9 Things Parents Should Know About ‘Wonder Woman’

1. What’s it about?

Gal Gadot (Fast and the Furious) plays Diana Prince, an Amazon princess who lives on a hidden island occupied only by female warriors. A pilot (Chris Pine) crashes his plane near the island and Diana rescues him, setting off an epic journey as Diana goes to the front lines of World War I to try to use her powers to bring about peace. Wonder Woman is rated PG-13 and has a running time of 2:21.

2. Will I like it?

Let’s be honest. Since Heath Ledger made us all a bit uneasy in The Dark Knight, DC movies have been pretty meh. (Arguably, before as well.) So I wasn’t entirely optimistic going in. However, Wonder Woman was an absolute delight. I loved it. It was intelligent storytelling and its color palette and framing were very suggestive of comic book panels, moreso than anything I can think of outside Sin City.

It approached special effects in a way that felt new and unique and its action scenes were definitely a lot more than just close-up blurs. As Diana and her Amazonian sisters did battle, it appeared gymnastically graceful, like a ballet (albeit, one performed with spears and arrows). And the final battle … wow.

Wonder Woman has a sense of humor too. I found it to be a bit smarter in its jokes than most superhero movies and pleasingly subtle in its witty deliveries, as well. When it was over, I immediately said how much I enjoyed it … and how much it made me look forward to the upcoming Justice League movie. Wonder Woman is a fresh take on superhero movies and it is a very powerful movie too. Succinctly, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman is tough, determined, and 100% badass.

I was also a big fan of this movie because …

3. Will my kids like it?

I brought my 14-year-old daughter and she loved it. Not only did she love it as an action-packed superhero movie, which had an “entirely unpredictable plot,” she loved Wonder Woman, too. She was also very appreciative that it was directed by a woman. While she’s more into science than movies, we had a really good conversation on the way home about how so many women in movies are just window dressing or not really important to plots and how it felt empowering to her for the lead role to finally be a powerful woman. It was a good conversation I was very thankful to have experienced the movie with her. A movie that makes young women feel special and good about themselves is pretty darn neat.

4. Why is it rated PG-13?

It’s a superhero movie so there’s a lot of action and violence consistent with this sort of movie; none of it is overly gory though. Much of the plot takes place during the Great War, so there are some wounds and lost limbs consistent with that time. There are also a number of big, loud explosions. So, if you have someone who is sensitive to loud noises you may want to wait to see this one at home. Finally, as a minor spoiler, there is a story line that has to do with trench gases as weapons. Though nothing is shown, some of the sound effects and insinuations are that the resultant deaths are pretty gruesome. Hopefully these examples can help you decide if the movie is right for your family.

5. I don’t know anything about Wonder Woman. Will I be lost?

I was lamenting the other day that everything I know about Wonder Woman came from Super Friends and Lynda Carter, neither of which I’ve seen in about (gulp) 40 years. It doesn’t matter. Wonder Woman is part origin story, so everything you need to know is included. Even if you don’t know the first thing about Princess Diana of Themyscira, the movie will explain all you need to know.

6. When’s the best time for a bathroom break?

The movie clocks in at two hours and 20 minutes and the story moves very rapidly. Stop your fluid intake four hours before the curtain goes up because you don’t want to miss a minute. However, if you have to step out, at around the hour and a quarter mark, there’s a scene around a campfire. Go the moment you see it and get back quickly!

7. Will I want to see it again?

I did. I was so excited about the movie after that I told my daughter (who went with me) that I would go again the next night if I could. She agreed. It’s really well done moviemaking and it was a pleasure to watch it unfold. I want to watch it again to see if I missed anything.

8. Do I need to sit through the credits?

Nope. There are some gorgeous art interpretations of key scenes in the movie for the first few minutes of the credit crawl, but after that, there’s nothing else. No special scenes. Head for the lobby and beat the traffic because you’re “in the know”!

9. Anything else?

Spoiler: There’s no invisible jet.

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