"Wonder Woman" arrives in style, with lavish animation, a great voice cast and enough action for two pictures.
Wonder Woman (2009, Blu-ray)
Directors: Lauren Montgomery
Producers: Bruce Timm
Writers: Michael Jelenic screenplay Michael Jelenic story William M. Marston characters Gail Simone story
Features: * Commentary * Digital Copy * Featurettes * Sneak Peeks * Justice League Episodes
Characters:
Keri Russell ... Wonder Woman (voice)
Nathan Fillion ... Col. Steve Trevor (voice)
Alfred Molina ... Ares (voice)
Rosario Dawson ... Artemis (voice)
Virginia Madsen ... Hippolyta (voice)
Marg Helgenberger ... Hera (voice)
Vicki Lewis ... Persephone (voice)
David McCallum ... Zeus (voice)
Genre: Action/Adventure
Review:
Wonder Woman Blu-ray Review
While many comic book fans have long wondered why both DC and Warner have been reticent to produce a live action "Wonder Woman" feature film, it seems pretty obvious within ten minutes of this exciting animated adaptation exactly why the two studios have been so relentlessly reluctant. "Wonder Woman" doesn’t exactly look, ostensibly, like it will appeal to the masses.
The character is brash, a little goofy and driven by a strong female lead that mocks and ridicules men. You can see why Warner might be afraid of marketing that. Admittedly though with female-based pictures like "Confessions of a Shopohilic," "He’s Just Not that Into You" and "Sex and the City" winning over multi-demographical crowds, now seems like a better time than ever (Warner is theoretically prepping a 2011 live action film)
But Warner’s fear starts with the title character’s unusual mythology-based origin story. It’s basically remained the same throughout the years -- a secret Amazonian society returns a crashed pilot to the states -- the girl who returns him is Wonder Woman, or Princess Diana as she’s known in her tribal world.
Diana is, at first, shocked by our society, particularly how weak woman are treated. But, she falls for our culture and finally decides to fight for mankind. She dons a goofy American flag bikini outfit, a truth-telling lasso and an invisible jet that she’s visible in. This isn’t exactly fodder for a serious, big budget picture. Not one element there sounds like it could be taken seriously.
But, pop culture has changed. Wonder Woman is a feminist icon and perhaps with films like "X-Men" and "The Dark Knight" bringing comic books to the "real" world, a live-action "Wonder Woman" picture could, as long as it’s made by serious filmmakers, be just what our society needs.
This gargantuanly produced animated feature is certainly a good start.
Boasting the voices of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina and Virginia Madsen (just to name a few), this cast is game for a great, rousing adventure story.
The film basically retells Wonder Woman’s origin. Fillion plays pilot Steve Trevor. He crashes in the secret Amazonian society, Themyscira, and ends up being escorted back to the states by Diana (Russell). But, things go from bad to worse when Ares, the God of War (Molina) escapes from his prison in Themyscira and heads for the states, wreaking havoc on the world, and combating Wonder Woman once she arrives.
Wrought with exciting action, fun characters and solid animation, there’s little not to love about this adaptation. It’s fast-paced, violent, funny, action-packed and true to Wonder Woman’s core. In other words, it takes the material seriously, playing very few moments for raw camp value.
The story’s goofier elements (the lasso and jet) are played seriously, and explained with few errors in logic (the jet’s still a little silly). Russell gives dimension to Diana, making her feel like a tangible character. Offering the best laughs is Fillion (as usual) who falls for Diana, but takes a backseat to her overpowering, and overbearing, femininity. A scene where he attempts to drink her under the table is one of the film’s best.
"Wonder Woman" does get a little bogged down in the middle act, which feels padded to give the film a moment to breath before the action frenzy that is the film’s final act. Beyond that, there are few flaws to this violent sword and shield-inspired epic.
I hope now, with this animated feature, Warner will feel more comfortable tackling the Amazonian heroine. This film is a great introduction to the character showing audiences (and producers) that while Wonder Woman may be a little goofy in her design; her films could be just as tough, exciting and rousing as Batman or Superman -- as long as they’re treated as serious properties by their cast and crew. Keep your fingers crossed, fans.
Film Report Card:
Entertainment Value: B+
Film Value: B+
Final Grade:
B+
HD REVIEW:
Video:
"Wonder Woman" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen using the VC-1 codec on a single-layered BD25 disc. Warner has done a fine job with this transfer, presenting a pristine, sharp print free of dust, grain and artifacts. Colors are vibrant and bold. Shadows are well defined and the film is layered with textures and detail. The animation is free of edge halos, and black levels are astoundingly perfect. Unfortunately, I did detect some motion blur during the film’s robust action sequences, though it’s pretty typical for animated films of this type. This is a near-perfect direct-to-digital transfer that shouldn’t disappoint the fans.
Audio:
Audio choices are English 5.1 TrueHD, English Dolby Digital 5.1 with French subtitles and English captions for the hearing impaired. I love straight-to-disc releases, not always for their content, but they often boast the best audio mixes around and "Wonder Woman" is no different -- this is a room-shaking, LFE-heavy mix. The center channel is clear and clean and never drowned out by the many, aggressive, thunderous effects, but dialogue is a little echoey sounding as though it was recorded in an amphitheater. Surround channels are evenly mixed, however, filled with enveloping, discrete effects and a delightfully robust, intense score from Christopher Drake. Thanks Warner, for rolling out the red carpet with this release!
Extras:
Warner brings the same features found on the two-disc DVD release to Blu-ray. Extras are presented in standard definition and while there is a lot here (over four hours worth of material), the release is a little light on actual film-related material.
• Commentary -- Featuring Gregory Noveck (Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs, DC Comics), Bruce Timm (Producer), Lauren Montgomery (Director) and Michael Jelenic (Screenplay). These folks know their stuff and their love for the character of Wonder Woman and their sheer knowledge of the Wonder Woman/Justice League universe makes this commentary well worth a listen. It would have been nice to hear from a few members of the cast, though.
• Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream Documentary (26 minutes, SD) -- A fairly fascinating look at origins and cultural phenomenon that inspired "Wonder Woman."
• Wonder Woman The Daughters of Myth (26 minutes, SD) -- A close look at the comic character as she’s evolved through the ages.
• Sneak Peeks -- a look at "Green Lantern," "Justice League: New Frontier," "Wonder Woman" and "Batman: Gotham Night" (42 minutes, SD) -- This extra boasts a pretty superfluous gaggle of extended previews/featurettes for previously released or upcoming Warner Animated features.
• Bruce Timm’s Top Picks (90 minutes, SD) -- Basically, there are just four episodes of "Justice League" featuring Woman Woman-centric stories. A nice addition, but I would have liked to see more behind-the-scenes material
HD Content:
• Digital Copy (SD) -- A portable media version of the film is also available on a separate DVD.
Packaging:
The film is presented in a blue "Elite" case with a shiny cardboard slipcover. It’s pretty consistent with Warner titles.
Final Thoughts:
"Wonder Woman" arrives in style, with lavish animation, a great voice cast and enough action for two pictures. Fans should be pleased. The Blu-ray comes packed with a great transfer, thundering audio and great special features. I wish there was a little more related to the film here, but what we get is incredibly enticing.
Blu-ray Report Card:
Video: A
Audio: A-
Extras: A-
HD Content: N/A
Packaging: A
Recommendation: Well worth renting. Fans should pick this disc up!
On Blu-ray and DVD: March 3, 2009.
Here's a clip from "Wonder Woman"
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