Wonder Woman!

[Tom Sawyer]

Well, it's not like her muscles factor in at all into how strong she is. Her god powers make her strong, not her workout regimen. It's like how a scrawny pencil neck from Krypton could still punch you into the sun. That is, of course, if the fascist, totalitarian dictatorship on Krypton hadn't had its eugenics program breed scrawniness out of the population centuries ago.

 

[Underseer]

Identity politics?
Oh.
Right.
You have to hate the movie because it doesn't star a white male. That makes you feel less manly or something, right?

That's not what he is saying. I think he is right that movies staring women and (certain) minorities get automatic bump with critics because of political correctness.
I.e. would a movie with a male superhero but otherwise the same have gotten the same high RT or MC rating? Probably not. That is not to say that the movie is necessarily bad, just that it probably gets a bonus with critic scores.

But WW might be on the receiving end of a different kind of identity politics. Namely, the movie is being hated by some Muslims because Gal Gadot is, *gasp*, Israeli. Lebanon even banned the movie from cinemas.
'Wonder Woman' banned in Lebanon because lead actress is Israeli

There have also been some other quite nasty reactions on the Internet around her being Israeli.

And so on.

My personal opinion is that the number of superhero movies is too damn high. I have grown bored of the genre years ago. I think Gal is nice looking though, so there's that.

Yes. You assume that critics automatically like a movie better if it doesn't star white makes.

You believe this because of certain bizarre conspiracy theories that you use to justify your own racism and misogyny to yourself. There is no sinister conspiracy against white men. You are not being persecuted. White genocide isn't a thing.

 

[Toni]

I've never been a comic book aficionado, so I am not conflicted nor disappointed in all the many ways any current film departs from the canon. With that in mind, I liked Wonder Woman more than most of the comic based movies I've seen. One major reason for the popularity of the film is that it genuinely stars a woman as a super hero. Believe it or not, a lot of girls and women respond to films which feature strong female leads who are not rape victims or prostitutes or male characters in female bodies. The audience on the night I saw the film was pretty well divided male/female. Which is a stark departure from the very heavily male audience for most of the comic/superhero films I've seen.


At my local multi plex, there are actually 3 films which prominently feature female characters: Wonder Woman, The Mummy, and Rough Night. I've seen WW, and will pass on the second two although if I am bored in a couple of years, I might see either of the other two On Demand or Netflix. Maybe. Three is the highest number of films showing at the same time in this theater which prominently feature female characters since I can remember. And I'm older than most of you. Normally, there are none. Zero. Nada. Not a damn single one. For weeks and months on end. Rarely are there any films starring characters of color, male or female. Even rarer than having a female lead.

What is not at all surprising is the avalanche of male critique of a female actor who looks like a very beautiful real woman and not like a body builder. I don't remember quite so much criticism of Toby McGuire, Ben Affleck, Michael Fucking Keaton ffs, or other male actors portraying comic super heroes. Some, but not nearly as much.

 

[prideandfall]

What is not at all surprising is the avalanche of male critique of a female actor who looks like a very beautiful real woman and not like a body builder. I don't remember quite so much criticism of Toby McGuire, Ben Affleck, Michael Fucking Keaton ffs, or other male actors portraying comic super heroes. Some, but not nearly as much.

not to detract from your overall point, which is one that i get, but in this case... you don't remember it, but holy hell did it exist.

in fact, with michael keaton it was even more notable because the internet didn't exist yet so what happened was a massive and insane letter writing campaign screaming about how a 5-foot-nothing comedic actor wasn't really batman.
the other two got a ton of heat as well when announced, so did heath ledger as the joker.

outside of the movies made by marvel, which have had just some of the most insanely perfect casting, every time anyone is cast as almost any superhero, people freak the hell out about it.