The DC Hero We Finally Deserve..."Wonder Woman"

Wonder Woman (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Chris Pine, Danny Huston, David Thewlis, Said Taghmaoui, Ewen Bremner, Eugene Brave Rock, Lucy Davis, Elena Anaya,

Directed by Patty Jenkins

The Story:

Bookended by seeing Diana/Wonder Woman (Gadot) in action during modern day, a briefcase delivered by Bruce Wayne allows Diana time to reflect on discovering mankind and embracing the heroic ideal she was born to live.

So, I finally got around to watching Wonder Woman.

I tried not to let the hype surrounding this movie cloud my judgement of it.

While I might be firmly in the camp of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I totally root for DC to get it right and give the audience something worth going to see.

So naturally, I approached this one with cautious optimism.

Is the hype real?

Or is it just clamoring for something, anything from DC to erase the unwatchable bore of Batman vs. Superman or the entertaining in parts but ultimately unsatisfying Suicide Squad?

I suppose it will ultimately depend on who you ask.

I was never blown away by the trailers for Wonder Woman.

It seemed fine enough, but it was missing something for me, and I couldn't put my finger on it.

So the movie has come out, it's made more money this summer than anything else, and I couldn't be happier for the cast, crew, fans and Warner Brothers for finally, finally making a DC movie worth watching.

Depending on your point of view, it's been a long time coming, whether it was Superman: The Movie, Batman (1989) or the Nolan Batman Trilogy.

I finally got around to seeing it...

And much like the trailer, I liked it, but didn't LOVE it.

Again, there's something missing for me, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

I suppose if I have to try and isolate it, perhaps it's the sense of fun, entertainment or enjoyment that I have while watching a Marvel film.

While Wonder Woman is a technically a well made picture, the sense of fun just wasn't quite there. It bubbled under the surface through a lot of the movie.

Now to be fair, there were many, many, many enjoyable scenes and amazing set pieces that oohed and aaahed me as the movie went along.

So again, it's a tough one to judge.

Is it on par with what Marvel is giving me?  No. Close, but no cigar.

If I was given 4 choices of going to see any superhero movie again in theaters, I'd be going back for Guardians or Homecoming before I went back to see Wonder Woman.

That's just me being honest.

Is it better than what DC has been giving me? Absolutely yes.

I love that Wonder Woman has been this successful for DC and for all the little girls around the world that now have a superhero role model on the big screen.

It gives me hope that Captain Marvel and maybe Black Widow will someday headline a film for Marvel or maybe DC will offer up a Catwoman movie that doesn't suck.

: )

Final Grade: B... B+ if I'm really nice. ;)

And Now For Something Completely Different..."A Monster In Paris"

A Monster In Paris (2011)

Rated PG

Starring Adam Goldberg, Jay Harrington, Danny Huston, Vanessa Paradis, Sean Lennon, Madeline Zima

Written and Directed by Bilbo Bergeron

The Story:

Paris...1910... the city is underwater due to flooding and Raoul (Goldberg) and Emile (Harrington) are two friends who are delivering goods to make a living, but Raoul is dying to invent things and Emile wants to be a filmmaker.  One delivery gone wrong, and the boys accidentally create a giant flea (Lennon) that will terrorize Paris!  Except, he's not that terrifying.  In fact, he's got a musician's heart.  Things are about to get weird.

Weird.

That's actually a good way to describe this one.

The first animated offering from EuropaCorp/Bibo Films...

It's a beautiful film.

While not quite up to the standards of Dreamworks/Pixar/Disney...

It still looks very good.

It's got an original story, which is rare enough in Hollywood these days.

Plus, I listed the American voice cast, as opposed to the original French cast that worked on the film.

Vanessa Paradis as Lucille is the lone hold-over that I saw that worked on both films.

Her part is rather important to the film as well as the damsel in distress who is actually more in control than just about anyone else in the film.

It's charming, but not likely going to fit the mold of entertainment for every child.

Available to stream as of this writing on Netflix if you want to see what it's all about, and see if your children liked it.

Mine loved it.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: My kids saw this last year, and picked up a copy from Blockbuster as they went out of business.  While I wouldn't marathon this one like Emperor's New Groove and the like, I could let it play again from time to time.