Why you NEED to see Wonder Woman

I took Flea to see Wonder Woman this weekend. Have you seen it yet?

In this house, we were so excited to watch that we got tickets for the midnight showing. And the late night was very definitely worth it.

Wonder Woman isn’t a perfect movie, by any means. But it’s a lot of fun, breathing some much-needed life into the dreary DC series. It’s packed with heart, humour, romance and a dash of tragedy. It’s a perfect movie for tweens.

After rescuing a spy from drowning, Diana emerges from her hidden island to find the world at war. As you might expect, an Amazonian princess is something of a fish-out-of-water in the London of 1915. There are a lot of genuine laughs to be had, and some fun, sparky chemistry with Chris Pine.

But none of this is why I want you to see Wonder Woman at your local cinema.

I want you to take your kids to see this movie because Wonder Woman is the first movie I’ve seen in – ooh, I don’t know how long – that shows a strong, courageous heroine who completely kicks ass.

The world isn’t always kind to movies that try to put women in the lead.

When the remake of Ghostbusters was released in the US, grown-ass man-babies tried to organise protest demonstrations outside cinemas at the very notion that a story about guy heroes could be made about women. It became the most disliked video on YouTube for a time. Can you believe it? Ugh.

Sure, movie nerds will probably debate whether Wonder Woman’s second half takes too much from Captain America. Certainly, I think we can all agree the CGI in the battle scenes could safely have been dialled down a bit. Why did Lucy Davis only get about four lines? You can pick holes in most movies, if you go looking for them.

But if you go and see this movie, you will be entertained.

It’s easy to say, “Oh I wish there were more strong, female lead characters in the movies.”

But if you want studios to make these movies, you HAVE to buy the tickets. You HAVE to show them there’s a market for movies about women who do more than gaze longingly at the hero and wait to be rescued.

I loved how a strong, smart woman is mystified by the idea that a woman’s voice shouldn’t be heard, that a woman shouldn’t wear clothes that give her freedom. I love that she ignores the men who tell her, “We can’t help everyone,” because a real heroine knows that if someone needs help, you help.

Okay, so I could go on all day.

It doesn’t hurt that Gal Gadot is impeccably cast. Yes, she’s smoking hot, but with a strength, wisdom and assurance that makes her so much more than another hot woman on screen.

What little girl (or boy) wouldn’t look at her and imagine growing up to be just a little bit like that?

There’s a lovely interview in Rolling Stone magazine with the film’s (female) director Patty Jenkins. She describes how her own 8-year-old son changed after seeing the film, and now wants to play with Wonder Woman action figures. Jenkins says: “He’s going to grow up thinking that, of course, some of the women you know are going to be princesses. And some of them are going to be princesses who fight side by side with you in battle.” 

Seriously. How cool is THAT?

Go buy a ticket. And Tweet me when you have to tell me how much you loved the movie, too.