This post includes a brief plot summary and an explanation about the ending of the 2017 film “Wonder Woman”.
Directed by Patty Jenkins, the 2017 superhero film stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor and David Thewlis as Sir Patrick Morgan. Beware of spoilers.
Wonder Woman tells the early story of Diana Prince, an Amazon who leaves her island to stop the Great War (World War I). Her decision was heavily influenced by Steve Trevor, the pilot who crashed into Themyscira. After Diana rescued him, he told her about the massive conflict that is destroying humanity in the “outside world”. Based on Hippolyta’s stories, Diana is now convinced that Ares (God of War) is the one responsible for the war.
What Happens In Wonder Woman (2017)? (Plot Explained)
After leaving Themyscira, Diana and Steve head to London. The latter delivers a notebook containing sensitive information to the Supreme War Council. Although Steve’s superiors advise him against getting more involved in the war, Sir Patrick Morgan intervenes and grants them permission to proceed.
During their journey to stop the Great War, Diana becomes convinced that General Ludendorff is Ares. After crossing No Man’s Land, Steve and Diana managed to infiltrate the German High Command’s party. There, they meet General Ludendorff. When Diana was about to kill the man, Steve stops her out of fear of jeopardizing their mission.
General Ludendorff unleashes a lethal gas on Veld, killing a large number of its inhabitants. Diana goes after the general. She kills him after finally finding him. But, to her surprise, his death does not put an end to the war. Meanwhile, Steve hijacks a plane loaded with toxic gas and flies far away. After reaching a safe distance, Steve sacrifices himself and detonates the plane.
Plot Twist: General Ludendorff is not who Diana thought he was. The man that she is after is the one who was seemingly helping her during this entire time.
The Ending of Wonder Woman (2017) Explained
The ending of Wonder Woman reveals that Sir Patrick Morgan is Ares. The God of War tries to convince Diana that humans are inherently corrupt and therefore don’t deserve to exist. Despite his efforts, she refuses to join him. After reminding Ares that humans also have good in them, Diana strikes him with his own lightning. His death brings world peace again.
The Origin Story of Ares Explained
So, who is the main antagonist in Wonder Woman (2017)? Ares is the God of War and the son of Zeus (the King of Gods). Diana is the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, which makes Ares her half-brother.
Humankind is Zeus’ creation. According to the Amazonian women, Ares grew envious of humans and tried to destroy his father’s creation. He did it by instilling jealousy and suspicion, which led them to turn against each other.
The Amazons tried to intervene, but Ares declared war on everyone against him. As a result, Zeus decided to fight against his own son. He wounded Ares so badly that he had no choice but to retreat.
Nonetheless, Zeus knew that Ares would return to finish what he had started. Therefore, he decided to create Themyscira, an island hidden from the rest of the world, to protect the Amazons from Ares. Now, this is the Amazons’ side of the story. Now, let’s talk about Ares’ point of view. How does he see himself?
Is Ares the real villain in Wonder Woman (2017)?
Villains don’t usually see themselves as the bad guys. In their minds, they are the ones who are right. The rest of the world is at fault and needs to catch up with them. Ares’ philosophy about humans is very simple: they are inherently bad, corrupt, and not worthy. In other words, humans are trash.
According to Ares, he is not the root of all the evil in the world. The God of War admits to whispering impure thoughts to humans, but he doesn’t hold himself accountable for their actions. At the end of the day, humans are the ones making the decisions, not him. That’s how he excuses himself for his actions. Despite his outrageous reasoning, Ares is not wrong. As a matter of fact, he is kind of right.
Diana and Ares share very different opinions on humankind’s fate. How different are the views between the Princess of Themyscira and the God of War? Diana thinks that humans have bad qualities. However, she also sees the good in them. According to Diana, humans have both good and bad in them. That’s the definition of being human. On the other hand, Ares is a little bit more extreme. He doesn’t see beauty in “imperfection”, which is why he deems humankind unworthy and therefore shouldn’t exist.
Final Thoughts
What are my honest thoughts on Wonder Woman (2017)? The film is amazing and absolutely breathtaking. I must confess that I had some reservations at the time they announced the project.
First of all, there aren’t many films about female superheroes. Having said that, I was crossing my fingers for Wonder Woman (2017) to be great. Second, I thought to myself: “Is Wonder Woman (the character) really that interesting?” After seeing the final product. I feel kind of silly for even asking such a question.
Patty Jenkings did a phenomenal job, she made Diana Prince relatable and a modern superhero. Wonder Woman (2017) is almost two and a half hours long, but the director made every minute count. There wasn’t one single dull moment in the film. The storytelling is impeccable, there was the right amount of action and romance in the film. Nothing was overdone, everything was on point.
So what made Wonder Woman (2017) such a good film? In my opinion, it was an amalgamation of many things: story, characters, actors, and its heart.
Nowadays, there is no such thing as a shortage of superhero films. Everything in the film is big and it’s meant to be like that. However, just because you spend large amounts of money to produce a film, it’s not a real guarantee that it’s going to be a success. So what makes Wonder Woman stand out from others and become such a box-office success?
As I said before, the film has a heart. Its fancy budget and flashy visuals are not what impress me the most about Wonder Woman (2017). The story and the characters are full of emotions. That said, the film looks good, but it’s also substantial enough to captivate the audience. Ultimately, I believe this was the key element that made Wonder Woman (2017) so well received by the audience and critics. The film is serious without being pretentious and uses comedy in the right amounts.
Now, let’s talk about the acting in Wonder Woman (2017). In my opinion, the casting was perfect, as were the respective performances.
Let’s start with Gal Gadot. The actress is mesmerizing and exudes an incredible presence as Wonder Woman. Actually, I believe her foreign accent made Diana Prince even more charismatic. At this point, Gal Gadot is officially my new girl crush. Rumour has it that Patty Jenkins didn’t want Gadot as Wonder Woman. Jenkins wanted an American actress to play the iconic superhero. Well, I guess Gadot just proved her wrong.
Then, there is Chris Pine. Honestly, I was not expecting the actor to play Steve Trevor. Why? Well, Pine is not a newcomer, he has a couple of blockbusters under his belt (in which he starred as the lead actor). Therefore, it was kind of refreshing watching him as Wonder Woman’s “main squeeze”. I must say the following: he was perfect as Steve. Very few actors can be funny without trying too hard. Having said that, it was a very pleasant surprise.
Last but not least, let’s talk about David Thewlis. The seasoned actor really shines when he reveals himself as Ares. The transition from Sir Patrick to Ares is quite subtle. It wasn’t like “gotcha, bitch!”, instead, it was more like a “now you see me” type of scene. Having said that, it takes talent to portray a villain that makes us feel somehow conflicted.
Without a doubt, Wonder Woman was one of my favourite films of 2017. It’s official: I’m a Wonder Woman fan! In my opinion, Wonder Woman (2017) marked a new era for superhero films. Also, the film proves that audiences are interested in stories that star female characters too.
By the way, there is a sequel to Wonder Woman (2017). Please do not watch it. I don’t know what happened, but if you want the first film of its instalment to remain immaculate, just stop right here.