DVD Review: Wonder Woman
DC Comics/Warner Premiere Movie Stars Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion
Mar 2, 2009
Following on the heels of Batman: Gotham Knight and Justice League: The New Frontier, DC Comics and Warner Premiere is now unleashing Wonder Woman as a direct-to-DVD animated film. And, appropriately enough, it's ably directed by a woman, Lauren Montgomery (Superman Doomsday).
It's a solid origins tale for the Amazonian princess, but a major issue in the voice cast keeps it from being a home-run.
Wonder Woman Stars Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Virginia Madsen
The movie kicks off with Queen Hyppolita (Virginia Madsen) leading her Amazons against the forces of darkness led by Ares (Alfred Molina), the Greek God of War. After a massive battle in which Hyppolita is forced to behead her own son, she beats Ares and, with the help of Zeus and Hera, binds him in bracelets that not only sap his power but can only be broken by another god. Hera then gives the Amazons Themyscira, an island where they can live in peace, safe from the world of men.
Hera also helps Hyppolita mold a daughter out of clay – Hyppolita clearly not into the traditional method of conceiving a kid – whom she names Diana (Keri Russell).
Fast forward several hundred years, and hotshot pilot Col. Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) gets shot down over Themyscira. While the Amazons figure out what to do with their unexpected guest, Ares takes the opportunity to break out of jail, and goes looking for a way to break his bonds.
After winning a competition, Diana is selected to not only guide Trevor back to civilization, but also must stop Ares from creating another army and drowning the world in an ocean of blood.
Be aware that this flick is rated PG-13. There are some fairy impressive battle sequences, featuring blood, death and the occasional beheading (Diana gets smacked across the face a few times, and has to wipe the blood from her nose). There are also references to castration and human sacrifice.
Longtime fans will recognize that this flick draws a few elements from George Pérez's acclaimed "Gods and Monsters" comic book arc that rebooted the character back in 1987. It's a solid origins tale, but screeenwriter Michael Jelenic gives his characters some occasionally ham-handed "epic" dialogue that feels forced and awkward. It's attempts to be portentious, but comes off as cringe-worthy; Jelenic's clearly not sure how to write for classic (as opposed to modern-day) characters.
Another major problem with the film is with the title character. As Diana/Wonder Woman, Keri Russell struggles in a role that either Tricia Helfer or Lucy Lawless could've pulled off without any problems. It's not that Russell isn't a capable actress, it's that she comes off as too passive to accurately portray the butt-kicking Amazon.
Madsen and Rosario Dawson both do decent work as Queen Hyppolita and another Amazon, respectively, but the men really bring their characters alive. Fillion makes Steve Trevor a charming scalliwag while Molina has fun voicing Ares.
However, the award for Most Memorable Character in the Least Amount of Time Award has to go to Oliver Platt as Hades. He brings a self-indulgent menace to the King of the Underworld, mixing Jabba the Hutt with Kyzer Soze to create a decadent, but razor-sharp, portrait of villainy. Kudos to Platt for making the most of it.
DVD Extras
The principal extra feature is the audio commentary by Jelenic, Montgomery and producer Bruce Timm. It's solid and informative, and the commentators tell you who storyboarded what sequence, but they also highlight some of the plot problems in the flick. For instance, they admit that they didn't even bother trying to explain how Wonder Woman got her invisible jet.
"Wonder Woman: Amazon Princess" essentially repackages and expands a lot of the footage from the featurette in Batman: Gotham Knight. Speaking of which, there's a promo reel for that film as well as reels for Justice League: New Frontier and the upcoming Green Lantern direct-to-DVD film, which takes some obvious plot cues from the 2001 live-action film Training Day.
The Final Analysis
There are only a few misfires that keeps Wonder Woman from being a slam-dunk. The awkward dialogue occasionally undercuts an otherwise gripping plot, and Keri Russell doesn't quite have the character down. But, despite those flaws, this flick gets a solid 7/10.
Fun Fact: In Greek mythology, Amazons traditionally chopped off their left breast so it wouldn't interfere with their archery. Not surprisingly, the producers of Wonder Woman ditched this historical detail.
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