The real Big Bad is killed... and then the war ends the very next day.
The war was already going to end the very next day. The only reason why it was at risk of continuing was because of Ludendorff\'s attempt to strike again with the poison gas.
Absolutely agreed on the whole 'kill Ares, everything is resolved' part. Yes, the war's about to be over, and killing Ares didn't prevent any war that break out after WW 1, but what irks me is that the Germans at the airfield suddenly stopped fighting as soon as Ares is killed (implying that he was controlling them directly, which contradicted his earlier statement that he didn't force humans to fight for him) when moments ago Diana was massacring their friends in blind rage. Heck, one of them is even friendly enough for Chief to support him up.
I personally think Ares has a place in this movie, though. I actually like his character interpretation here. The only bad thing about him is the deep voice and that mustache behind helmet when he summons his armor. If they rework the third act a little bit and polish it more, like after having killed Ares, the German soldiers point their guns at Diana, ready to shoot, but suddenly they realize it's meaningless to do so and lower their weapons. (Like in Battlefield 1's opening mission) They could've showed the pain and fatigue in their faces, subtly tell us that they are tired of fighting, and make Diana witness this. However cliche it may be, I think it would have deliver on the film's intended Aesop better than the original ending.
Another way is that in the ending monologue, have Diana narrates about how even without Ares, mankind still goes back to their violent ways anyway, also subtly implying that she lives to see WW 2 and Cold War's proxy wars after that. That could've been good enough for me.
Other than that, the movie's solid.
Or perhaps the Germans simply were glad that the chaos they just witnessed was over. Keep in mind that Ares was bind to the Lasso of Truth when he stated that he didn\'t started this war. There is no indication that he could lie under the Lasso\'s influence.
Maybe the Germans really did stop fighting because they\'re too tired after everything that\'s happened, but the fact is that they happened to stop fighting just after Ares is killed. Not five minutes before that they were still trying to kill Sameer, Chief and Charlie, but after Ares is dead, the trio and the Germans help each other up like they\'re old friends. Maybe it\'s a Show, Don\'t Tell kind of thing, but just a few edits on the last scenes could\'ve improve on the message the movie\'s trying to give.
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A good, fun film but the ending stumbles over itself (Spoilers!)
Wonder Woman is the movie the DC Cinematic Universe should have started with. With 3 failures under its belt, this film is a breath of fresh air.
While nothing exceptional, the Wonder Woman is quite enjoyable and the action scenes are top-notch. The sidekick character is likable, the humor is fitting and well-timed, and the characters... well, they're in-character and their motives are understandable. It's a testament to how bad the other DC movies have been so far that this is considered exceptional, but let's stop talking about the other movies. Considering Wonder Woman as a standalone movie:
Strong themes are carried through the movie. While the feminist theme is obvious, it's also nothing radical. In that era, men are the cause of most evil, because women just couldn't do anything back then. But it's not as if all women are good and all men are bad - nothing is clear-cut here. This is especially true with Diana's ideals. Everything she's learned is tested against a world she's never seen before with horrors she literally could not imagine. She was born from the gods and was raised on (possibly factual) fairy tales; and so she believes her quest is very traditional and fairy-tale-like. She'll defeat the Big Bad and everything will be okay again.
And this is a really important message and a strong theme of the movie I liked. Diana may have super strength and speed, but she can't fight human nature. She can't take on an entire World War by herself. While other characters know they have to leave innocents behind to suffer while they complete their mission, she considers it evil, but mostly because she can't fully comprehend the scope of the entire war.
So the big reveal, the not-really-a-twist comes when she slays the Big Bad... and nothing happens. The war continues. As the audience expected. This should be a big profound moment of realization for Diana when she understands how the world really works.
But wait! There's another twist! It turns out she killed the wrong Big Bad. The true Big Bad shows up. They fight. Our sidekick does what he can do to complete the mission. The real Big Bad is killed... and then the war ends the very next day.
What did we learn here, folks? Something about human nature and how greed will naturally drive men to war, and you can't stop it without changing the very nature of humanity itself?
Oh wait, no, the lesson was that if you kill one guy and the war doesn't stop, he was a decoy. So kill the other guy and everything will be OK. That's... uh... very deep.
Honestly, this film could have done much better without Ares in the movie at all. Just... leave him out completely. She should have had to learn the hard way that there just isn't always one bad guy who's the source of all evil, and she has to learn to deal with that.