Don't Make a Scene: Wonder Woman

The Story: If all the movies of the DC Extended Movie Universe took the way of the first "Wonder Woman" movie, it would be looking at much more success and a better reputation.

As it is, it's the best "remembered" of the DCEMU films—along with Aquaman (of all movies)—which has more to do with first impressions than what was actually IN the movie. Looking at Man of Steel and Batman v Superman over the weekend, they've actually improved in impression with age—and slightly extended cuts. The patchwork Justice League looks worse and worse.

But, Wonder Woman remains solid—both in my view but also in the cultural zeitgeist, a product of "woke" sensibilities and just the fact that it's a good, solid film on almost every level, considering it's a "superhero" movie.

But, I am actually cherishing it these days in the time of COVID and the unscrupulous tactics of the current U.S. government; the movie is about individuals who believe in truth and fight to protect it, even though, sometimes, they operate on mistaken beliefs—Princess Diana's certitude that "The War To End All Wars" must be the product of the war-god Ares, specifically—but they are "man" enough (that's a rather cynical jibe on my part) to admit that they just might be wrong—horribly wrong—when confronted with facts. 

How refreshing that is.

Anyway, they set it up just perfectly—not with a planet blowing up or a murder in an alleyway—but with a mystery. Superheroes used to be called "Mystery Men." This one is a good story and is threaded with a melancholy for why this person of extraordinary abilities far beyond those of mortals might have been influenced to stay hidden through one of the bloodiest centuries of (ironic term) "man-kind."

You'll notice that director Jenkins shifts the time-line a bit from the script. In Heinberg's screenplay, Diana talks throughout, the narration ending with the transition to the Amazon island of Themyscira. Jenkins puts all the narration upfront, and then, once it's out of the way, allows the images to do the talking, lingering on the arrival of the mysterious photograph, letting us SEE Diana's reaction to it (rather than telling us what she's thinking). 

That's a much stronger choice. It allows us to economically make the transition from space, to not make it too fast—and putting Diana's first words of narration in blackness before we see the Earth only cements our attention to the words spoken, but also lets us accept the voice as our story-teller. I'd forgotten the Earth-swoop started the picture and just remembered the narration—that's also a by-product of the director's choice.

It also helps focus on Gal Gadot's performance—she's an actor who's capable of doing more than one thing at a time. As an audience, we need to be able to watch her—she will dominate the entire movie—and learn to trust that she'll be giving us the information we need to understand the story.

The Set-Up: We have seen Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Her origin and purpose still a total mystery. But, there is a century-old photograph of her. The story surrounding that photograph is the story of the movie.

FADE IN:

EXT. THE EARTH (FROM SPACE) 
The EARTH as seen from space, perfect and seemingly serene. 
DIANA (V.O.) I used to want to save the world... 

The distant SOUND OF TRIBAL DRUMS as we DESCEND planetward. CIRCLING the globe, CLOSER as the DRUMS BUILD.

DIANA (V.O.) This beautiful place. But I knew so little then. 
LOUDER DRUMS SOARING OVER oceans and continents. CLOSER. 

DIANA (V.O.) It is a land of magic and wonder, worth cherishing in every way.

DIANA (V.O.) But the closer you get, 

DIANA (V.O.) ...the more you see the great darkness simmering within.

Finally, we arrive in PARIS, FRANCE.  
EXT. LOUVRE MUSEUM (PARIS) - EARLY MORNING 
The LOUVRE MUSEUM -- with its 16th-Century architecture and its I.M. Pei glass-and-metal PYRAMIDS -- a place where the past and the future meet. 
DIANA PRINCE (30), antiquities expert, strides towards the Louvre, passing ARMED MILITARY at guard and alert. 

DIANA (V.O.) And mankind? (laughs) 

DIANA (V.O.) Mankind is another story altogether. 

A TRUCK pulls up, blocking our VIEW. 

ARMED SECURITY OFFICERS exit, unloading a CRATE from WAYNE ENTERPRISES addressed to DIANA PRINCE: CURATOR. 
INT. LOUVRE MUSEUM - CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS ACTION 
Diana walks down a HALLWAY with Assyrian bas-relief sculptures showing the good, and the bad, of humanity throughout history. She takes this in. 

DIANA (V.O.) What one does when faced with the truth, 

DIANA (V.O.) ...is more difficult than you think. 

INT. LOUVRE MUSEUM - DIANA’S OFFICE - MINUTES LATER
The CRATE is delivered to Diana -- a wall-mounted COLLECTION OF ANCIENT WEAPONRY and GREEK ANTIQUITIES behind her. 
She eyes the WAYNE ENTERPRISES LOGO warily. 
Now alone at her desk, Diana opens the crate and looks inside, stunned. 
REVEAL THE ORIGINAL DAGUERREOTYPE of Diana from BvS -- She’s in her WONDER WOMAN ARMOR, surrounded by a band of SOLDIERS -- her friends -- from long ago. 

DIANA (V.O.) I learned this the hard way. 

DIANA (V.O.) A long, long time ago. 

DIANA (V.O.) And now...

DIANA (V.O.) ...I will never be the same.

DIANA Merci.

She holds up the unsigned note accompanying the photo: 
“I found the original. Maybe one day you’ll tell me your story.” 

She contemplates the faces of her friends long dead. 

Her eyes focus in on a man we’ll soon know as STEVE TREVOR. She lingers on him, and then drifts to herself.

Surrounded by HISTORY, Diana is overwhelmed by the memory of how this photo -- and Wonder Woman -- came to be --

Wonder Woman

Words by Alan Heinberg (based on a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs)

Pictures by Matthew Jensen and Patty Jenkins

Wonder Woman is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.