“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a periodic article on Geeky KOOL by Larry Litle about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books and related stuff.
DC’s Wonder Woman movie with Gal Gadot is still rocking the box office with over $57,000 this weekend in the U.S.A. It easily held onto first place. DC has a hit with this movie. But is it a good movie or even a great movie?
I thought it was a great movie and in my review (see here). I gave this film an “A”. I personally believe it is the best movie from DC since the 1989 Batman with Michael Keaton. But not everyone agrees with my view of this film. There is a great subjectivity to how we perceive movies and it seems to be even greater with Superhero movies.
I felt like Wonder Woman was a perfect balance for DC. It was the first female led Superhero film (Catwoman is not a hero) for either DC or Marvel. It portrayed Wonder Woman as full hero and full woman. She has compassion and heart. Sure there were things they could have done differently but in my opinion, it knocked it out of the park. Not everyone that saw this film had the same reaction. Many saw this movie and felt like it didn’t go far enough with feminism and women’s rights. Some felt it was too close to Captain America: The First Avenger. For others it didn’t hit on the notes they expected from this hero they love dearly. For them, this film wasn’t an “A” but a much lower grade.
Last year, DC and Marvel faced off with Captain America: Civil War and Batman V Superman. Both of these movies had heroes fighting each other. Both were trying to grow the characters for an even bigger thing in a future movie. The perception of these movies were very different depending on who you talked with about these films. I really enjoyed Civil War and felt it was a really good movie but wished that Batman V Superman would have been better. My friends Brittney and Knight will tell you that they felt BVS was fantastic and Civil War left a lot to be desired. It is all in the way we view and filter these films.
Expectations for a movie can make or break how we feel about it. If we take in high expectations that a film will be this or that and it doesn’t hit on that, then we are more disappointed. When Starship Troopers came out (way back in the day), I had expectations that it would be a hardcore Space Marines movie like the television series, Space: Above and Beyond. Instead, it is more black satire on the political system and not a Marines in space movie. I left the theater extremely disappointed and it still taunts how I feel about that film. I have watched it again and know what it is and can appreciate it but still my disappointment is there. My expectations caused me not to enjoy this film where others did. Our expectations affect our total experience.
Superhero movies have characters that we love and cherish for different reasons. We see these characters in a certain light and a certain version of these characters. When we see them on the screen we can either be forgiving of changes because it is wonderful to see our favorite characters or we can be more harsh because of how we think these characters should be shown. The Amazing Spider-Man movie series didn’t hit my view of Peter Parker and that really lowered my view of those films.
For Batman V Superman and Man of Steel, I didn’t connect with Superman. This wasn’t the Superman that I knew and loved. It wasn’t Christopher Reeves. I don’t like my Superman to be dark and brooding. Yet others loves this take on Superman. The version of Batman and Superman are different than the ones I grew up with as a kid but hits all of the right notes for others.
Brittney loves the Darker tones of the DC Universe in these movies. I think it is crazy to make their whole universe dark. But it is all about expectations and what connects you to the characters. One of the things I like about Wonder Woman, it had much more light and hope in it than the previous DC movies.
For me, Wonder Woman was a wonderful movie and met my expectations. It is one of my favorite Superhero movies. Wonder Woman was a champion of both women and peace while still kicking butt. She didn’t need to give a big speech about equality but rather demanded it. She was the Wonder Woman that I hoped she would be. She was not the Wonder Woman that some others wanted and hoped for. I do understand the subjectivity of comic book movies and how some will not agree with me.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
