Tagged: Wonder Woman
Review – Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jason Mamoa, Ezra Miller, Henry Cavill, Ciaran Hinds, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane
Before you can appropriately assess the merits of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, you must first address the false premise under which the film has been marketed. When Warner Brothers’ 2017 superhero team-up Justice League fell flat with audiences and reviewers alike, it didn’t take long for online defenders of the franchise to apportion blame to director Joss Whedon. Zack Snyder, who had been central to Warners’ DC universe having directed Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, was forced to leave the project in post-production due to a family tragedy and was replaced by Whedon. It was reported that under Whedon’s supervision, Justice League underwent a substantial change in tone and while Snyder retained the director’s credit, some have suggested that as much as 70% of the theatrical cut was either shot or re-shot by Whedon. Rumours began to circulate online that Warner Brothers possessed a near complete and vastly superior ‘Snyder Cut’ of the film, and calls to release it began to echo around certain pockets of social media. In May 2020, Warner Brothers announced that they were putting $70 million towards the restoration of Snyder’s original vision for the film, with the cut to be released on their streaming service, HBO Max.
Continue readingReview – Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal
In a year that has been, for obvious reasons, almost entirely devoid of genuine blockbusters, Wonder Woman 1984 emerged as a Christmas present for moviegoers desperate for some good, old fashioned, big screen spectacle. Warner Brothers decided, having sat on the film since its originally slated June release date, to take the plunge and simultaneously release it in cinemas and on their streaming service, HBO Max. As a beacon of hope and goodness in a genre largely populated by cynical wise-guys, it is fitting Wonder Woman is the character to try and draw audiences back to the multiplex. She’s the right hero for now. Unfortunately, Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t quite the right film, struggling to recapture the magic of the original.
Continue readingReview – Justice League (2017)
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Mamoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Amber Heard, David Thewlis
While it had all sorts of problems and received a pasting from critics around the world, one thing you have to hand to Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is that it swung for the fences. It had an idea and committed to it. It just didn’t end up being an idea which connected with audiences. Justice League, the latest film from Warner Brothers’ much maligned DC Extended Universe, is a significantly less ambitious movie. A gun shy film which shows more evidence of being chastened by the reaction to Batman vs Superman than emboldened by the success of Wonder Woman, it plays it safe and, as a result, ends up being entirely bland and largely forgettable.
Chronologically, Justice League is a sequel to Batman vs Superman rather than Wonder Woman. We find the world still mourning the death of Superman (Henry Cavill), and his passing has left it vulnerable. Winged Parademons who feed on fear have started showing up at Gotham and Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) is convinced that they herald something much worse on its way. Continue reading
Review – Wonder Woman (2017)
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Danny Huston, Elena Anaya, David Thewlis
Since first appearing back in 1941, Diana, princess of the Amazons, also known as Wonder Woman, has been one of the most iconic members of DC Comics’ stable of characters. Yet for some reason (can anyone hazard a guess?), while there have been eight Batman movies, and seven Superman movies, Wonder Woman has never been given her own feature film adaptation. Until now. As well as being the character’s first movie, Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is also the first film in either the DC or Marvel cinematic universes to have a female protagonist, and is both the first superhero movie and first blockbuster with a budget of over $100 million to be helmed by a female director. All of this means that Wonder Woman will be unfairly saddled with the burden of representation, with many people ready to make sweeping generalisations about the commercial viability of female centric and female directed blockbusters based on its performance. Luckily then, Jenkins’ film is not only good, it is exactly the shot in the arm that the much maligned DC Extended Universe needed. Continue reading
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