the endless trailers for really terrible movies (where I was covering my eyes and ears because I was so annoyed.)  I enjoyed the scenes with Chris Pine and loved it after they left the island.  If I could go in after the opening scenes, I would see it again. 

 

 

What were those accents??? Yeah, I agree that the island scenes were not nearly as well done as the rest of the movie. 

[Terabith]

I really liked it.  But my 12 year old walked out of it and said, "So, basically it has the same theme as every episode of My Little Pony ever."  And she's not wrong, except that if it was a "My Little Pony" episode, Ares would have repented and there would have been a hug scene. 

[GailV]

What were those accents??? Yeah, I agree that the island scenes were not nearly as well done as the rest of the movie. 

 

I assumed they were trying to match Gal Gadot's Israeli accent, and sort of missing.  Wait, does she have an accent?  I don't think I've seen her in other movies or television, although I know she's been in other stuff.

 

A couple of days after we saw it dh said something about the women in the movie, and I replied something about how there weren't that many women -- I had apparently blocked the island scenes out of my mind as though they never happened.

[lauraw4321]

WRT 11 yo, there is a line about sex you might want to know about. WW states men are necessary for procreation, but not pleasure. That earned a few howls in the theater. So you might want to be prepared to discuss that if it comes up.

[Happy]

Just got back from seeing it. Fabulous and Fun!

As much as I love the Marvel Universe, I like that DC delves into a spiritual and philosophical realm--well in Superman and in Wonder Woman, anyway. I'm so not a Batman fan. But I like that there are some things to discuss and think on after this movie in particular.

 

 

[Jenny in Florida]

Just in case anyone else is using this thread to decide whether to see the movie, I feel a responsibility to share my thoughts. (And I promise I'll just say my piece and then get out of the way so those who loved it can go on gushing.)

 

I liked the movie okay, but definitely didn't love it. I'll stipulate right up front that I'm not, in general, a big fan of the current crop of superhero movies. I am turned off by the violence and the lack of character development and such. I went to see this one because I am interested in the history of the character, because I have fond memories of playing Wonder Woman when I was a kid and because the reviews and word of mouth have been so good. But I am definitely not the primary target audience for this kind of movie.

 

Anyway, I thought there was lots to like. Most of the performances, I thought, were very good. I liked the fact that there were lots of different kinds of women. The warriors were allowed to look older and a bit battered and still be strong and attractive, etc. I enjoyed the humor. I found some of the battle sequences genuinely emotionally involving, which is rare for me. (Usually, my reaction to fight scenes ranges from bored to upset.) I think the stated message of the film -- that it doesn't matter what people "deserve" but what you believe in -- is one that would make the world a better place if only more people would take it to heart. And I appreciated that the resolution did not boil down to the usual simplistic "kill the bad guy."

 

However, I did think some of the fight scenes went on too long. And I have a personal "thing" about stories with real historical settings that involve massive, important events that we all know didn't happen. It just takes me out of the story.  I mean, surely if there were gods flying around throwing tanks at each other, that would have been mentioned in historical accounts of WWI, right? I'm okay if there is some internally consistent explanation for how the event was covered up or misunderstood, but there was no attempt at that in this movie.

 

But most bothersome to me was Diana's total lack of concern about mowing down people who got in her way. I understand the basic concept that she's trying to save the world and that some people would argue it is necessary to sacrifice some lives in order to save many,many more. But I was really put off by the fact that, for much of the movie, she believes that the only reason people are fighting this war is that Aires has corrupted them. In that sense, the "bad guys" aren't even really responsible for their actions, and yet we get no hint that she so much as pauses to weigh the question of whether it's moral for her to slash and hack her way through.

 

Wistfully, I also really wish that "girl power" didn't always have to mean women kicking butt. I would dearly love to see a movie in which a female hero succeeded without needing to resort to violence.

 

But, yes, I absolutely recognize that I will be in the very smallest of minorities on these points. So, feel free to ignore me and go back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[katilac]

WW states men are necessary for procreation, but not pleasure.  

 

She's not wrong  :lol:

 

 

 

However, I did think some of the fight scenes went on too long. And I have a personal "thing" about stories with real historical settings that involve massive, important events that we all know didn't happen. It just takes me out of the story.  I mean, surely if there were gods flying around throwing tanks at each other, that would have been mentioned in historical accounts of WWI, right? I'm okay if there is some internally consistent explanation for how the event was covered up or misunderstood, but there was no attempt at that in this movie.

 

 

 

My solution to this is to remember that actual scientists are seriously exploring the idea of a multiverse, and to assume that the movie takes place in one of our parallel universes. All of our parallel universes had a World War I, but the specific events and outcome may have varied. In our universe, the Allies won the war because, among other things, they produced more airplanes and successfully changed their artillery strategy. In another universe, the Allies lost because they didn't change their artillery strategy. In this movie's universe, the Allies won because they produced more airplanes, changes their artillery strategy, and had help from the right superhero. 

 

Why, yes, I do put this much thought into my action movies  :laugh:

[bookbard]

Thanks everyone for sharing their views - so interesting!

 

I go with the multiverse theory too, when necessary! But overall I guess I watch these kinds of things as extended metaphors. The final terrible weapon was completely appropriate considering recent world events, as well as fitting in with the historical context.

 

There were little things that I was like "come on!" (surely you can't both sleep and sail a boat at the same time) but as long as the story keeps going - and the bigger ideas keep flowing - I'm ok with them. 

 

Re: resorting to violence, killing; I have very low expectations in a superhero movie. They always seem to dispatch grey faceless baddies. In this case, at least she was trying to get to Ares as quickly as possible to keep the body count low. 

[Matryoshka]

I go with the multiverse theory too, when necessary! But overall I guess I watch these kinds of things as extended metaphors. The final terrible weapon was completely appropriate considering recent world events, as well as fitting in with the historical context.

 

Um, guys, it's the DC universe. It's not ours. There's a guy from Krypton (outer space) living in that universe, not to mention all the other superheroes. It's not our world. That wasn't 'our' WWI.

 

In fact, DC has multiple universes within the larger DC universe as canon (used extensively on the Flash TV show).

 

In the Marvel Universe, everyone does remember Captain America fighting in WWII battles, and Thor is a real guy. Also not our world. It's not supposed to mesh with our reality!

[zaichiki]

I would dearly love to see a movie in which a female hero succeeded without needing to resort to violence.

 

Did you see Hidden Figures? That movie comes immediately to mind: female heroes who succeeded without needing to resort to violence.

[zaichiki]

It's not supposed to mesh with our reality!

This.

[Jenny in Florida]

Did you see Hidden Figures? That movie comes immediately to mind: female heroes who succeeded without needing to resort to violence.

I did. I thought it was a fairly pale and watered-down version of the compelling and much more complex story told in the book. In fact, I would argue that they made some changes in the movie that actually undercut the courage and agency of the real-life women.

 

(Yeah, I didn't care much for that movie, either.)

[zaichiki]

I did. I thought it was a fairly pale and watered-down version of the compelling and much more complex story told in the book. In fact, I would argue that they made some changes in the movie that actually undercut the courage and agency of the real-life women.

 

(Yeah, I didn't care much for that movie, either.)

I haven't yet read the book, but...

 

While watching the movie, I *couldn't believe* how courageous these women were! I was very impressed with their courage. (I guess I'm in for a *knock me over with a feather* experience when I read the book?)

[bookbard]

Jenny, when you made that comment about a movie where a woman excels without having to use violence, I thought of real life - there are so many real life stories like that. But will they make a movie about them? One day. Wonder Woman isn't the perfect movie. But it feels like, maybe, someone is listening. Maybe those great movies are yet to come. 

[Jenny in Florida]

You all are making it very hard for me to stick with my "I'll just say my thing and then shut up" promise.

 

So, let me just add in the way of clarification that I understand that whole "it's not reality" thing. I'm a big SF fan from childhood. I just have certain things that take me out of the story and diminish my enjoyment of films like this one.

 

I guess the best way to wrap up my feelings about Wonder Woman (the movie) is to say that, while I acknowledge that it's a somewhat more interesting/less offensively, senselessly violent superhero movie than most of the others I've seen (or been in the room while my son is watching), it's still pretty much just a superhero movie. And that's cool if you happen to be into it. I was just cherishing a small hope that it might be more.

 

 

[bookbard]

Hmm . . . I think most people are finding it was so much more than the usual superhero movie. I am no superhero movie expert though. I did just see Dr Strange, and found that very mediocre. So compared with that, WW was fantastic. 

[bettyandbob]

Hmm . . . I think most people are finding it was so much more than the usual superhero movie. I am no superhero movie expert though. I did just see Dr Strange, and found that very mediocre. So compared with that, WW was fantastic.

It is more than a superhero movie to me. I think anyone who the history of the character would see how well they did building that into the movie without hammering it on the audience. Yes, it is a superhero movie. Superhero movies have a lot of action. They have violence. This movie has that stuff and it works great for someone who only cares to see that. But for someone like me who cares about the issues wonder Woman is learning about as she fights, issues she eventually fights for that stuff is there. Because it is a superhero movie one could not expect it not to have violence. The fact that she is physically strong was something in the comics in the very beginning.