I already had high expectations going in and this still managed to surpass them in just about every way. I feel like I can almost definitively say this is the best live action superhero film I’ve seen—and I also think it will be a tough one to rival. This trounces previous live action CBM’s in every category.

The camerawork is breathtaking. Every shot feels like it was meticulously thought out. The cinematography alone makes this film feel like an actual piece of art. But it’s not just that, it’s also the incredible score that plays throughout that made me feel anxious and filled with dread the entire film. And, continuing on from that, why did I feel so much dread? Because this film has actual stakes! There are consequences that can’t be magicked away! Terrible, upsetting things happen, people die in horrific ways, but it’s not bleak for the sake of being bleak, it has actual, pertinent things to say. 

Another reason I really liked this film is that to me it felt empathetic to women. There are scenes in here that to me, really felt like they captured the experience of what it’s like sometimes to be a woman. It puts the audience in a woman’s shoes. I can’t say I’ve felt that way many times about a movie before, if at all. 

I don’t think this movie is completely perfect, politically it feels confused. We spend multiple hours witnessing the horrors of police using their power for evil, for it to basically conclude with “well there are some good police! Not all of us are okay with murder and corruption!” That said, messy politics is kind of par for the course for any superhero media, unfortunately. 

Overall I loved this, and while I may lower my rating in the future I don’t think it’ll change my mind that this has a lot of artistic merit, and is the best live-action comic book movie to date.