What Would Batman Do?

I’ve watched the animated Wonder Woman movie enough times now to write an official WWBDtastic review.  You’re welcome.

Wonder Woman begins the way Wonder Woman always does.   The Amazon princess, Diana, has grown bored with life on Themyscira, even though it is a life filled with peace, tranquility, and more beautiful women than Red Alert 3 .  And so, when feisty fighter pilot Steve Trevor accidentally stumbles across the island, a contest is held amongst the Amazons to determine who is the strongest to help deliver the lucky man back to man’s world.  However, things get complicated when Ares, the god of war and Momma Amazon’s ex-boyfriend, escapes from prison and is determined to plunge the world into gamers-get-their-revenge-on-Uwe-Boll chaos.

Despite a story we’ve already heard a dozen times, the film takes a modern twist by injecting some somewhat adult humor and violence, with epic battles scenes mirroring that of another Greek fable, 300.  Plus, they say “crap” a lot.  The movie appears to wear its PG-13 label with pride, and unlike its predecessor, Justice League: The New Frontier , Wonder Woman manages to open itself up to a larger, more mature audience (don’t put a dirty spin on that last phrase — you’re a mature audience, remember?).

The music isn’t really anything special (though the theme song will get stuck in your head for a good three hours) and the voice acting does leave something to be desired.  However, I will say that Rosario Dawson and Nathan Fillion both deliver some excellent performances, and it’s probably not just because they’re the two biggest names in the movie.

The animation is good, but not great.  Granted, this is a lot better quality animation than what we’ve seen in Warner Brothers’ TV shows (and it’s miles above Superman: Doomsday), but I can’t help but feel that the effects for a direct-to-DVD feature such as this could be so much better.

Of course, the story is not without its flaws either.  While Wonder Woman attempts to make a significant observation about gender roles in our society, the message ultimately falls flat as our hero eventually falls for Steve “Women are Objects” Trevor.  Add to that the fact that Diana often needs Steve’s help, and you’ve got a movie that would make Elizabeth Cady Stanton grimace (insert grimacing emoticon).

Also, they never really explain whether this incarnation of Wonder Woman can fly or if she’s just jumping really high the whole time.  I’m pretty sure she’s jumping really high the whole time, which I don’t have a problem with, but, you know. . . a little clarification would be nice (insert uber nerdy emoticon).

This is still an incredibly solid film, however — one which longtime fans and casual admirers alike shan’t be disappointed with.  Wonder Woman earns four batarangs out of five.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS