Wonder Woman

I came. I saw. I wondered.

I held off on the Logan review because I wanted some time to reflect on the flick.  With Wonder Woman, I was just too busy working.  But here it is.  And, man, was it awesome (the movie, not this review).

Spoilers ahead.

There’s a lot of really good stuff to talk about with this film.  But what I found most impressive was the flip at the end, specifically during Diana’s crisis.  In the movie, we’re told that Zeus created women to appeal to man’s softer side.  To give him a reason NOT to engage in war all the time.  To simply love instead.

And then, near the end of the film, when Wonder Woman is at her most dangerous, when she’s trembling along a very violent edge of her personality, Trevor–man–gives a her a reason to continue: love.

It’s the best kind of crisis resolution a storyteller can hope to achieve: one that brings the rest of the plot into focus, one that somehow manages to come out of nowhere and yet be perfectly obvious.

What a great film.

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(a very late) Logan Review

I held off posting a review for this film, thinking it best to reflect on it for a while.

I’ve always dug Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.  Frankly, I think a person would have to be nuts to think Jackman doesn’t bring an extra helping of awesome sauce each time he wears the claws.  Since this was his swan song for Wolverine–and because Logan had been getting crazy-good reviews–I went into the theatre with high hopes.  And I didn’t come out thinking it was bad.  I just didn’t come out thinking it was great either.

Again, no problems with Jackman. Furthermore, Keen and Stewart were exceptional.  The set pieces were fantastic.  The R-rating finally gave us a more realistic look at how a fight with claws would play out.

I just have a hard time buying a whiny Wolverine.

And before you raise your eyebrows at me, think about this flick for a long moment.  Because a whiny Wolverine is exactly what we got.  A character–known for his drive, for a genuine, animalistic force of will–was constantly badgered into doing the right thing by characters around him.  At one point, the girl even punched him in the nose because she got so tired of his shit.  Most heroes deny their calling in one way or another, but to continue doing so throughout the course of the story just makes your plot lose momentum.  Joss Whedon argued the Hulk works best when he’s not looking for a cure, when he’s not putting his own interests ahead of others.  The same can be said for a lot of characters.  The same can DEFINITELY be said for Wolverine.  And the fact we’ve already seen this character interpretation struggle and move past similar funks before certainly didn’t help.

My other big problem with the film? Wolverine is the best at what he does.  And what he does isn’t that nice.  Which means when he falls, he falls in the worst way.  At the very least, he might become a mercenary or some other type of violent antihero.  At the very most, he’s going to rip off all his clothing and go screaming into the woods.  I don’t know what falls in the middle, but it sure as hell isn’t driving a limo for money.  Jesus Christ.

If you’re a fan of Jackman’s Wolverine, you’re going to see this movie.  Period.  And if you’re like most everyone else, you’re probably going to love it.   If you’re like me, you’re going to walk away from it with a gentle shrug.

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