Connect with us

“Wonder Woman” Doesn’t Have to be the Best Movie of the Year to be One of the Most Important

Published

7 years ago

on

wonder-woman-1-1475246469

This morning I woke up to an acquaintance on Facebook lamenting the fact that the new Wonder Woman film did indeed signal equality among the sexes because now a woman had made a superhero movie as terrible as any of the ones made by men. The post made me laugh a little, cause I get it – after seeing Wonder Woman last night, I can confidently say that it won’t be making any of my end of year top 10 lists. But that remark, along with David Edelstein’s equally negative and borderline leering review, also made me want to defend the movie and its immense importance.

Part of my problem with my Facebook friend’s assessment of Wonder Woman as “terrible” is that I feel like it should be graded on a curve – not because it has a female star and director, but because it falls under the sphere of this great comics universe in the DC/Marvel era which will rule our movie theaters forever and ever without end amen. If you couldn’t tell, I’m not a big comic book/superhero person – so the endless parade of Thors, what with his hammers and Lokis, Men, both Super and Spider, justice leagues and infinity wars, isn’t something I get that excited about. Instead I look for the ones that rise above – above the formulaic plot, the too many bad guys and the iffy dialogue so many of them suffer from. The first Iron Man did that. Logan did that. And Wonder Woman – it partly does that. It has its moments where the chemistry, the humor and the heart, all help it transcend the usual slog from origin story to saving the world. So it’s not a terrible comic book movie – I’d say for a non-comics fan, it’s a slightly above average comic book movie. And because it has a female star and director, because of the way it presents women as powerful and capable, because of the way it defies gender stereotypes, it’s also so much more.

We can now say that Wonder Woman is a critical and commercial success – it’s sitting at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and will bring in over $100 million on its opening weekend. So some backlash to all the praise and glowing celebrity endorsements is inevitable. And being someone who likes to think critically about film, I do understand that backlash – for me Wonder Woman was far from perfect. It was a passable film with some exceptionally beautiful moments. But apart from any critique about its structure, writing or special effects, there is a reason that this movie will be remembered and remarked upon for its significance, and that reason can be summed up in one word: representation, representation, representation.

Actor and comedian Kumail Nanjinani has a fantastic twitter thread about why the most recent Star Wars film, Rogue One, meant so much to him.  In one tweet he writes, “For the 1st time I really felt the importance of representation. I felt like a kid watching this movie. I felt like I could do anything.” And that sentiment, for him about seeing a racially diverse cast in a sci-fi movie, is the same way I felt about seeing Gal Gadot kick so much ass as Wonder Woman. I truly didn’t expect to get emotional going in to the film, but when I walked in to the theater to see a middle school aged girl getting her mom to take her picture in front of the screen, ticket proudly displayed, I was suddenly overcome with happiness and hope. To think that little girls watching would have new role models for strength and empathy, whom they could identify directly with,and that the little boys sitting next to them would see an example of men and women working as equal counterparts in the fight for good in the world, that was powerful for me. And that young girl’s excitement matters more than critical nitpicking – it’s a power that proves that this movie is a game-changer for generations to come.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Events

Paramount+ Reveals Official Main Title Sequence for the Upcoming Series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Published

13 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

During the TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES panel earlier today at San Diego Comic Con, Paramount+ revealed the official main title sequence for the series. The sequence is composed by EMMY® nominee, Matt Mahaffey, known for his work on Sanjay and Craig, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie and much more. 

From the studios of the Mutant Mayhem film, the all-new Paramount+ original series TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES explores the adventures of everyone’s favorite pizza-loving heroes as they emerge from the sewers onto the streets of NYC. Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey are faced with new threats and team up with old allies to survive both teenage life and villains lurking in the shadows of the Big Apple. The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures.

TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES is executive produced by Chris Yost (The Mandalorian, Thor: Ragnarok) and Alan Wan (Blue Eye Samurai, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2012 Series]). Production is overseen for Nickelodeon by Claudia Spinelli, Senior Vice President, TV Series Animation, Nickelodeon, and Nikki Price, Director of Development and Executive in Charge of Production.

In addition to the upcoming new series, stream all things Turtles on Paramount+.

Continue Reading

Events

Comic-Con 2024: Those About to Die Activation

Published

15 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

Continue Reading

Events

DISNEY+ CASTS DANIEL DIEMER AS FAN-FAVORITE ‘TYSON’IN SEASON TWO OF “PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS”

Published

16 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

 in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, Rick Riordan and Disney+ revealed that Daniel Diemer (“Under the Bridge”) will star as fan-favorite cyclops “Tyson” in the epic adventure series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” Diemer joins Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase) and Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood) as a series regular. The Disney+ Original series from Disney Branded Television and 20th Television will start filming its second season next week in Vancouver.

Season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is based on the second installment of Disney Hyperion’s best-selling book series titled “The Sea of Monsters” by award-winning author Rick Riordan. In the new season, Percy Jackson returns to Camp Half-Blood one year later to find his world turned upside down. His friendship with Annabeth is changing, he learns he has a cyclops for a brother, Grover has gone missing, and camp is under siege from the forces of Kronos. Percy’s journey to set things right will take him off the map and into the deadly Sea of Monsters, where a secret fate awaits the son of Poseidon.

Diemer stars as Tyson – a young Cyclops who grew up all alone on the streets, and finds it difficult to survive in the human world.  Shy and awkward, with a heart almost as big as he is, Tyson soon discovers that Poseidon is his father, which means Percy Jackson is his half-brother… and that Tyson may have finally found a home. 

Diemer recently starred in the Hulu limited series “Under the Bridge” based off the critically acclaimed book of the same name and a tragic true story of a missing teen girl in Vancouver in 1997. He will next star in the indie “Thug” opposite Liam Neeson and Ron Perlman for director Hans Petter Moland. Daniel was recently seen as the lead in the indie “Supercell” opposite Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich and the lead in the film “Little Brother” opposite Phil Ettinger and JK Simmons. Daniel can also be seen in the Netflix series “The Midnight Club” and recently starred as the male lead in the breakout hit Netflix feature “The Half Of It” from producer Anthony Bregman and director Alice Wu. He is a graduate of Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts in Vancouver.

Created by Rick Riordan and Jonathan E. Steinberg, season two of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is executive produced by Steinberg and Dan Shotz alongside Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Craig Silverstein, The Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Bert Salke, The Gotham Group’s Jeremy Bell and D.J. Goldberg, James Bobin, Jim Rowe, Albert Kim, Jason Ensler and Sarah Watson.

The first season of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is available on Disney+

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2012 - 2024 That's My Entertainment