Wonder Woman (2017)

Wonder Woman ended and I sat with it for weeks. The love as motivation for heroism theme kept circling back. I'd be doing something mundane and Themyscira battle opening would pop into my head. That kind of resonance is rare.

Wonder Woman commits to a conclusion that not everyone will appreciate. I found it perfectly right — it refuses easy comfort. If you want tidy resolution you may be frustrated. If you want truth, it delivers.

I went into Wonder Woman knowing nothing — no trailer, no plot summary. I strongly recommend that approach. The the nature of humanity hits much harder when you haven't been primed for it. Go in cold.

Every choice in Wonder Woman feels deliberate. The framing, the pacing, Themyscira battle opening — Patty Jenkins is operating at a level most filmmakers never reach. It's the kind of film you study rather than just watch.

Wonder Woman has been praised so heavily that no film could live up completely. It's an excellent film — the WWI setting distinction is genuinely remarkable — but it's not the untouchable masterpiece some claim.

There are scenes in cinema you never forget. For me, the No Man's Land charge in Wonder Woman is one of them. Patty Jenkins constructs it with total precision and it lands exactly as intended. Pure craft.

Every actor brings something to Wonder Woman, but the lead performance is genuinely extraordinary. The subtlety involved, the way the character changes without announcing it — it's a masterclass.

Some elements of Wonder Woman show their age, but the core of it — love as motivation for heroism, the WWI setting distinction — hasn't diminished at all. Films this good age better than almost anything else.

The music in Wonder Woman is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.

Everyone told me to watch Wonder Woman for years. Finally did and instantly understood why. the WWI setting distinction is immediately apparent. Now I'm recommending it just as loudly to everyone else.