Sunday, July 27, 2014

First Look at Wonder Woman!

So in case you haven't been tracking, I have been off doing training for the past four weeks and this blog has been very inactive. However, things changed a little bit and I was able to get a computer and an internet connection here in sunny Fort Jackson. I will have to see how long I have this internet connection and I still have some training that I need to do, so my reviews may be a little spotty.

However, I do have an entire day to myself and a lot of time to kill. While I do have paperwork I have stuff to do, I wanted to write at least one review, partly because I wanted to put at least one up for July, but also because the first thing piece of news I saw when I had access to a phone was this.


This is very real, this is the new, and first ever real costume of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.

And I... Don't really know what I think.

First off, I'm a little disappointed that she's in costume, if you've read my earlier post about Wonder Woman, the one I wrote when it was first announced, I basically said I don't want Wonder Woman to appear. I want Diana Prince to show up and hint at the idea of being Wonder Woman, or discover her powers as a teaser for the Justice League movie, but I don't want to actually see Wonder Woman.

After this, I'm pretty sure Wonder Woman is going to show up in this film. Which isn't the worst thing to happen... as long as its done right.

As far as the costume goes, its pretty good.

Personally, I was hoping for, I guess the word is, conservative look for Wonder Woman, similar to the look she had in the #600 comics. I've never actually read it but I've seen this look in Injustice and I actually really like it.

While the Amazon armor is the traditional look and I understand why they went with it, I think we don't necessarily need to make the most recognizable super heroine so scantily clad. Maybe go for a classy look instead of automatically going to a sex object.

That's probably not the direction they were meaning to go, but I've seen Sucker Punch...

There are great videos about the strange sensation that women warriors need to be scantily clad when they go into battle even though it makes no sense whatsoever. I would be one to be in the camp that says, they don't need to be that way. I think #600 was a great way to portray the character, at least visually. I would have been a little happier.

But overall, I do like it. I'm really glad they have finally come out and said this is the exact look for Wonder Woman. I have to keep reminding myself this movie is still about 2 years away and they're being pretty gracious giving us all this information for a movie that has a lot of time

It still doesn't totally sell me on Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman because just the way someone looks doesn't necessarily mean that its going to be great. But does she look good?

Yes.

On total face value, Gal Gadot does look pretty cool as Wonder Woman. I'm still very ignorant because I still haven't seen the Fast and Furious movies she's been in, I haven't seen anything else that would give me a real indication of her acting and whether or not Wonder Woman is going to have an Israeli accent or not. However, with photoshop, and cool effects, she does at least make me interested in her portrayal of Wonder Woman.

As far as other news I've heard about Batman v Superman, I've seen some extra pictures.

Of course there's this one.


But Snyder recently released this one.

Now to me, this is still a question mark. Every picture of Batman that has been released from this movie hasn't had that touch yet, that feeling of actually being Batman in a cinematic movie yet.

Even the teaser shown at Comic-con, a teaser that is only available in bootlegged copies that will probably be taken down the minute I post it, still make it look like one of the Arkham games, not the next cinematic Batman.

The only thing that would suggest that the picture to the right is Ben Affleck, is his chin. I'll hold my breath before making any judgments as to what I am thinking about Batfleck still yet.

However, the teaser shown at Comic-con, and the make up of the costume really suggest a influence the comic, The Dark Knight Returns has on this movie.

For those who haven't seen the clip. Basically, its Batman pulling the cover off an old worn out Bat symbol that looks as though it hasn't been used in years. Its a rainy night and the lightning serves as the light for the scene. He flips the switch, sparks fly but the new Bat symbol illuminates into the sky.

Not far, you see the flying figure of Superman hovering in the sky, looking down at Batman. His eyes glow red.

Then it turns to Batman looking up, his eyes glowing. The lightning illuminates his suit. Its a bulky mechanized suit. He looks as if he's ready to do battle.

Its really a great sequence and I hope they actually release it to the public, because it got me really excited for the movie.

While I'm not really wild about the design of the Bat suit, as I am not a fan of the suit of armor that just makes Batman look bulky and kind of fat, the use of it makes total sense and I'm willing to wait and see how it looks on the big screen to pass final judgement.

As if there was any before, there is no doubt that there is going to be an epic fight between Batman and Superman and its going to awesome. Theories are just racing through my head, why will they fight? Is Superman angry, hence the burning eyes? Why is the Bat symbol covered? Is Batman retired? Is there someone else fighting crime for him? Why Ben Affleck?

The point is, this sequence and pictures that have come out of it are just pointing at Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice being as epic as Zack Snyder can make it. It me, the movie has a different feel to it.

Its the same feeling I had when I first saw the trailer for Man of Steel. The movie just has a different feel to it then any comic book movie we've seen before.

While what I've seen from this film, it does have a little bit more of a comic book feeling than Man of Steel did, it still is setting itself apart.

There's something about it that feels epic instead of campy, dystopian instead of hopeful. Some might say that thats not the feeling that needs to be had in a Superman movie, that's what they said about Man of Steel anyways. But I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully this movie will take the approach that the Dark Knight Trilogy started up and take it to a whole new level.

Overall, there's been a lot of things reported about Batman v Superman that I've been curious about. Casting Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Jesse Eisenberg were not my ideal choices. But all that aside, the pictures and teasers to this film have only made me excited. Again, all of it will come down to what happens when it comes out, but until then I can just get excited and wait.

I wish I could give more insight, but unfortunately, I have limiting information and again, there's 2 years until this thing is out. We'll just have to wait and see.

But what do you think? I've basically put all the photos of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice out for your viewing, what are your thoughts? What do you think of the description of the teaser, or what do you think of it if you've seen it? Any theories on how the story is going to go, how Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is going to fit in? Comment and discuss below.

I'll leave you with this. There was a film that was suppose to come out in the 90s called Superman Lives. It was suppose to be Tim Burton's take on Superman. I'm not totally sure its fate and how it came to fail but it still looks like a super bizarre movie and one I'm actually kind of bummed didn't happen. Here's the trailer for the documentary all about that film. Enjoy!