Is Wonder Woman the best DCEU movie so far, Yes or No?

[RikWriter]

It's definitely the best thing the DCEU has done. Man of Steel was ok, BvS theatrical cut was horrible but the Ultimate Cut was entertaining though still tried to cram too many disparate plots into one movie, Suicide Squad was horrible. Wonder Woman was maybe an 8/10 which puts it a couple points ahead of the next best.

[Carabas]

Yes, Wonder Woman is the best DCEU film so far, in much the same way that the Thing is the most rocky member of the Fantastic Four.

[Jim Kelly]

Wonder Woman was just a rehash of captain America, good movie but can't play with the big hitters of the genre

I suspect this isn't really true. But I haven't seen the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie, so I can't legitimately compare them. Now that I have my DVD copy of WW, I'll try to view a copy of the Cap movie, as well, so I can make some intelligent remarks on the similarities and the differences. Stay tuned.

[Star_Jammer]

Wonder Woman ranks up there with some of the best MCU/X-Men movies, for me.

[Jokerz79]

I suspect this isn't really true. But I haven't seen the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie, so I can't legitimately compare them. Now that I have my DVD copy of WW, I'll try to view a copy of the Cap movie, as well, so I can make some intelligent remarks on the similarities and the differences. Stay tuned.

There are some not many there are two things I think Captain America The First Avenger did better but Wonder Woman was a excellent film I just preferred how Captain America handled these aspects more one was not having Cap in any actual WWII events fought Hydra he wasn't storming the beaches on D-Day or anything so I liked that because there was real heroes there no need for fictional ones in the depiction of the war. Two the love story aspects I bought Steve and Peggy loved each other now Captain America the First Avengers takes place over about a two year span so it helped with me buying their love. I felt Diana and Steve fancied each other but that's it especially from her side in Wonder Woman. Outside of that not too many similarities they are vastly different stories IMO and both did an excellent job with them.

[Cimmerian]

In the DCEU?

Unquestionably

Not that that's saying much. Man of Steel, BvS and Suicide Squad were shitastic and I don't have much hope for Justice League at all.

[bobellis75]

Yeah...WW is the best thus far. It was the movie that I think will be a bridge to better movies. Or I hope.

I didn't like the ending and the fight was too much of a video game looking battle (like the fight in BvS) but the rest of the movie was very good.

[Scott Taylor]

WW was the most thoroughly basic, meat and potatoes DCEU film.

If the DCEU were a County fair:

Wonder Woman - Giant Turkey Leg
Man of Steel - Fried pickle
BvS - Bacon Cotton Candy
Suicide Squad - Fried oreo

[GOLGO 13]

Well, she's certainly the most sexiest. Gal Gadot...Oy gevalt! I'm ready to convert.

[Ilan Preskovsky]

Well, she's certainly the most sexiest. Gal Gadot...Oy gevalt! I'm ready to convert.

I'm Jewish. It doens't help.

[stargazer01]

No, I love WW but I find Man of Steel more enthralling and epic.

And Batman V Superman a close second for its ambition and themes. I enjoyed it very much from start to finish.

All these 3 films are awesome in their own ways to me, tho.

[Ying Ko]

Yes. I'm hoping Justice League will be the best one yet though.

Unlike most people, I don't hate Man of Steel or Batman V Superman (the extended cut improves it imo). Suicide Squad I thought was pretty weak.

[People Of The Earth]

Yes or No, is WW the best DC Extended Universe movie so far? We've only had 4 films, is WW the best? Feel free to expand of course.

I said yes, WW is a decent movie in itself but,when looking at the previous DC installments that were médiocre at best, it shines by comparaison.
Hoping JL actually delivers like WW did.

[Jim Kelly]

Wonder Woman was just a rehash of captain America, good movie but can't play with the big hitters of the genre

I suspect this isn't really true. But I haven't seen the CAPTAIN AMERICA movie, so I can't legitimately compare them. Now that I have my DVD copy of WW, I'll try to view a copy of the Cap movie, as well, so I can make some intelligent remarks on the similarities and the differences. Stay tuned.

I have a lot to say now that I’ve watched both these movies (albeit on home video), so to make it easy on everyone I’ll break up my post in three parts.

Cap vs Wondy Part One

Watching WONDER WOMAN on the Blu Ray, I was struggling--not because of anything lacking in the movie, but because it’s so damned moving and powerful I had to take a few breaks before I could keep going. And it’s not like this was my first time seeing the movie. I’d seen it six times in movie theatres. So I knew what was coming and that’s maybe why I needed to pause, because the feelings just got more intense the deeper I got into the story.

Now to be fair, I’m very late to watch CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. And maybe this movie was better seen when it debuted in the theatres back in 2011--from Paramount, which surprised me! However, I never got as keyed up over this movie as I have every time watching WW. It wasn’t until 48 minutes into CATFA (and I checked the time) before I experienced a surge of emotion near the level of what I had a couple of minutes into WW.

In the Cap movie, that was the big War Bonds promotion scene with the Alan Mencken & David Zippel song “The Star Spangled Man.” That whole sequence was glorious. As was the scene immediately after where Steve is brought up short by the reality of the ordinary Joe’s experience of war. Why couldn’t that be the opening for the movie? I thought about this a lot and it seems to me they should have done it that way. Just as WW wins over the audience with its lush opening on Paradise Island--the big production number for Captain America captures the heart of this audience member. That would have pulled everyone right into the movie at minute one. And then with the deflation of Cap’s bravado, performing for the troops, they could have flashed back to his origin at that point.

As for Steve Rogers' origin story, it was dragged out. Joe and Jack did it in a few panels--that's all it needed. I congratulate the effects team on making Chris Evans look short and skinny but did they need to waste those production dollars on so many minutes of screen time? They could have delivered the same message in less time. And then they miss the big opportunity to make that CGI pay off when Rogers transforms into Cap. Because we don’t see it! He’s hidden inside some tank. So the big impressive transition that would justify the skinny Steve movie magic is never shown.

[Jim Kelly]

Cap vs Wondy Part Two

As for the parallels between WONDER WOMAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, I found very few. Mainly the war settings, the sacrifice of the two Steves and the war buddies.

The war setting

One movie takes place in World War I. Before this movie came out, I questioned why they changed the original setting of the Amazon Princess from WW II to WW I, but the story makes this very clear. The reality of WW I--the fact that it’s a war with no real good guys--supports the agenda of the movie. The iconography of WW II and the good vs evil reality would not have allowed the movie to make its argument: that war is the failure of all men to find a better way.

The other movie takes place in World War II. But it doesn’t take full advantage of that. We get side-tracked into a fake war conducted by Red Skull, who is supposed to be more evil than Hitler. Hugo Weaving's character is actually plotting the doom of the Third Reich as well as the Allies. The movie is setting up plots to develop in future movies, but it sacrifices the genuine horrors of WW II for the sake of a fantasy.

What made Simon & Kirby’s Cap so great was his battles against the Nazis. Other than the War Bonds scene, there wasn’t a lot that took direct advantage of Cap’s WW II “Golden Age.” The contrast between the Captain America propaganda campaign and the theatre of war is a great angle deserving of an entire movie, but it’s soon lost in all this Red Skull HYDRA junk and fake CGI weapons--rather than real WW II battles or saving people from death camps.

WW does a better job of showing the human costs of war. There are heart breaking scenes in Diana’s movie that don’t pull their punches.

Also, while WW has some carboard villains, I lost interest in Red Skull early on and once Weaving disappeared behind the red skull fakery, his performance was wasted.