What to Watch: Wonder Woman!

A couple weekends ago I was studying like a FIEND at my mom's (literally, from 3:30-11pm on Friday, from 8am-6pm on Saturday, then we went to the movies, then I studied some more, then 10-3 on Sunday... then from like 7-11) and dying for a break so she and I went to the Gloucester Cinema at see Wonder Woman in 3-D. Woot! Opening weekend!

The first section of the movie has my heart. Do you know the Wonder Woman plot at all? I didn't, so was pleasantly surprised! It's Greek mythology blended with (faux) WWII. The Greek part was the best part, in my opinion. We go to the Island of Themyscara where there's a tribe of strong, beautiful warrior women called the Amazons. Sound familiar? Me too, though I couldn't remember the details from my 6th grade Greek Mythology classroom module. Basically, there's a queen, the queen's sister (Robin Wright who was a standout), a tribe of totally badass women, and a little girl--Diana (aka Wonder Woman). It's clear that there's some sort of prophesy about this little girl because her mom doesn't want her to learn to fight, though she is DYING to learn. The women are all training for when the god of war, Ares, comes back and threatens the world. We follow this story for a bit and the CGI was just amazing--the island is beautiful, the fighting is insane, the strength of these women is unreal. I loved it and was so empowered by it.

Then, an American fighter pilot (played by Chris Pine) bursts into the island's bubble. I call this part Act II. It's a play on WWII, but the Nazis aren't Nazis (though they are German) and Americans are the good guys, and the plot is pretty much as you'd expect. There are some great secondary characters, an awesome scene of WW walking through No Man's Land, and a scene that reminds us that in war normal every-day people are often those affected and devastated by the violence. The one thing I didn't love was the love story. It edged on crass (talk to me about the scene in the boat later...) and was heavy-handed. The movie didn't need it, and while Chris Pine is dreamy, it felt a little excess and smushed on, in my opinion. After the beauty of Act I, this felt like a regular WWII flick and I just wasn't as up for it as I should have been.

The ending left the story open, and I can't wait for this franchise to pick up steam.

See the trailer, then go see the movie. Girl power!!



The Surprising Origin of Super Woman (via Smithsonian) 

This is wonderful!! Kindergartners' reactions to the movie.

Debating Wonder Woman (via NYTs)