Wonder Woman and Other Thoughts
Feb. 27th, 2009 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stinglikeabeeLet's get some things out of the way:
1) For those worried about Kate Spencer after Manhunter was canceled: she will be Gotham's new DA. I know. My heart just about skipped a beat when I heard that.
2) New Doom Patrol title written by Keith Giffen, with a 10pg co-feature of Metal Men added at the back of the book that is penciled by Kevin Maguire and written by JM DeMatteis. I know. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
3) Blackest Night 0 will be DC's offering for Free Comic Book Day. Sadly, Hal Jordan isn't dressed up as Rainbow Brite on the cover. Geoff Johns is writing, and Doug Mahnke is on art duties *whistles*
4) Gotham City Sirens is a team up of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Bad news: Dini says this Harley is not the Harley of the DCAU or her previous comic incarnation. It's not a fluffy Gotham Girls-esque title, as he intends to take it to darker places. For me, these characters aren't simple villains so I trust Dini. The news means my interest in the book hasn't wavered.
5) A lady went up at DC Nation panel to ask some questions. When mentioned she had them written down, it turns out her out-of-town boyfriend had asked her to ask the questions for him. We gave her a round of applause. Love: it makes you do nerdy things.
6) My question was whether we'd see Captain Boomerang II (Owen) and the new Suicide Squad soon. The answer was that we'll see half of them. Huh. Well, as long as we FINALLY see Owen meet Bart. Or am I jumping the gun in thinking that?
7) Green Lantern movie trailer: Yawn, it's Hal Jordan. *looks at watch* Oh, it's his origin story. *looks at screen* Damn, look at those cheekbones! You could cut glass on those corners. *sigh* I think I just lost interest in the GL movie. From the perspective of the company, I understand why the origin instead of something like Sinestro Corps War (please please please!) but I've already seen a GL origin story in New Frontier. I don't know, I guess I was just excited at the possibility of Guy, Kyle, and John when we're just getting more Hal-love. *mopes*
8) After the WW movie, I saw a kid with his Daddy, who had dressed up in a Wonder Woman homage. Shirtless (and ripped, too), with a red cape, golden lasso, and red boots to die for. I loved, loved his costume.
And finally, the WW movie:
The beginning sequence of the Amazons fighting Ares' army is amazing, not just because of the violence and brutality of the battlefield but because of how it unfolds cinematically and ups the excitement level for the entire movie. It's a case of, wow this is so fantastic and this is only the beginning?
The best part of the film would have to be any scene with the Amazons. Their mythos, their armour and fighting styles, their beliefs -- I'm very glad I was able to see this, as it certainly was done well. And y'know, this is coming from a person who's too lazy to delve into the WW fandom. At the end I became really pumped to start learning as much as I can about the Amazons.
Now the biggest disappointment would be the characterisation of Steve Trevor. First, I understand there needs to be a foil to Diana. Steve Trevor from the comics was a gentleman, but the sort of upright man who couldn't provide the movie with conflict needed to illustrate the differences between man's world and Themyscira. Movie!Steve plays the role well, being a ladiesman who admits to being a pig, has experiences 'escaping from chasing women', and is generally not the best example of the 'masculine ideal'.
The most insulting facet of this Movie!Steve? Him interacting with the Princess as if a lecherous pervert. For instance, when he's being interrogated with the lasso he blurts out about noticing Diana's breasts. Or when he tries to get her drunk, so he can presumably take advantage. Another time, he says Wonder Woman in her costume might get him arrested for soliciting (WTF?!).
Lastly, and I have doubts about this, there's the line where he calls Diana a 'manipulative drag queen'. I had thought Steve had said 'manipulative dragon', but it was brought up by an audience member during Q&A. as 'drag queen'. *___* This audience member however, got told to sit down by Virginia Madsen (Hippolyta) for saying he took exception at Steve being effiminate and that Wonder Woman was masculine for doing all the beating up. I still don't understand what he was on about. Did he NOT read WW? Try harder, troll.
That is not the Steve Trevor I know. I facepalmed IRL and thought, why didn't they just put Nemesis instead? Then as the credits rolled I read and remembered that Gail Simone was the co-writer. Well, then.
The moment when Steve and Diana argue about male-female relationships and perceptions was a little awkward. Obviously less communication between men and women isn't what was needed, but there's more to the Amazons relocating to the island than just because they didn't trust men anymore. AND WHY DID DIANA SAY STEVE SOUNDED LIKE A WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL SCENE AFTER HE SAYS WHAT HE FEELS? WUT. It coulda been better, is all I'm saying.
The romance between Steve and Diana was not there. Even when Steve calls her Angel I think it's because he probably forgot her name. *shakes head* Why should Diana get with him? Just because he's the first guy she meets, and he helps saves the world? Why the hell would the Amazons cheer on the two kissing?! There's no chemistry and my God, it's Nemesis all over again.
I miss DCAU!Steve so much, you have no idea.
Oh, and the Etta Candy cameo is indeed rubbish. Michael Jelenic, the other credited writer, admitted to this being a mistake. He didn't know who Etta was in the first place, and should have changed the name. Good thing an audience member called him out on that.
What I was happy about in terms of characterisation was Ares. Now I'm a fan of Greek mythology Ares. What can I say, bad boys do get some girls' engines running :P In the movie Ares is a force of nature who feeds on the psychic energy of destruction. His aim isn't for death, it's in pursuit of power resulting from war and other violent activities. Yet he is still fallible, especially when it comes to family. The Ares I'm familiar with holds family above all, even going so far as to jumping into battle to protect a mortal son in war. In my readings of mythology, this brings nothing but contempt from the other gods, as to interfere in human affairs so blatantly was disgraceful. Athena would then help the opposite side because it would amuse her, and caring that this was a matter of life and death, not a game.
*cough*Ares fangirl*cough*. The other thing that ticked me off was during the panel, when the word 'feminine' was thrown about a lot in describing the character designs. It brings to mind Nathan Fillion's Comic-con comment about having a Diana without big muscles, with the implication that she would look like a man. Oh, we wanted to make Diana with a superhero body but we had to make it feminine. I think she's still too skinny in the movie. As a character in the movie puts it, the Amazons did look like 'armoured supermodels'. What's wrong with giving Diana a more muscular build, thicker thighs? Why would that make her less feminine?
People seem to have their favourite scenes. Mine is Steve left holding groceries and calling plaintively to Diana's back for her not to be late for dinner because he doesn't want dinner getting cold while she dashes off to become Wonder Woman and beats up Cheetah. Woo. Run-on sentence.
tl;dr: An enjoyable, entertaining movie. It's heavy on awesome action sequences, which are not at all gratuitous or overly bloody but isn't for the little kids (rating is PG-13). If you are watching for Diana and the Amazons being kick-ass, and either don't care or don't know Steve Trevor then I would rate it an A.
Since I take umbrage at Steve Trevor's transformation into Nemesis-lite, though I think everything else is awesomeness, I'm giving it a B+.
1) For those worried about Kate Spencer after Manhunter was canceled: she will be Gotham's new DA. I know. My heart just about skipped a beat when I heard that.
2) New Doom Patrol title written by Keith Giffen, with a 10pg co-feature of Metal Men added at the back of the book that is penciled by Kevin Maguire and written by JM DeMatteis. I know. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
3) Blackest Night 0 will be DC's offering for Free Comic Book Day. Sadly, Hal Jordan isn't dressed up as Rainbow Brite on the cover. Geoff Johns is writing, and Doug Mahnke is on art duties *whistles*
4) Gotham City Sirens is a team up of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. Bad news: Dini says this Harley is not the Harley of the DCAU or her previous comic incarnation. It's not a fluffy Gotham Girls-esque title, as he intends to take it to darker places. For me, these characters aren't simple villains so I trust Dini. The news means my interest in the book hasn't wavered.
5) A lady went up at DC Nation panel to ask some questions. When mentioned she had them written down, it turns out her out-of-town boyfriend had asked her to ask the questions for him. We gave her a round of applause. Love: it makes you do nerdy things.
6) My question was whether we'd see Captain Boomerang II (Owen) and the new Suicide Squad soon. The answer was that we'll see half of them. Huh. Well, as long as we FINALLY see Owen meet Bart. Or am I jumping the gun in thinking that?
7) Green Lantern movie trailer: Yawn, it's Hal Jordan. *looks at watch* Oh, it's his origin story. *looks at screen* Damn, look at those cheekbones! You could cut glass on those corners. *sigh* I think I just lost interest in the GL movie. From the perspective of the company, I understand why the origin instead of something like Sinestro Corps War (please please please!) but I've already seen a GL origin story in New Frontier. I don't know, I guess I was just excited at the possibility of Guy, Kyle, and John when we're just getting more Hal-love. *mopes*
8) After the WW movie, I saw a kid with his Daddy, who had dressed up in a Wonder Woman homage. Shirtless (and ripped, too), with a red cape, golden lasso, and red boots to die for. I loved, loved his costume.
And finally, the WW movie:
The beginning sequence of the Amazons fighting Ares' army is amazing, not just because of the violence and brutality of the battlefield but because of how it unfolds cinematically and ups the excitement level for the entire movie. It's a case of, wow this is so fantastic and this is only the beginning?
The best part of the film would have to be any scene with the Amazons. Their mythos, their armour and fighting styles, their beliefs -- I'm very glad I was able to see this, as it certainly was done well. And y'know, this is coming from a person who's too lazy to delve into the WW fandom. At the end I became really pumped to start learning as much as I can about the Amazons.
Now the biggest disappointment would be the characterisation of Steve Trevor. First, I understand there needs to be a foil to Diana. Steve Trevor from the comics was a gentleman, but the sort of upright man who couldn't provide the movie with conflict needed to illustrate the differences between man's world and Themyscira. Movie!Steve plays the role well, being a ladiesman who admits to being a pig, has experiences 'escaping from chasing women', and is generally not the best example of the 'masculine ideal'.
The most insulting facet of this Movie!Steve? Him interacting with the Princess as if a lecherous pervert. For instance, when he's being interrogated with the lasso he blurts out about noticing Diana's breasts. Or when he tries to get her drunk, so he can presumably take advantage. Another time, he says Wonder Woman in her costume might get him arrested for soliciting (WTF?!).
Lastly, and I have doubts about this, there's the line where he calls Diana a 'manipulative drag queen'. I had thought Steve had said 'manipulative dragon', but it was brought up by an audience member during Q&A. as 'drag queen'. *___* This audience member however, got told to sit down by Virginia Madsen (Hippolyta) for saying he took exception at Steve being effiminate and that Wonder Woman was masculine for doing all the beating up. I still don't understand what he was on about. Did he NOT read WW? Try harder, troll.
That is not the Steve Trevor I know. I facepalmed IRL and thought, why didn't they just put Nemesis instead? Then as the credits rolled I read and remembered that Gail Simone was the co-writer. Well, then.
The moment when Steve and Diana argue about male-female relationships and perceptions was a little awkward. Obviously less communication between men and women isn't what was needed, but there's more to the Amazons relocating to the island than just because they didn't trust men anymore. AND WHY DID DIANA SAY STEVE SOUNDED LIKE A WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL SCENE AFTER HE SAYS WHAT HE FEELS? WUT. It coulda been better, is all I'm saying.
The romance between Steve and Diana was not there. Even when Steve calls her Angel I think it's because he probably forgot her name. *shakes head* Why should Diana get with him? Just because he's the first guy she meets, and he helps saves the world? Why the hell would the Amazons cheer on the two kissing?! There's no chemistry and my God, it's Nemesis all over again.
I miss DCAU!Steve so much, you have no idea.
Oh, and the Etta Candy cameo is indeed rubbish. Michael Jelenic, the other credited writer, admitted to this being a mistake. He didn't know who Etta was in the first place, and should have changed the name. Good thing an audience member called him out on that.
What I was happy about in terms of characterisation was Ares. Now I'm a fan of Greek mythology Ares. What can I say, bad boys do get some girls' engines running :P In the movie Ares is a force of nature who feeds on the psychic energy of destruction. His aim isn't for death, it's in pursuit of power resulting from war and other violent activities. Yet he is still fallible, especially when it comes to family. The Ares I'm familiar with holds family above all, even going so far as to jumping into battle to protect a mortal son in war. In my readings of mythology, this brings nothing but contempt from the other gods, as to interfere in human affairs so blatantly was disgraceful. Athena would then help the opposite side because it would amuse her, and caring that this was a matter of life and death, not a game.
*cough*Ares fangirl*cough*. The other thing that ticked me off was during the panel, when the word 'feminine' was thrown about a lot in describing the character designs. It brings to mind Nathan Fillion's Comic-con comment about having a Diana without big muscles, with the implication that she would look like a man. Oh, we wanted to make Diana with a superhero body but we had to make it feminine. I think she's still too skinny in the movie. As a character in the movie puts it, the Amazons did look like 'armoured supermodels'. What's wrong with giving Diana a more muscular build, thicker thighs? Why would that make her less feminine?
People seem to have their favourite scenes. Mine is Steve left holding groceries and calling plaintively to Diana's back for her not to be late for dinner because he doesn't want dinner getting cold while she dashes off to become Wonder Woman and beats up Cheetah. Woo. Run-on sentence.
tl;dr: An enjoyable, entertaining movie. It's heavy on awesome action sequences, which are not at all gratuitous or overly bloody but isn't for the little kids (rating is PG-13). If you are watching for Diana and the Amazons being kick-ass, and either don't care or don't know Steve Trevor then I would rate it an A.
Since I take umbrage at Steve Trevor's transformation into Nemesis-lite, though I think everything else is awesomeness, I'm giving it a B+.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 12:57 pm (UTC)Hope your having fun!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 05:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-28 07:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:52 am (UTC)Thanks for keeping the spirit of that Steve alive!
no subject
Date: 2009-03-01 06:59 am (UTC)Thanks for keeping the spirit of that Steve alive!
*beams*
Thank you, Bee! :)