Even as a man who hasn’t held much empathy for the character, “Wonder Woman” has been in the top ten movies I’ve been looking forward for a good year now. Though she was never my biggest influence in regards to comic books, DC and Warner have had a great turn out of Straight to DVD movies and this one is no exception. With excellent voice work and top notch production quality, “Wonder Woman” is a movie that will definitely sell itself to people still adamant in their belief that Diana is more a character for little girls to worship. “Wonder Woman” aims for appeal to everyone from the discerning fan boy, the hardcore general comic book population, and of course young girls who want a break from the boys club for a while. Though I wouldn’t suggest this to girls too young; you can thank the sexual overtones for that (Steve: Your daughter has a nice rack), consumers.
But if there’s one movie I can suggest more, it’d be “Wonder Woman,” a fantastic retelling of the origin of Wonder Woman and her adventures in the Amazon and in man’s land (i.e. the general population). Given the task to do so by her mother Hippolyta to protect the Amazon and prevent Lord Ares from taking over the world. Here Diana is still a young warrior princess still learning the tricks of the trade. Unlike “Justice League Unlimited,” Wonder Woman is still not sure of herself and her skills. My first awe inspiring glance at the movie rendered me breathless as the animation is nothing short of visually marvelous and compliments director Lauren Montgomery utterly erratic style.
It’s then where the voice work shines and with such a great cast it’s tough not to enjoy what’s formed. Legendary voice caster Andrea Romano does it again casting Nathan Fillion, who is hilarious as the comic relief/love interest Steve Trevor while Keri Russell takes the mantle of Diana with utter ease becoming a worthy successor to Maria Canal who perfected the voice years ago. There’s also Alfred Molina who is absolutely great as the semi-god Ares who seeks to use mankind for his own sick satisfaction to replenish his powers and bring down the world altogether through hate and suffering. There are also the respective talents of Rosario Dawson as Artemis, Virginia Madsen, and Oliver Platt to boot all coming together to give this character just the right amount of dignity and drop the camp where a new outlook on the character is the end result.
Like much of the direct to DVD animated movies, “Wonder Woman” seems to have been released to test the waters on a potential film version and in that purpose it does the trick, selling Wonder Woman and breaking all pre-conceived notions about her purpose as a character. Does the WB really think its audience garners such short attention spans that a longer run time couldn’t have been possible? Hell, not even an extra ten minutes? Like all of the animated epics coming from the studio, we’re only given a movie that barely makes it to ninety minutes and rushes through its narrative like the speed of light. It’s frustrating when there is so much to learn about Themyscira, Hippolyta and Trevor and only given a brief five or ten minute introduction to all characters, conflict, tension and origin.
Just ten more minutes could have done the trick without cramming all of these elements in to the story that eventually drips over in to the focal point leaving scenarios to feel confused or rushed from time to time and Wonder Woman to feel like a supporting character. I really enjoyed my short time spent with the character and her mythos. It’s a fun and epic look at the woman herself with top notch voice work and direction. Though the run time is absurdly short, the movie assures much entertainment and makes good on the guarantee that no moment is wasted. Bring on more of the lassoed one!