Movie:
Disc:
In
the pantheon of comic book heroes, few embrace as many contradictions as
Wonder Woman. A veteran warrior and a naive innocent. A feminist stalwart
and a bondage queen. An indisputable icon and a character who - at times -
was kept around only because DC wanted to retain the rights to her.
Not only
has Wonder Woman successfully balanced those disparate elements with
incredible grace, but she's weathered the years since her inception without
the boost that brethren like Superman and Batman got. There's been no
blockbuster movie to help her out, no groundbreaking platform to introduce
her to a wider audience. The most she could claim was a spot-on casting
choice (Lynda Carter) in an otherwise mediocre live action TV show and a few
precious episodes from Bruce Timm's great Justice
League cartoon.
All that has changed.
Warner's line of direct-to-DVD superhero films has finally given the Amazing
Amazon her due, in a format which neither compromises the character nor
forces her to play second banana. Though hardly perfect, it retains the same
resolute devotion evinced by
Batman Gotham
Knight and
Justice League - New
Frontier, aided by
some lovely animation and terrific voice casting courtesy of the legendary
Andrea Romano.
Wonder Woman's slim
74-minute running time aims to present a comprehensive look at the
character's origins, along with a villain worthy of her attention. One of
Wondie's problems is that she never had a sparring partner on the level of a
Joker or a Lex Luthor. The movie corrects that by giving her a doozy: Ares
(voiced by Alfred Molina), the god of war, who opens the film by launching a
genocidal attack against Wondie's ancient Amazon sisters. Led by their Queen
Hippolyta (voiced by Virginia Madsen), they conquer his forces and take him
prisoner.
The goddess Hera rewards them with an island paradise where they
can live in peace away from the evils of man's world. Hippolyta receives a
further gift in the form of a daughter, Diana - molded from clay and brought
to life by the will of the gods. Flash forward several thousand years, when
hotshot pilot Steve Trevor (voiced by Nathan Fillion) crash lands on their
estrogen Shangri-La. A contest is held to determine who will ferry him home
- and by extension, serve as the Amazons' ambassador to modern society.
Diana (voiced by Keri Russell), now grown and itching to get a look at the
world, enters the contest against her mother's wishes . . . even as Ares
plots a deadly escape.
The set-up covers all of
the main points in a timely fashion, while also facilitating plenty of
well-choreographed action. Wonder Woman conveys the brisk, exciting
pace necessary for such an endeavor without sacrificing the right sense of
character - a balancing act facilitated by the considerable chemistry
between Russell and Fillion. Their Hepburn/Tracy-style comic rapport offsets
the more violent moments quite well, and yet never detracts from a unified
tone. Optimistic fun goes hand-in-hand with the darker moments, and neither
side ever undermines the other. A gorgeous art design completes the film's
aesthetics, giving Wondie a unique corner of the DC sandbox to call her own.
Minor
stumbling points occur when the romance shifts into higher gear: the running
time is simply too truncated to establish it properly, lending it an unduly
artificial feel. Certain key narrative moments jump the gun as well, and a
number of logical questions (where exactly does that invisible jet come
from?) never receive a proper answer. So too do the film's sexual politics
walk a dangerously shaky path.
Though Wonder Woman's pro-feminist
dynamic hits all the right notes, an odd bit of dialogue towards the end
muddles the issue somewhat, and while Trevor ultimately proves his worth,
his occasional bits of sexist oinking come across as too heavy handed early
on. (His frequent comeuppances are admittedly quite funny, however.)
Director Lauren Montgomery
counters those flaws with a resolute devotion to character. Diana herself
emerges as a strong, compelling heroine without losing any of the quirks
that make her human (something the Carter show never figured out), while
Trevor's eventual heroics don't eclipse the real star of the show. Even
comparatively minor figures like Artemis (voiced by Rosario Dawson) and
Hades (voiced by Oliver Platt) feel fully-realized, and Ares's gleeful
villainy gives both Wondie and her mother as much as they can handle. (Plus,
he sports a mullet . . . truly the haircut of the gods!)
THE DISC: The
single-disc DVD contains only the movie and an engaging audio commentary
from the principle creative forces (though none of the actors are present).
The two-disc version and the BLU-RAY edition adds a pair of documentaries
about Wonder Woman along with a handful of episodes from the Justice
League cartoon. Wondie's appearances on Justice League made for a
great take on the character too, and if you aren't yet familiar with that
show, then the extra cartoons are a good place to start.
WORTH IT?
Absolutely. The Amazing Amazon has waited far too long for a proper vehicle,
and the results here easily outweigh a few minor shortcomings. Hopefully,
the powers that be at Warners and DC won't wait so long before showcasing
their greatest superheroine in this manner again.
RECOMMENDATION: As
with other entries in the DC Universe DVD line, this may be harsher and more
intense than some parents realize. The PG-13 rating is well earned -there's
plenty of blood and guts as well as some not-so-subtle sexual banter -
though older children should be able to handle it without difficulty. Beyond
that, Wonder Woman is perfect for comic book fans, animation lovers,
action aficionados and little girls (whatever their age) who aspire to save
the world.
EDITOR?S NOTE: Depending on what kind of movie fan
you are, you might want to check out instead the two-disc version retailing
for only eight bucks more than this vanilla single-disc edition (Amazon.com
list prices at the time of writing). For your eight bucks you get some cool
documentaries on Wonder Woman's history plus two complete 2001 Justice
League TV episodes. An even better bargain at only a dollar (!) more
than the two-disc edition is the BLU-RAY version, which throws in yet
another two Justice League episodes in addition to an excellent 1080p
transfer. If all BLU-RAY disc prices can be held at these low levels one
should seriously consider upgrading to this new format if one hasn't already
done so.
- Rob Vaux
