The new trailer for Wonder Woman arrived today, and we are pleased to report that it’s mostly wonderful. Directed by Patty Jenkins (Monster) and starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, the film takes place during World War I – the so-called “war to end all wars” – when an Amazon princess gets pulled into the conflict and enters, for the first time, the violent and sexist world of men. Impressive sense of scale, cool action sequences, relevant themes, even a few funny jokes, this movie sure does look great, doesn’t it?
In fact, it looks like an impressive about-face from the aggressively contemporary tone that Zack Snyder struck with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The trailer promises an adventurous throwback to action filmmaking of yore, with a welcome, feminist angle that has sadly been lacking from big budget entries in the superhero genre for far too long.
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And then of course the trailer ends, and it ends with a screechy nü-metal guitar solo that breaks the feel entirely, reminding us that Wonder Woman is being shoehorned into that testosterone-fueled madness that Zack Snyder wrought. It’s the same theme Wonder Woman had in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and it still sounds like Linkin Park covering the theme song from the 1965 Get Smart television show.
Look, I think we can all agree that Get Smart was an incredibly funny television series, but it’s not “badass” now and it never, ever was. And granted, a lot of the people in the target demographic for these blockbuster superhero movies are only vaguely aware of Get Smart, but once you’ve heard it, you can’t unheard it.
I’m not sure, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m fairly confident that this has never happened before. Danny Elfman’s Batman score wasn’t a grunge cover of the Petticoat Junction theme song. Ramin Djawadi’s score to Iron Man wasn’t an electropop riff on The Munsters. Why are we doubling down on this bizarre, tone-deaf squealing guitar solo in a film that’s obviously, desperately trying to differentiate itself from the film that came before it? You wouldn’t market Skyfall with a trailer that goes out of its way to remind you of Quantum of Solace and also, for some reason, Laverne and Shirley, would you?
Again, Wonder Woman looks great, but it’s too early to commit to a theme from a movie that divided audiences in half (at best), especially if it no longer seems to fit the historical period and tone of the newest film. This trailer comes SO CLOSE to being perfect but, as Maxwell Smart would say…
Top Photo: Warner Bros.
William Bibbiani (everyone calls him ‘Bibbs’) is Crave’s film content editor and critic. You can hear him every week on The B-Movies Podcast and Canceled Too Soon, and watch him on the weekly YouTube series Most Craved, Rapid Reviews and What the Flick. Follow his rantings on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
