Gal Gadot stars in the title role of Wonder Woman, an epic action adventure from director Patty Jenkins (Monster, The Killing) marking the DC Super Hero’s first-ever stand-alone feature film.
Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, raised on a sheltered island paradise and trained to be an unconquerable warrior. But when a pilot crashes off their shores and tells of a conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting in the war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers… and her true destiny.
One of the greatest Super Heroes of all time
Joining Gadot in the cast are Chris Pine (Star Trek), Robin Wright (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Netflix’s House of Cards), Danny Huston (Clash of the Titans), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Connie Nielsen (The Following), Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In), Ewen Bremner (T2 Trainspotting), Lucy Davis (Shaun of the Dead), Lisa Loven Kongsli (upcoming Ashes in the Snow) and Saïd Taghmaoui (American Hustle).
Patty Jenkins directed the film from a screenplay by Allan Heinberg, story by Zack Snyder & Allan Heinberg and Jason Fuchs, based on characters from DC.
Power, grace, wisdom and wonder – inspiring qualities intrinsic to one of the greatest Super Heroes of all time – Wonder Woman. An enduring DC archetype for more than 75 years -how and when did she come to be, and why did humankind’s welfare become so important to her?
Jenkins’ larger-than-life hero’s journey Wonder Woman tells the long-awaited origin story of Diana, the only child of Themyscira, a secret island gifted to her people from the king of the gods himself, Zeus. Hailing from the world of Amazons, Diana has been preparing for combat her whole life. But to become a true warrior, she will need to carry the courage of her convictions onto the most harrowing battlefield the world has ever known.
“The time is absolutely right to bring Wonder Woman to movie audiences,” says Jenkins. “Fans have been waiting a long time for this, but I believe people outside the fandom are ready for a Wonder Woman movie, too. Superheroes have played a role in many people’s lives; it’s that fantasy of ‘What would it be like if I was that powerful and that great, and I could go on that exciting journey and do heroic things?’ I was 7 when I first read Superman, and it rocked my world because I felt like Superman. The character captured exactly what I believed in then and still do: that there is a part of every human being that wishes they could change the world for the better.”
Then came Wonder Woman. “I watched the TV show, and she was everything a girl could aspire to be: strong and kind, exciting and stylish, powerful and effective, and just as fierce as the boys. She’s a badass, and at the same time she stands for love, forgiveness and benevolence in a complicated world.”
Much like her director, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot says, “What attracted me so much to this character is that she is so many different things, and they live within her in such a beautiful way. And because this is the first time we’re telling the story of this icon on film, Patty and I had many creative conversations about her. She’s the greatest warrior in the comics, but she can also be vulnerable, sensitive, confident, and confused…everything, all at once. And she never hides her intelligence or her emotions.”
Though creator William Moulton Marston first introduced Wonder Woman to readers in the midst of World War II, the film is set in 1918, at the tail end of the First World War. Charles Roven explains the filmmakers’ thinking behind the time shift, noting, “Juxtaposing this commanding female character who hails from a race of equally strong independent women with the early days of the suffragette movement was really interesting.
“Secondly,” he continues, “from a visual perspective, the subtleties of the era better convey the true horrors of modern war. It was the first war where fighting went from close range in hand-to-hand combat, or if you shot somebody you had to be relatively close and face your adversary, to being fought from a distance. You could bomb some place without even knowing what your foe looked like, or who it is that you might be killing. It actually became easier to kill. We wanted that new dynamic of war to be fresh for our character, because she is used to warriors being people you looked up to, and now she’s looking at a war where there’s no such thing as a hero, really, because you can’t be a hero if you don’t know who you’re fighting.”
Producer Deborah Snyder felt that Jenkins shared that vision for the film, but, more importantly, had an unparalleled passion for the character. “Patty’s excitement followed her all through shooting. She looked up to the character, and she felt a great responsibility, as did the rest of the team, to make sure she brought Wonder Woman to the screen in the most honest way possible. This is a figure who came before us and will outlast us, who fights for freedom and justice but also believes in love. That makes her enormously compelling.”
“Every superhero has his or her strong points,” Jenkins contends, “but I think the greatest thing about Wonder Woman is how good and kind and loving she is. Yet none of that negates her power; it enhances it!”
It’s Gadot, Jenkins attests, who fulfills the image of the Wonder Woman the world has been waiting for, inside and out. “Gal is literally the nicest, most beautiful, most dedicated individual you’ll ever meet. All she wanted out of this whole process was to do justice to the character. She genuinely wanted to embody the Diana everyone expects.” –
What: Wonder Woman
Release date: Friday, 2 June, 2017
Interviews: Times Media Films
Info: 0861-CINEMA (246362), numetro.co.za
Web: www.wonderwomanfilm.net
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