Wonder Woman - 4 1/2 Stars

*singing* Wonder Woman! Wonder Woman! All the world's waiting for you!
 
I couldn't help but start this review with the original “Wonder Woman” 1970’s theme song. For 75 years the world and myself have all been waiting for Wonder Woman to grace the silver screen in live action. It took a long time but it was definitely well worth it. 
 
I grew up a huge fan of Superman and the Justice League trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. When the 1970’s TV series “Wonder Woman” with Lynda Carter came out, I was instantly hooked. It was full of cheesy fun, but it's so iconic to the Wonder Woman character we all know. 
 
As you may know I haven't really been a big fan of the latest DC movie universe films. The tone of the universe has just been dark and brooding and the characters' motivations have not inspired me to like them. With this “Wonder Woman” film being the first female lead superhero film ever and being released in this tough political landscape, DC was going to be risking a lot. 
 
With all that being said, “Wonder Woman,” knocked it out of the park and checked all the marks I had on my list. Patty Jenkins directed the film with such great care to the character and theme of the story. Gal Gadot was born to play Wonder Woman and be the strong woman superhero that all women and little girls can admire. Chris Pine as Steve Trevor is fantastic and shares great chemistry with Gal Gadot. The movie delivers what all the recent DC films have been missing which is heart, character, humor and optimism which is what the world can use right now. 
 
This reminded me a lot of the 1978 film “Superman.” Superman to me has always been the american boy-scout who cares about humanity more than himself. Wonder Woman makes a huge effort (all most a little too much) to convince you that she cares about humanity and is willing to sacrifice everything to save them. 
 
Wonder Woman is such a strong independent woman in this film as well. There were times during the action sequences when I would yell out "holy crap!!" or "she is so damn strong!" The action scenes pack a mighty punch from the very beginning and you are actually able to see the choreography for a change. 
 
The villain was a little weak in parts and DC along with Marvel need to work on fleshing out their villains. If I had to say anything negative it would be that I would have loved to seen a tournament among the Amazon women to go back with Steve Trevor to the war. I would have spent a little bit more time in Themysica. I would have shortened it by 20 or 30 minutes. And also I would like for Wonder Woman to fly. But those are very minor nitpicks and it's not spoiler territory to jeopardize this review.

Overall the film is very well done and I found it very hard to find things negative about it. I'm just glad that I am alive to finally see this monumental time in film history. I can't wait to see it again!

*UPDATE* - Upon second viewing, the film was better the second time. All the character driven plot still felt welcoming and the humor still hit where it needed to. I still had issues with the villain character and third act in parts but it still didn't take away from my enjoyment of the film.

4 1/2 Stars!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review - 4 Stars

This review is pretty much spoiler-free.

We're getting the band back together! Well let's get the band back together but add a couple more things. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 is the sequel that I was most anticipating this summer. All the original gang is back with Peter Quill, Drax, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Nebula, Yondu and Groot in baby form. The movie picks up right into a battle with the team trying to defeat this large creature to protect some valuable batteries for the Sovereign alien race. The producers of the previous film noticed how popular dancing Groot was so much that they lean on that by having Groot dance throughout the entire battle and opening credits. It was very cute and a fun way to showcase the tone of the film you are about to see. Kurt Russell is introduced in this film as Ego the Living Planet and Peter Quill's father. His role was very well done. I latched on to him in every scene and it made me think of the previous films of Kurt Russell like Big Trouble in Little China and Overboard. I know Overboard is a stretch but when I think Kurt Russell I can't help but think about that movie.

Anyways, this film was a very fun ride. The characters continue with their gags, puns and insults. Especially Drax and Rocket Raccoon. Most of the viewing audience have been falling in love with Baby Groot but Yondu was the standout character in this film for me. His character arc is very well told by Michael Rooker and he plays a very pivotal role in the overall meaning of the film. The space battles were very well done and the color palette was amazing to the eyes. The film overall was very rinse and repeat from the first. It was almost as if James Gunn said "Hey you like it when Drax is very blunt and obvious with his jokes. Let's give him more lines like that." "Hey you like it when Groot is dancing and cute, let's give you more that." It was more of the same. However sometimes that can be a little over saturated. I was a huge fan of the original film. It was fresh. We had never seen these characters portrayed before on the big screen or TV. It had a great team origin story and cohesiveness. This film didn't really have all those elements.

While I enjoyed the humor and action scenes I wasn't a fan of the plot or so called "villain" of the film. The plot lacked depth for me and used the troupe of family to tell the story. As other reviewers have stated it was very much like hearing Vin Diesel talk about family in the Fast and Furious franchise. I understand the point and understand if the director wants to use it as part of driving the narrative but not the main focus. So much so that it's the "villain" of the film? Come on. One of the other issues I had with the film was the soundtrack. In volume one, the soundtrack was basically a character of the film. It played a pivotal role in telling the story. Each song was iconic and was used properly. This volume had maybe like 3 songs that I knew and the rest were filler to just play during battle scenes. Maybe it's just a generational thing but I didn't like the selections. I would equate these two film soundtracks as such, the first was Michael Jackson's Thriller album with hit after hit after hit and the second being Michael Jackson's Dangerous album with a couple of good songs.

Overall the movie is good but it just felt like it was being a little forceful in trying to capture the same feeling of the first. I would have preferred it if the director gave us a proper villain, a better plot and a little less of the same gags as before. 

I still recommend it if you a fan of volume one but just know that the popcorn might get a little stale halfway through. I'm giving it a B.