The Beach
We’re thrust into an early action sequence in the form of an assault on the beach of Themyscira. The crash of Steve Trevor’s plane was caused by the fact that German troops were giving chase to him by sea, and these boats soon arrive on the previously peaceful shores of the island. Diana has just rescued Steve from the ocean, and they’re interrupted by the shouts of the soldiers approaching the beach. Above them, on the clifftop, the Amazon army arrives on horseback, led by Queen Hippolyta and General Antiope. Without a second thought, the warriors launch into action – defending their home against the invading force.
We’ve seen how hard these warriors train and we’ve heard Queen Hippolyta’s rendition of tales of battles past – but now, we see these Amazonian warriors fighting for their lives, and for each other. As Diana and Steve take a step back, an advance team of warriors swing down onto the beach, armed with bows, arrows and spears. The German troops, however, are armed with guns, and what follows is a clash of civilizations with deadly consequences. The first shot is fired and a bullet strikes one of the Amazons. We see real fear and disbelief in Diana’s reaction, but this is soon overtaken by the rest of the Amazon army thundering onto the beach and bearing down upon the German forces with ferocity.
As the Amazons and the German forces do battle, we find ourselves absorbed by a brutal scene. There’s no real blood or gore, despite the copious deployment of gunshots and blades. Instead, the brutality lies in the realism. Many Amazons are slain, and we feel every blow that they suffer. This is because we’ve spent time with them on the island and have come to understand their purpose, their history and their philosophy of defence.
This is also the first time we see the way in which the Amazons operate on a real battlefield, and it’s markedly different to anything we’ve seen in any of the male-led superhero films that have graced the big screen in the past. They fight as part of a larger whole – striking individually, but also using each other’s physicality to strike greater blows. We see Queen Hippolyta lay waste to several aggressors, and realize exactly why she’s a respected warrior in her own right. We see Diana disobey the order of Steve Trevor and begin to fight herself. But, amid the deeply affecting carnage, it’s Antiope that steals the scene in the final moments.
Queen Hippolyta has already described Antiope as the greatest warrior, and we’ve seen her training others to reach her level of skill. But here, we see her yell “Shield!” to her fellow warriors and, without breaking her determined stride, she pounds her way down the beach with her bow drawn. Leaping into the air, the Amazons provide their shields as a launch-pad, sending Antiope high into the air above a group of German soldiers. She turns in the space above them and fires three arrows simultaneously with deadly accuracy – before taking a deadly blow herself.
As Diana cries for her mentor, and for the woman who believed she could fulfil her warrior ambitions, the audience feels the heavy weight of this onslaught, and the futile violence wrought by humanity on an otherwise isolated, peaceful community.