Wonder Woman

Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is about to finally hit theaters this weekend, but there was a time when she was part of an equally as high-profile superhero movie gig a few years ago. Jenkins was the director of Thor: The Dark World for a few months, before she and Marvel had to part due to those pesky “creative differences.” But Jenkins isn’t sore over it — she’s currently responsible for the highest-reviewed DC movie yet.

Like everything else in the movie business, trailers chase trends. Somebody does something, that thing becomes a huge hit, and then everyone copies it. That’s particularly evident in the use of music in trailers. For a few years, Inception BRAAAHMS were everywhere. Recently, we’ve been buried beneath an onslaught of trailers with sad versions of pop songs (so many, in fact, I made two different lists of them). Now there’s a new trend: Imagine Dragons.

It was the Facebook post that launched a thousand (give or take) s— fits. When the Alamo Drafthouse announced a special women-only screening of Wonder Woman, the outrage from misogynist bros was swift, immediate and entirely insane, with many bizarrely labeling the event “sexist.” But those toxic reactions didn’t quite have the intended effect and only made the screening more popular among women, spurring the Drafthouse to turn it into a national event, much to the chagrin of all those whiny sexist internet trolls — including one particularly angry man who decided it might be more effective to bypass theater management entirely and take his complaints straight to the mayor of Austin, Texas.

There are at least 11 theatrical movies and serials starring Batman. There are 11 more with Superman. There are Suicide Squad, Constantine, Catwoman, Supergirl, Swamp Thing, and Watchmen movies. Hell, even Jonah freaking Hex got his own film seven years ago. For whatever reason, there has never been a Wonder Woman movie until this week. At least it’s here now, and it is really good.

ScreenCrush editor-in-chief Matt Singer loves movies and has an unholy fascination with food inspired by movies. These are his stories.

'Wonder Woman' is bursting with female empowerment, thrilling action and emotional storytelling.

It may be the title of the movie but the words “wonder” and “woman” are ever spoken in Wonder Woman. Until an underwhelming fight between two super-beings brings the film crashing back down to earth, Wonder Woman often feels less like a superhero movie than a modern fable, about a strong but sheltered young woman who discovers the pleasures and perils of the wider world. It’s presented with strong visual style and abundant heart by Patty Jenkins, and played with oozing charisma by its two well-cast stars, Chris Pine and Gal Gadot as the (not-technically-named-) Wonder Woman.

Zack Snyder had so much additional material for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that he delivered a three-hour director’s cut for the Blu-ray release. And after all those reports of reshoots and competing cuts, Suicide Squad arrived on home video with a decent amount of bonus footage — mostly featuring Jared Leto’s Joker. As for Wonder Woman, director Patty Jenkins says you shouldn’t expect to see any deleted scenes when the film hits DVD and Blu-ray…because there aren’t any deleted scenes, like, at all.

Ladies: Imagine going to see Wonder Woman in a movie theater filled with nothing but other women. Sounds fun, right? The Alamo Drafthouse certainly thinks so, which is why the geniuses behind our favorite theater chain organized a special women-only screening of the highly-anticipated superhero film at their downtown Austin location. Unfortunately (but predictably, which is just as unfortunate), a whole bunch of dudes are acting like big whiny weenies about it — hilariously oblivious to how their sexist attitudes further prove the need for this event.

Acting can be a thankless business. With all the work, the rejection, the dealing with people you don’t get along with, the exhausting hours and press tours, it’s a wonder than any celeb can stick it out as long as some of our greatest stars have. Sometimes all that disappointment can push an actor to the brink — and then the right audition at the right time for a fantastic role can pull them back again. That’s exactly what happened to Gal Gadot, a.k.a. our new Wonder Woman: before she was cast, she almost quit acting altogether.