In the fifth century BC in China, children were offered a syllabary where the first combination of ideograms meant: man's nature is originally good. It is a universal theme on which questions are still being asked and where easy and comfortable answers cannot be found. Own the eternal struggle between good and evil, between right and wrong, between peace and war, is the central theme of this film, Wonderwoman, just appeared in our halls.
The central character, Diana Prince or the young actress Gal Gadot (with a probable resemblance to Monica Bellucci), is the cinematographic revival of one of the best-known characters of American comics together with Superman and Batman. In the intentions of its creator, the American psychologist William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman was supposed to represent the strength and qualities of women in a fantasy and real world where the male gender prevails. He certainly reaches his goal and in fact the character soon establishes himself among the most important in the ranking of comic book heroes.
La semi-debut director Patty Jenkins fully belongs to a generation raised in the era of video games and has felt the strong emotional and narrative impact and in fact, his film re-proposes, even exaggerating, the rhythms and dynamic sequences of the clashes typical of console games. The story focuses entirely between Greek mythology, Zeus father of the gods against Ares his son and god of war, and epic duels between the forces of good against absolute evil. Long – too long – sentimental sequences alternate engaging images of war scenes, scrupulous reconstructions of London at the beginning of the century. From a mysterious island where the kingdom of the Amazons lives, Diana meets a young English pilot luckily ditched on its shores, she finds herself in England in the midst of the First World War where the English armies face each other in Europe with the Kaiser's troops. Wonder Woman aims to stop the world conflict by trying to annihilate the warlord. Ares, in human form, is represented in two characters (we leave you with the surprise of discovering one and twice his size) and both theorize conflict as a necessary tool to improve humanity, even at the cost of huge sacrifices. Against the backdrop of the First World War, the film re-proposes a tragic chapter that is still topical today: chemical weapons of mass destruction.
More than two hours of projection appear excessive but the story, it is still a fantasy, holds up well and the ending is not at all obvious. Interesting to note that the film was shot entirely on film instead of the more convenient digital one and the result can be seen and appreciated in the most suggestive color tones. The other legendary characters of his peers comics, Superman and Batman, have had great success in the cinema, for Wonder Woman the challenge is open.
