What Did You Think of Wonder Woman?

Despite a disruptive and even scary viewing experience, I found Wonder Woman to be an excellent movie.

I’ll get to the story in a moment, but first I want to focus on the movie itself. In my opinion, it will vie for the best DC movie ever, with The Dark Knight as the only other one coming close (for me). It’s hard to beat Heath Ledger as the Joker, but the action scenes in Wonder Woman are considerably better choreographed than in The Dark Knight.

Comparisons aside, on its own, it’s just good. Really good. The script is crisp and clean. The aesthetics and cinematography are excellent. Every scene serves a function. The acting is quite good. I cared about the characters, many of whom had interesting arcs. Gal Gagot did a fantastic job in the lead. It doesn’t hurt that I find her incredibly attractive.

If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear what you think. If you haven’t seen it, I highly, highly recommend it.

That said, it was a suboptimal viewing experience due to a young couple in the theater. For the first 40 minutes of the movie, they talked almost nonstop. There was a chorus of “shhhhhs” from other people in the theater, but that only seemed to increase the volume of the couple’s banter.

When it got to the point that they were shouting things at the screen, I decided to report it to the theater operator. I found someone at concession who wasn’t busy, and I told them what was happening. To their credit, they didn’t hesitate to go say something.

I returned to my seat after a bathroom break, and I have to admit that I was a bit scared. Based on the timing of me exiting and returning, it was pretty obvious that I had said something. So I was on edge for the next 60 minutes while the couple continued their antics and were eventually removed from the theater.

I’m finding it hard to describe why I sensed danger in the situation. Part of it was their aggressive attitude, both before and after they were cautioned. But part of it was just instinct based on how the guy carried himself as he walked in and out. He looked almost exactly like Eminem, even down to the sleeveless t-shirt. Everything about him shouted, “I don’t give a f—.” When I sense that in someone, I’m on high alert.

Have you ever reported someone in a movie theater? Were you worried they might act out against you?

10 thoughts on “What Did You Think of Wonder Woman?”

  1. We’re lucky enough to have an Alamo Drafthouse in Omaha. Disruptive behavior like that is simply not allowed. One warning is given followed by a prompt ejection without a refund. I’ve never called for a warning, but I’ve seen one meted out.

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    • That’s awesome! I’ve only been to the Alamo once, but I had a good experience there. I go to the movies quite often, and this level of disturbance is exceedingly rare, fortunately.

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  2. I’m always hesitant to call people out on things, thankfully have never had it happen in a movie.

    Luckily this week I got a $4 ticket to see WW from T-Mobile, and saw it in a larger screen, reclined rumble chair at my new local theater. It was a great movie to see in that format.

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    • Me too, Sean. I was really hoping someone else would say something, but despite people getting up to get drinks or popcorn, I never saw a theater attendant enter to check out the disturbance. Yet people kept shushing the couple, and they kept getting louder.

      A rumble chair! That’s awesome. 🙂

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  3. The demographic for “action movies” can lead to lots of situations like the one you described. The thing is that some of the Superhero films that are being released are a bit more thought provoking and deeper than the standard Hollywood shoot ’em ups. So it’s sad that you get people coming out to films like WW who just want to watch people running around, beating people up and shooting guns. Story and character development are not very high on their list of priorities. Obviously films can’t really choose their audience, unless it’s a very specific type of indie film or a serious drama. That means Wonder Woman will attract types that are about as sharp as a marble.

    I’ve had at least a couple of date nights out with my wife that were ruined by selfish people that either arrived late or drunk, or both, and then proceeded to speak loudly and become disruptive. The saddest part is that I rarely see these situations end with the “shushers” winning the respect of the “shushees”. The arrogant nature of someone that takes a seat in a theater and could care less about other peoples’ experience means that they consider themselves the most important person in the room. They will always refuse to accept that they are being disrespectful.

    The worst case scenario, which sends light on why you were worried about notifying the theater, is that an arrogant person sitting in a theater for an “action film” might just see fit to become violent when faced with someone shushing them or an employee asking them to leave the theater. Also, if the person in question creates a scene then the rest of the audience will most likely not enjoy having their experience spoiled. They might cheer somewhat when the person is ejected, but they will have been distracted from what might be a key moment in the film.

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    • Brent: It’s interesting that you (and David) mentioned the correlation between this type of incident and superhero movies. I hadn’t thought about that, but I can see some truth in it.

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  4. I really enjoyed the movie! The only thing that bothered me was the way young Diana acted. Something about her age and actions, just going shadow-fighting like crazy in the open like that, didn’t sit well with me. But that was literally it. Well, aside from a minor destroyer-sized plothole early on and a little strained plot logic later on.

    It’s unfortunate that you had to miss some of it! I’m also put off by going to the movies in America, especially suoerheroes, especially on opening weekend, especially when dudebro/MRAs are pissed off about something. Nothing makes you feel unsafe in America quite like disgruntled, emboldened, disillusioned young white men.

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    • David: It’s interesting that you mentioned the shadowboxing, because that was one of my favorite moments in the movie. To me, it had a deeper message: The little girl saw an army in her likeness–all women–and she was excited to join them. It was a powerful moment for me, as it was a reminder that little kids need heroes that look like them so they can aspire to fill those shoes someday.

      Perhaps I was overthinking it, but it really did have an impact on me. 🙂

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  5. I haven’t seen it yet and I’m hoping it is very good. It’s great to see a strong female lead and I hope they just let that be a natural strength and not try to tack on an agenda. It doesn’t need one. Wonder Woman can be everything that a superhero is supposed to be without the crutch of trying to force the fact that she is a strong female in our faces like we don’t know or can’t make the connection of strength and female in the same idea. I’d love it if they did that. To your event in the theatre, I had a similar instance with a guy in a Toys R Us store that kept slowing down and blocking the aisle. So after the 5th time he did it, I calmly went back and moved around his whole aisle so I could get where I needed to go. He saw that as a dig and tried to do the vague yelling in the parking lot about how ‘some people are in a &$*%ing hurry!”. Sorry scrappy! I got my then 3 year old daughter and wife with me and I’m not going to so much as give you eye contact. 🙂

    Reply

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