The Zack Snyder era of DC Comics movies, and the Christopher Nolan “Batman” films” before that, are often described as being “dark and gritty” comic movies. Sometimes that’s an adjective — and sometimes it’s a knock against the films.
When it comes to “Man of Steel” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” the heavy focus on dark themes and deadly superheroes is a pretty definite negative. Those movies get a lot of flack for being obsessed with their dark tone and imagery. That’s how you get Superman, a hero defined by his empathy and lifesaving actions, participating in a city-destroying battle that must have killed hundreds. It’s also how you wind up with a version of Batman that shoots people, and when he’s not shooting them, he’s branding them.
“Wonder Woman,” which is often lighter and much funnier than either “Man of Steel” or “Batman v. Superman,” is being held up as an answer to the “dark and gritty” approach to superhero movies. You don’t need to be so dark or so gritty to make superheroes work, some critics are saying.
But we knew that already. Just look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In fact, “Wonder Woman” is dark and gritty. In fact, It’s hard to set your movie during the Great War and not get into some pretty horrific subject matter. It doesn’t get much darker or grittier than a muddy trench full of World War I soldiers worried about getting gassed. Lots of people die in “Wonder Woman,” and the heroic Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) kills several of them herself.
Despite being a movie about World War I in which the primary antagonists are looking for newer, better ways to kill as many thousands as possible, “Wonder Woman” can feel like it shouldn’t fall into the “dark and gritty” category. It’s got a lot of humor, especially in the first half of the film, before it finds itself actively embroiled in the war.
But removing “Wonder Woman” from the more dour designation of other DC universe films also does it something of a disservice. The movie still pushes for something of a “realistic” take on the superhero, digging in on violence and war and their consequences. But it stands out from its DC Comics predecessors because it’s not nearly as dark as DC’s other films, and because it makes much better use of its darkness and grittiness.
And really, there’s a distinction between describing a movie as being serious and downbeat and deriding it for being overly so. The reason many people react poorly to some of DC’s tone choices comes down to, for one thing, the novelty of the scarier and more realistic brand of superhero films having worn off. With “dark and gritty” no longer being especially interesting for being different, a setting and tone that pushes too hard on the downbeat end of the superhero spectrum can feel like it’s doing so for no reason other than a hamfisted attempt at edginess.
Whereas the tone of “Man of Steel” feels out-of-step with the character of Superman and “Batman v. Superman” seems to wallow in just how in-your-face tough the movie is about its depressing “realism,” “Wonder Woman” utilizes its tone and setting as character development for Diana. When it does trench warfare, soldiers missing limbs, and vicious gas attacks, it uses those things to build the characters in the film.
“Wonder Woman” stands in contrast to “Batman v. Superman” and “Man of Steel” because of the way it employs its darker elements. Snyder’s Batman turns to murder and maiming his victims. His Superman often seems indifferent to suffering. But Wonder Woman looks at the darkest parts of humanity and decides her role is the never-ending battle to protect the world from them.
“Wonder Woman” puts a DC Comics superhero in a dark and gritty movie, but instead of that making Diana worse, downtrodden and compromised, she embraces her heroic identity even more.
That makes “Wonder Woman” less a movie that proves superhero movies don’t need to be dark, and more one that shows how to use that tone to the benefit of the character. “Wonder Woman” takes its hero to one of the worst conflicts in history, but its protagonist is shaped by it without being beaten by it. “Wonder Woman” goes dark and gritty, and Diana Prince becomes a better hero because of it. It’s a good lesson for DC on how to make that kind of tone work for its heroes, rather than letting the tone overtake them.
Every Major 'Wonder Woman' Character, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)
“Wonder Woman” digs into the origins of the character by embroiling her in the conflict of World War I. Diana of Themyscira’s introduction to the world of humans is full of funny mercenaries and a few eerily creepy bad guys. Here are all the people who find themselves hanging out with Wonder Woman, from thinnest to most interesting. Warning: Spoilers beyond this point!
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11. General Ludendorff (Danny Huston) As the red herring villain for most of the movie, Ludendorff’s major function is just to be sneeringly evil as often as possible. But he lacks the homicidal quirkiness of Dr. Maru or the ideological anger of Ares — he’s just a guy who wants to kill a lot of people. Generally, the general is a bit dull.
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10. Sir Patrick (David Thewlis) Though the twist involving his character is obvious early in the movie, the talented Thewlis does a lot with his real role as the God of War. Still, Ares/Sir Patrick just doesn’t get much in the way of real character development — a shame, since he spends the end of the movie monologuing the themes of “Wonder Woman” and Diana’s internal struggle.
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9. Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) Diana’s mom is pretty one-note. Most of her role is about saying veiled things that give away Wonder Woman’s true nature, and wringing her hands over Diana going to battle. The conflict isn’t bad, but Hippolyta feels more like a speed bump that slows Diana's forward movement in getting the movie going than a full character.
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8. The Chief (Eugene Brave Rock) The third of Steve’s team doesn’t say much, but his observant nature means he gets the other guys in a way that adds a closeness to the group. “Wonder Woman” is at its best when it gets Steve’s team together with Diana. When all the characters add to the unit, it makes it a lot of fun to watch.
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7. Charlie (Ewen Bremner) Charlie does a lot of subtle but important thematic work in “Wonder Woman,” serving as the member of the team who’s damaged the most by war. He brings a lot of humanity to the character that otherwise might have felt like pure comic relief, and adds some layers to Diana's character development.
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6. Antiope (Robin Wright) As the greatest warrior the Amazons have ever had, she’s obviously also the coolest among them, especially when she takes it on herself to train Diana to be an even better warrior. She also might have the best stunt in the movie when she takes down three enemy soldiers with one pull of the bowstring.
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5. Sameer (Saïd Taghmaoui) As the intuitive and artistic member of the team, Sami has all the best insights and interesting things to say. He also brings the most personality to the team, and his acting skills make for a couple of funny moments that lighten up the whole “stopping mustard gas from murdering thousands” plot.
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4. Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) Good ol’ Steve is Diana’s link to the human world, and as an earnestly good guy, he’s a good partner for her. He’s also pretty great at getting out of the way and letting Diana handle the superheroing. A man character would constantly be getting in the way or trying to control the situation, but Steve’s all about utilizing everyone on the team to their strengths.
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3. Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya) There’s an overarching creepiness to Dr. Maru that’s really fascinating — so much so that she could probably carry the villain end of the movie on her own if “Wonder Woman” would let her. Anaya is at the top of her game when Steve tries to seduce her with a semi-erotic discussion about things getting destroyed by fire. Maru’s easy to hate, but she’s also interesting.
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2. Etta (Lucy Davis) Despite having all the funniest lines in the movie, Steve Trevor’s secretary feels underused. She's a useful balance to all the military-minded soldiers and is hilarious as the only non-mercenary, non-superhero regular person on the cast.
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1. Diana (Gal Gadot) The actual Wonder Woman strikes a balance between being super-smart and weirdly naive. Having never met humans before, watching her learn about their society and their shortcomings is a lot of fun. She manages to be pretty funny and pretty badass in equal measure.
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Spoiler alert: the best characters are women
“Wonder Woman” digs into the origins of the character by embroiling her in the conflict of World War I. Diana of Themyscira’s introduction to the world of humans is full of funny mercenaries and a few eerily creepy bad guys. Here are all the people who find themselves hanging out with Wonder Woman, from thinnest to most interesting. Warning: Spoilers beyond this point!