Why No Matter How Good Wonder Woman Is, It Can’t Save The DCEU

Did you watch any of the recent DC movies? Superman: Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad. What did you think? Honestly. If you’re like me, you have to be thinking “What is DC doing that is so wrong and why can’t they right the ship?”

That’s a good question

Admittedly, I haven’t seen Suicide Squad and I probably won’t until it comes out on Netflix or some other free streaming service. I kind of made that decision long before the movie came out. It wasn’t as though the trailer didn’t make it seem amazing. Quite the opposite actually. It is more because after watching the tragedies that were Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had already felt like I paid to waste 5 hours of my life and I didn’t feel like paying to waste a few more.

Really that bad?

Granted, both of the above movies had their moments, like when Batman and Superman both realized that their mother’s name was Martha. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. Or when Jonathan Kent could’ve walked away from the tornado but didn’t and seemingly took forever to die. This is beside the point, though. I’ve begrudgingly watched both a couple of times now because maybe, just maybe, I had overreacted the first time, but after a second viewing, my feelings were only confirmed.

At this point, there isn’t too much that could save the DC Extended Universe.

Wonder Woman

Slated to be released June 2, 2017, Wonder Woman could very well be the ‘hit’ that Warner Bros. is so desperately looking for. Whether it will or not, only time will tell.

The question that I wonder is will Gal Gadot be able to make up for all of the shortcomings thus far in the DCEU?

She was, by a mile the best part of Batman V Superman (although I will argue that Ben Affleck’s Batman wasn’t all that bad) and seeing her in the Wonder Woman costume sent chills down my spine. This might partially be because she is extremely attractive and it is every fanboy’s dream to see a ‘hot’ woman in the Wonder Woman costume.

No, she was much more than that.

She brought the right level of intrigue to her character throughout the entire movie. I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched the scenes without her when her next appearance was. She had just the right dose of allure, sex appeal, and mystery. Her interaction with both Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck was perfect. I don’t mean to take anything away from the other two and I will state that I am a Henry Cavill fan and have been since he played Albert Mondego in The Count of Monte Cristo. In my mind, however, she was working with seasoned actors and came out on top.

A fresh origin story

Wonder Woman might just have the best backstory of all the heroes in the DCEU thus far and thankfully, her story hasn’t been regurgitated a million times like Batman or Superman.

It will be refreshing to see a new DC origin story unfold on the screen. I’m not taking anything away from the other characters listed, however, I could practically recite the lines of their origins without ever seeing the movies. I remember watching Batman’s origin unfold once again in Dawn of Justice and hearing a collective groan from within the theater.

It will be interesting to see what Warner Bros. and Patty Jenkins do with her character.

This leads me to wonder what type of movie we are in for.

After the worldwide success of the Batman Trilogy by Christopher Nolan and its darker themes, DC seems adamant on trying to replicate it. As indicated by the last number of films, it isn’t working. We can only hope that Zack Snyder, while only a producer on the film, stays as far away from the directing as possible. I don’t know if my heart could take another dark, 300 style movie.

Success at what cost?

Yes, all of the three movies above can be considered a commercial success, but this is coming at the cost of its core fans. How many more movies will DC bring out like this? If they learn anything from Marvel, it is that they need a mixture of themes in their movies.

Captain America The Winter Soldier – Political Thriller

Guardians of the Galaxy – Humorous Action Movie

Captain America The First Avenger – Time Piece

Iron Man – Origin Done Right

Ant-Man – Humorous Action Movie

Thor – Mythology Movie

Thor The Dark World – We Won’t Talk About It

I don’t aim to sound too cliché, but they have gone to the ‘dark movie theme’ well too many times. They need to change it up and fast.

So, will Wonder Woman be able to right the ship that has nearly crashed into the rocks on more than one occasion?

More importantly, will it matter?

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