Wonder Woman is a Masterpiece!

[Hal Jordan]

Phew. Just came from seeing Wonder Woman. I thought it was fantastic. I'm not going to spoil anything. I'd be happy to discuss more specifics in PMs, though.

Coming to you from the depths of inner space

[IMPress Polly]

Hal Jordan wrote:
Just so you know, you mentioned Tank Girl, and that's a comic book movie as well. There are actually many comic book movies that would surprise most people.

Really? I never knew that! I always thought it was just another one of those dystopian punk type movies that were fairly common back then. You know, back in that 1990-95 period, you had a lot of those. Some of the better-known/just-plain-better ones were like Total Recall, Ghost in the Shell, Robo Cop 2, and The Lawnmowerman, while the more common, B-grade variety of dystopian punk movies from that era included stuff like Waterworld, Judge Dredd, Robo Cop 3, and, my personal favorite, the infamous Super Mario Bros. movie. Tank Girl I just thought was one that fell distinctly into the latter category, distinguished mainly by the fact that it was an ultra-feminist (as in like pro-lesbianism-in-1995) one with a female lead. Movies like Tank Girl and Super Mario Bros. fell into the "so bad they're good" category, and I just liked the spirit behind Tank Girl, even if the film's logic was more than a little shaky and the props and costumes comically poor. I had no idea there was a corresponding comic book series. That must've been fun!

Apparently, I've been informed of late, there have actually been a handful of female-led proper superhero movies before Wonder Woman as well. I had completely forgotten about the god-awful (as in just painful, not "so bad they're good") Catwoman and Elektra movies (and also didn't realize that the former counted as a hero character) and never knew that there was a(n apparently just as poor) Supergirl movie back in 1984. That's why I've taken to using the qualifying term "tent pole" when describing Wonder Woman as the first of its kind in the last week.

Phew. Just came from seeing Wonder Woman. I thought it was fantastic. I'm not going to spoil anything. I'd be happy to discuss more specifics in PMs, though.

I thought it was outstanding as well. I have deftly avoided revealing some of the best surprises in my review, including the ending, you may have noticed. I would be up for discussing anything you want to about it in private messages.

[Hal Jordan]

Judge Dredd was also a comic book movie. Another (generally received as bad, I haven't seen it) one from the time period would be Barb Wire. I do still like The Crow, anther comic book movie from the time period (the sequels, not so much). The Mask and Men in Black also fit that bill. You know, I hadn't thought of how many comic book movies came out in the mid 90s. There were even two Tales From the Crypt movies. Timecop is another. Tennage Mutant Ninja Turtles started their movie series in 90, but the third one came out in 93. Close enough. From Hell, starring Johnny Depp and Ghost World, both released in 2001, were also comic book movies that most people wouldn't expect to be. Sorry, kinda went off on a major tangent there.

Anyway, I try to forget Catwoman and Elektra. I haven't seen the Supergirl movie. I say Wonder Woman is the first of its kind in a number of ways. First, it seems like a lot more effort went into making it than the others mentioned. I't's also the first A-list female comic character movie. Catwoman, Elektra, and Supergirl are all great characters, but they really weren't headliners. They became known through the stories of others. Wonder Woman, however, has long been one of the three pillars of the DC Universe. It's honestly shameful that it took them this long to finally make her movie. I'm about to bring up the biggest first, though. This is the first time a comic movie franchise has relied so heavily on a female led movie. DC really needed public perception of their franchise turned around before the numbers started trickling off. Wonder Woman was their chance to do it, since they hadn't managed to yet. Since their next movie is Justice League they needed to turn it around, and in a big way.

Oh man, the ending... The ending... Yes, we can definitely discuss that in PMs.

My biggest complaint with the movie is that some of the CGI was off, which you kinda expect, so it's not really a major gripe, especially when you consider that some of the CGI was done amazingly. I do have a particular scene that comes to mind with brilliant CGI.

[Standing Wolf]

Apparently, I've been informed of late, there have actually been a handful of female-led proper superhero movies before Wonder Woman as well. I had completely forgotten about the god-awful (as in just painful, not "so bad they're good") Catwoman and Elektra movies (and also didn't realize that the former counted as a hero character)...

To her eternal credit, Halle Berry actually showed up to accept her (well deserved) Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Performance By An Actress for Catwoman.

...and never knew that there was a(n apparently just as poor) Supergirl movie back in 1984..

I vaguely recall trying to stay awake through that one in the theatre. Helen Slater was Supergirl. She was much better as Judge Reinhold's wife/accomplice in the classic Ruthless People. She now plays Supergirl's adoptive mother in the WB Supergirl series.

[Common]

Theres been a ton of movies with female heros

The underworld vampire series of movies all had a female hero lead and the Resident Evil movie series had a female lead Hero

Plus these 20 movies

http://www.movies.com/movie-news/gre...e-heroes/17224

[Green Arrow]

Theres been a ton of movies with female heros

The underworld vampire series of movies all had a female hero lead and the Resident Evil movie series had a female lead Hero

Plus these 20 movies

http://www.movies.com/movie-news/gre...e-heroes/17224

None of those were major "tent-pole" comic movies though, which was Polly's point.

[decedent]

I was surprised after DC's last two bombs that had no character.

For those not into superheroes, it was a great war movie. Gal Gadot had that Themisciran mediterranian look and sound. Chris Pine was a perfect Steve Trevor. I won't reveal the plot twist but there was a great scene where Steve is telling Dianna that being flawed is part of being human. The scene on the boat where she asks him to sleep beside here was cute as hell.


For me, the biggest hole in the movie was how they got from the island to London so fast in that boat. It should have taken weeks if Themiscira is actually in the Mediterranean.

I hear she's sexy.

Yes. A nice accent too. Robin Wright looked good.

[decedent]

DC really needed public perception of their franchise turned around before the numbers started trickling off. Wonder Woman was their chance to do it, since they hadn't managed to yet. Since their next movie is Justice League they needed to turn it around, and in a big way.

This feels like the first real JLA movie. So far so good, but the trailer is a bit disappointing. I don't think the JLA will have the same success as he Avengers.

My biggest complaint with the movie is that some of the CGI was off, which you kinda expect, so it's not really a major gripe, especially when you consider that some of the CGI was done amazingly. I do have a particular scene that comes to mind with brilliant CGI.

I thought it had one of the best movie explosions. The physics (especially the jumping) worked for me.

[Common]

None of those were major "tent-pole" comic movies though, which was Polly's point.

Well ok,

[Standing Wolf]

When I was a kid, 'Justice League of America' was one of my favorite titles. I can remember walking back from the grocery store where we bought comics - no comic shops in 1963 - reading JLA #21 - the first JLA-JSA crossover. (JLA #21 and #22 was also the first time I'd ever seen a storyline that extended beyond one issue.) In those days, the comics all had "letters pages" where readers could get a brief letter about the comic published, and one of the most popular pastimes of that feature was in casting an imagined JLA movie. George Reeves was deceased by then, so I can't recall who the popular choice for Superman was - probably Steve Reeves. Tuesday Weld was a frequent candidate for Wonder Woman. Gordon Scott was often mentioned as being a good choice for J'onn J'onzz. I can only imagine that, with the state of special effects technology as it then existed, a JLA movie attempt in those days would have been pretty horrendous.