WONDER WOMAN (2017) – My rating: 8.5/10

I had never seen a Wonder Woman movie or read a Wonder Woman comic book before, so this was my first experience and I have to say it was a pretty good one. It was not what I expected. There were a few plot issues but overall, I welcome Wonder Woman to the fold. The movie is set in 1918 and tells the story of Princess Diana, who grows up on the island of Themyscira, sheltered by her mother and aunt. After an American pilot crashes offshore and is rescued by Diana, life as she knows it changes forever. He tells her about the ongoing World War. She then leaves her home in order to end the conflict, becoming Wonder Woman in the process.

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) was born and raised on the hidden Amazon island of Themyscira, home to the Amazon race of warrior women, created by the gods of Mount Olympus to protect humankind against the corruption of Ares, the god of war, who slew all his fellow gods.  Zeus, Ares’ father struck down his son after being mortally wounded.  Before Zeus succumbed to his injuries, he left the Amazons a weapon capable of killing his renegade son: the “Godkiller”, which Diana believes to be a ceremonial sword. Queen Hippolyta, (Connie Nielsen) Diana’s mother and queen of the Amazons, believes that Ares will never return therefore disallows Diana from training as a warrior, but Diana and her aunt, General Antiope, (Robin Wright) defy the queen and begin training in secret. Once Hippolya discovers the two, Antiope convinces her to allow Diana’s training to continue.

Captain Steve Trevor, (Chris Pine) a pilot with the American Expeditionary Forces crashes in his plane off the coast of Themyscira. The island is invaded by the landing party of a German cruiser pursuing Steve. Diana, now a young woman, rescues Steve as the Amazons engage and kill all the German sailors, but Diana’s Aunt and General Antiope dies intercepting a German bullet meant for Diana. By using a famous Wonder Woman weapon to interrogate the pilot, (The Lasso of Truth) Steve is forced to reveal that World War I is raging in the outside world, and that he is an Allied spy. He stole a notebook from the Spanish chief chemist Isabel Maru / “Doctor Poison”(Elena Anaya), who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas under the orders of General Erich Ludendorff, (Danny Huston) who is an ambitious and iron fisted-general of the German Army during World War I. Believing Ares is responsible for the war, Diana arms herself with the ceremonial sword and leaves Themyscira with Steve to find and destroy Ares.

After the two arrive in London and deliver Maru’s notebook to Steve’s superiors, including Sir Patrick Morgan, (David Thewlis) who is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany, the journey begins. Diana translates Maru’s notes and reveals that the Germans plan to release their deadly gas at the war front. Sir Patrick secretly sponsors Steve, Diana and 3 recruits: Sameer, (Saïd Taghmaoui) who is a French Moroccan con-artist and secret agent, marksman Charlie, (Ewen Bremner) a heavy-drinking Scottish former sharpshooter who can no longer shoot due to PTSD from a previous tour of duty and Chief, (Eugene Brave Rock) a Native American smuggler who trades with both sides of the war and knows how to get people across front lines.   Steve becomes Diana’s love interest and they all share a small victory thus taking a group picture, that is presented at the beginning of the movie.

The movie is pretty good up until this point.  Wonder Woman is where she wants to be, realizing her goal to save the world and achieve peace.  I thought it was hilarious watching her perform smack dab in the middle of a World War as a super being, scantly dressed, jumping over hills, displaying strength unknown to man, yet being treated as normal as any other soldier fighting a war.  She was so out of place, due to the time frame and her gender, plus it was extremely cold — maybe her outfit was heated.  This was the only time I felt things got a little corny.  Overall, I really enjoyed Wonder Woman and look forward to seeing the next sequel.  The rest of the story was decent and I think you will like it as well. Check it out!

 

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017) – My rating: 7.5/10

John Wick: Chapter 2 is an action thriller sequel to the 2014 film John Wick. The plot follows the popular hitman after he goes on the run when a bounty is placed on his head.  There is so much fighting and killing in this sequel, it made me tired just watching.  John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is well connected and has everything he needs to get the job done.  The only thing he doesn’t have, that he really wants, is freedom.  After the first John Wick film,  John considered himself a former assassin who just, going forward, wanted to be left alone to live his life as a free man.  The sequel opens with John tracking down his stolen 1969 Ford Mustang, which he finds at a chop shop owned by Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare), brother of Viggo and uncle of Iosef from the first film.  During the recovery of his car, it gets heavily damaged so he calls on Aurelio (John Leguizamo), the owner of a high-end chop shop to repair it. 

After a visit from Italian crime lord Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), John learns he is not free until he fulfills an oath sealed by blood years ago as a commitment into the assassins secret society.  When John refuses to honor his commitment, Santino burns down John beautiful home using a grenade launcher as a warning.   Winston (Ian McShane), the owner of the Continental hotel in New York City, reminds John that if he rejects the Marker, he will be violating one of the two unbreakable rules of the underworld: no killing on Continental ground, and the Markers must be honored. John accepts his duty and meets with D’Antonio, who tasks him with assassinating his sister Gianna D’Antonio (Claudia Gerini) so he can claim her seat on the “High Table,” a council of high-level crime lords. D’Antonio sends Ares (Ruby Rose), his personal bodyguard, to follow and keep an eye on John.

From here, the movie moves to Rome where John is expected to carry out his commitment.  Here he encounters Cassian (Common) an old colleague and bodyguard of Gianna’s.  There is much fighting, killing and counter plots as John fights to free himself from the Assassins underground organization.  Eventually, John seeks help from the underground crime lord Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne).  What ensues from this point is definitely a twist you won’t see coming.  John Wick is a killing machine — it’s all about survival and beating the odds.  The odds are bigger than any odds I’ve seen, which makes John’s journey seem pretty hopeless.  I wasn’t particularly fond of the sequel because of the endless killing and the hopeless plot.  John Wick: Chapter 2 has plenty of action and is not predictable.  If you don’t mind all the violence, check it out.