As good as the 2017 movie was, most agree the third act/final battle is the weakest part. Even the best reviews noted things get wobbly if not fall apart once Ares makes his presence known.
Personally, though I don't think it's as bad as some make it out to be, I agree the movie loses its footing a bit towards the end.

So I thought for fun we'd discuss what could be done to improve or fix the third act problems--whether minor tweaks or full-on starting from scratch.

Me...
First, I'd have Diana confront and kill Ludendorff at the gala. She corners him in some back room away from everyone, and they have essentially the same fight they had in the movie. Except Doctor Poison is present to witness it. After Ludendorff is killed, Diana--thinking she's ended the war--assures Poison that she's free and leaves her. She then meets back up with Steve, who's understandably freaked out about what she did. She insists Ares is dead and the war is over.

We cut to the German soldiers preparing to fire the nerve gas. Doctor Poison enters and claims Ludendorff is occupied, but told her to tell them to go ahead. Basically, even though Ludendorff is dead, Poison goes into business for herself and decides she wants the war to continue because she's a sadistic lunatic. Like it happens in the movie, the missiles fire and the village Diana saved is killed by the gas.

She rushes to Veld and finds what happened. The scene from the movie after Ludendorff is killed and Diana realizes nothing's changed would be moved here. Steve pleads with her they need to stop the gas from getting out or the war will never end, but she's too distraught and disillusioned, so he heads off to the base on his own.

Like the movie, this is where Ares would reveal himself. I know some people feel he should never have appeared at all, but I think he could work as a manifestation of Diana's internal struggle, not the cause of World War I. His presence also allows a fun, smashy-smashy superhero brawl. I know some don't care for CG slug-fests, but I actually liked that Diana got one for her movie. Sue me.

Anyway, unlike the movie, Ares would not claim he's trying to restore Earth to a paradise. Aside from a weak motivation, Ares having his own distinct goal kind of undermines his claim he doesn't actually make people do anything. One line I would add is have Ares say: "War doesn't exist because of me. I exist because of war."

He would instead feed into Diana's despair, insisting humans aren't worth her effort. The way I'd do it is Ares' endgame--his dream--is a Mad Max world where people are constantly fighting and it's survival of the fittest. He'd tempt Diana with talk of glory. If she stopped caring about people, who don't deserve her protection, she would stand above everyone as the greatest warrior. Basically: "Screw the world, be the baddest bitch of them all, I got your back. It'll be awesome."

Diana, naturally, doesn't want to go that far, and she instigates the fight with Ares. She's mostly fighting out of denial and desperation, unwilling to believe killing him would accomplish nothing. This is what I meant when I said he could/should be a physical representation of her internal conflict. The fight with Ares isn't about ending the war, it's Diana fighting her own disillusionment with humanity. Ares doesn't represent war here, he represents the worst of humanity, and when she attacks, she's futilely lashing out at something she can't stop. And this is why she initially gets her ass kicked.

They fight their way to the army base, where Steve and his crew are trying to stop the gas from getting out--pretty much same as the movie. Steve would get his goodbye moment like the movie, and he'd still sacrifice himself. I'd even be tempted to have Dr. Poison straight-up murder him. Either way, Steve dies which makes Diana go berserk.

Ares, rather than taunt her about Steve's death, directs her fury toward Poison. This is why I would have Poison present for Ludendorff's death, an initial encounter with Diana, and have her directly responsible for the village. It would give Diana's rage more justification and make her decision to show mercy have more impact.

Like the movie, Diana flashes back to Steve and spares Doc Poison. She then turns her back on Ares--recalling Hippolyta's line "Fighting doesn't make you a hero"--and goes to destroy the rest of the nerve gas. Ares tries to stop her, but his attacks have no effect, and he blows up with the rest of the gas. Maybe hint that he's not really dead, but Diana promises she will always be there to stop him.


So I wouldn't change that much. Swap a few scenes or beats around, put more emphasis on Dr. Poison, alter Ares' motivation, and have Diana directly responsible for destroying the nerve gas.

Thoughts? How would you do it?