If you know that one of the most important new superhero movies is premiering this weekend, you’re already ahead of the game.
Wonder Woman, starring Gal Godot as the eponymous Amazonian, is the first standalone female superhero film in recent history. However, it’s still managed to slip under the radar, at least more so than other, similar franchise installments.
It’s strange that a movie this large and important has had so little advertising or promotion, especially when compared with other superhero movies. When Suicide Squad (same franchise) came out last year, I remember the entire world being saturated with Harley Quinn’s leering face.
I’d like to believe that the studio felt they needed to give more exposure to a film filled with B-level villains the public might not recognize, and they feel that Wonder Woman needs less promotion because she’s already a household name. However, I think it’s more likely that the studio doesn’t have high hopes for a female superhero standalone film.
So. Let’s get our CF crew together and see this flick! Here are three good reasons to carve out the time this weekend:
Table of Contents
1. This movie (and its success level) is going to set a precedent for all future movies.
Even though literally everyone is arguing otherwise, Hollywood still seems to be largely incapable of delivering blockbuster films that are diverse and well-representative of women and minorities.
This movie is the first in the last few decades by either the DC or Marvel lineup to focus on a female superhero instead of one of her male counterparts, and it still took about twenty years to get made after its conception.
Seriously, think of the last movie you saw about a powerful woman taking on the world that wasn’t a rom-com or an adaptation of a YA fiction book. They exist, sure, but they’re comparatively rare.
If Wonder Woman is successful, it will prove that audiences want to see movies about powerful women, which will open the doors for more, similar films to be made in the future.
Even if the movie is universally critically praised, the only language that truly gets through to a studio is box office sales, which is why it’s so important to have as many people buy a ticket as possible.
But speaking of critical praise…
2. Critics are loving this movie.
The movie hasn’t even been officially released yet, and the reviews are already stellar. It’s at 96% positive on Rotten Tomatoes!
For comparison, in the same franchise, Suicide Squad currently holds a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice is doing not much better at 28%. Even Man of Steel, generally regarded as the least awful of the franchise, is only holding a 55% rating.
Wonder Woman, however, has been regarded as “one of the best superhero movies ever made” by Business Insider, while ComicBook.com praises it as “the turning point the [DC Extended Universe] needed”.
Clearly this movie is something special! With all of the other mediocre-at-best films coming out lately, don’t you want to see something that’s actually deserving of your money?
3. If you don’t see it, then the trolls win.
I’m gonna be honest, some of the talk surrounding this movie is downright ridiculous.
For example, a movie theater in Texas that offered a female-only screening of the movie was attacked on social media by a bevy of men who somehow took personal offense to the idea that women might want to take two hours in solidarity to appreciate an iconic feminist character.
Also, instead of the partnerships with Chrysler and Doritos that other superhero films got to enjoy, Wonder Woman’s studio decided to partner (inexplicably, laughably) with ThinkThin diet bars. This, of course, undermines the idea of female empowerment that the film represents, essentially saying that women must be thin and conventionally attractive to be confident and powerful. UGH.
Even the movie’s supposed fans went up in arms last month over the fact that Gal Godot displayed shaved armpits in the newest trailer. While I see their point, the fact is that Wonder Woman has never had armpit hair either in the comics or on screen.
In short, this movie has all the cards stacked against it despite a strong premise, important character, and potentially huge fanbase. So make sure you show Hollywood that the representation of strong, empowered women is important to you and go break some opening weekend records!
Your Turn!
Will you be going to see Wonder Woman this weekend? If you’ve seen it, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!