Wonder Woman (2009)

Wow! Such a good movie.

So much average

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Albeit not the best of the DC original animated movies, Wonder Woman boasts a bold direction, thrilling plot, and loads of mythology. It's no shock that this is one of the most critically acclaimed of the bunch.If you're going to make a Wonder Woman adaptation, this film just about checks every box you'd expect. A uniquely styled story, brutal but exciting action, and the most mythological story DC can get. Upon re-watch, this story holds up incredibly well. Not only is it a ripe message about willing to accept others for who they are, but it bolsters an even more powerful message of accepting who your true self is.The story is fascinating because of the immense mythology, but nowhere does it go to levels of The Dark Knight Returns or Batman: Under the Red Hood, where it transcends the animated genre. The film plays out as you'd expect an origin story would, but that doesn't eliminate the good writing and direction. It also doesn't hurt to have Nathan Fillion voice comedic relief and Diana Prince's love interest, Steve Trevor.Compared to other DCOAM's, Wonder Woman is brutally graphic for an animated film. Plenty of beheadings and sword battles could have easily pushed this to be rated R, which I understand was the original cut. As light as the film's ultimate message is, the violence feels earned and deserved, and never takes it to an over-the-top area. The one thing I had a small issue with was the casting of Keri Russell as Diana/Wonder Woman. Not that I don't really like Russell, I do, but I grew to love Susan Eisenberg's voice as the famed heroine, so it was a little jarring to hear someone different. Actually, none of the voice-over work felt particularly inspired here, which is surprising. However, overall, Wonder Woman is a special kind of DC adaptation. It doesn't hold back with its direction and certainly lassos in an important message to everyone. This is one of the best.8.8/10

Wonder Woman makes her live action solo movie debut in 2017, but that is not her first feature length film. In 2009, the animated Wonder Woman movie was produced by Warner Premiere as part of its then-new direct to video series of movies. Overshadowed by higher profile releases like Batman Gotham Knights (no doubt bolstered by the success of Christopher Nolan's dark knight trilogy), the 2009 Wonder Woman animated movie failed to perform as well in terms of sales. Surprising when you consider that on its own, WONDER WOMAN is a well made, thought provoking, energetic little movie that deserved much more recognition than it got.Our story opens in ancient times where the amazon women wage a bloody war which ended with he imprisonment of Ares, but at the cost of many lives. As a reward, the Greek gods grant the amazon queen Hippolyta a child fashioned from clay: Diana. The amazons flourish in isolation on paradise island where Diana grows up into a fine young warrior. But a part of her seeks greater adventure outside the boundaries of the island. Her chance comes when pilot Steve Trevor survives a frantic mid air battle and crashes on the island.As the amazons hold a contest to determine the one most worthy to escort Trevor back to America, Ares escapes with the help of a traitor just as Diana wins the contest. Tasked with tracking down Ares, Trevor opts to help Diana as the enter man's world in search of the missing god of war. But Ares has a far more sinister plan in the work, one that could spell the doom of the world and the extinction of the amazons.Right from the get go, the first thing that struck me was the dialogue in the movie. Written by comic scribe Gail Simone, the dialogue is witty, clever and mature. Take the visuals out of the equation and it feels like watching a well written live action movie or prime time TV show.Our characters are brought to life by a perfect cast; Alfred Molina is truly menacing as Ares, Rosario Dawson as the regal queen, and Keri Russell imbuing a nuanced inner strength to Diana.However the true standout performance is Firefly's Nathan Fillon as daring scoundrel pilot Steve Trevor. Steve is part Han Solo, part Maverick Mitchell from Top Gun and Fillon slips into it perfectly. He completely owns the roll, delivering his dialogue in the most natural way possible, sharing a magnificent chemistry with Russell.The story is deeper than your average cartoon. Aside from being an origin story for Wonder Woman, showing her growth from reluctant and slightly defiant girl to a champion of the oppressed, the narrative weaves in many underlying themes relevant to our times.Themes of sexism, gender bias, racial privilege and the differing expectations on man and woman are all interwoven into the narrative and brought to the forefront. It is refreshing to find a movie that is this smart in its handling of such themes; indeed a rarity in American animated works.Unfortunately, the movie is not without its flaws and WONDER WOMAN's flaws are in the visuals. The animation was done by Moi Animation, a Korean studio who worked on many critically acclaimed works such as Legend of Korra and Young Justice. WONDER WOMAN was their first feature length work, having only done animation in the past for TV shows like TEEN TITANS and BOONDOCKS. The animation is OK. Nothing horrible but nothing as stunning as their later works. The often uninspired way the fight scenes are done does not help matters. Fights either involve one too many cuts or just do not feel as dynamic as other later DC animated movies.The art work is also up to personal taste. Director Lauren Montgomery brings a look that mixes 90s Disney cartoon aesthetic with the more simplistic designs of the Bruce Timm cartoons, but the mix tends to look a bit lazy at times.I personally did not like it as all the women looked the same, with big emphasised lips and angular hips, only differentiated by different hair styles. The few attempts at using CGI for vehicles just came off looking cheap and unprofessional.On the bright side, composer Christopher Drake bring an epic score to the movie, giving otherwise mediocre fight scenes a sense of intensity and danger.At 75 minutes, some would call the movie short, but i call it succinct. A lot happens in that time, going from paradise island, to America, to the depths of the underworld, and then to a climatic showdown in Washington DC. This brisk pace may leave it up to the viewer to connect some of the sub plots but the main story of Diana's more innocent nature contrasting with the ways of the modern world works to develop her character from sheltered princess into a true warrior and hero. This movie in a word is terrific, let down only by its technical shortcomings. If you can forgive that, that you would be in for a truly wonderful experience.

It was pretty easy for me to recognize Nathan Fillion's voice in this. I swear that guy is becoming the new Patton Oswalt or Weird Al Yankovic seeing as how he also did a great voice in the best "Rick And Morty" episode. Anyway, Wonder Woman is actually one of the most prolific superheroes out there, but until recently never had a feature film devoted to her. While not as recognizable as Batman or Superman, she is still a very important character that everyone should be aware of. In the DCAU, she did not have her own animated show, but really did get to shine with episodes focusing on her in the "Justice League" cartoon. It's here that I knew more about her mythology.I don't have much hope for the live-action theatrically released Wonder Woman movie and am perfectly fine if this is the movie that becomes her most famous. We get great set up for her origin story as it begins with her mother, Hippolyta, fighting an army and literally creating her from clay. Probably the most enjoyable thing in the whole movie is the romantic involvement she has with the character Steve voiced by Castle himself, Nathan Fillion. I was first introduced to him as the star of the show "Castle" which I sadly wasn't able to see newer episodes of. The battle scenes in this film are grand and epic.It's hard to do good pacing with a film that's relatively short, but this movie does it perfectly. I was just waiting for Cheetah to appear and for Wonder Woman's name to be mentioned at the end and guess what I got? I guess it's weird watching an animated PG-13 rated movie but it really does earn its rating. And yeah, Wonder Woman herself is quite beautiful. It's just great to see her adjust to the outside world and realize her role she rightfully earned as a protector. We even get to see zombies at the end of the film and although it doesn't quite amount to that much in the long run, you can't argue with Amazonian zombies. Thank you for introducing me and others to the mythology of this classic character. It's the best movie I've seen for Superhero Month and dare I say the best direct to video movie ever! ****

Im a big fan of the DC universe.Though I have never been a big fan of wonder woman, never hated her,but never saw anything special in her.So when I decided to watch this I never thought it would be this good. As of now this is one of my favorite animated DC movies.This is basically wonder womans origin story,and her fight against Ares, the god of war. The story is great and does a great job showing wonder womans interaction with the "real" world and her relationship with both her amazonian sisters and men. The story also does a good job introducing the mythology of the Amazons. The voice acting is excellent and both animation and action is on a very high level. I personally loved the intricacy of the action sequences. While kinda short the movie very fun the whole way.After watching it,it saddens me that this story was not made into a live action movie because I believe it would be a worthy addition to the DC comics short movie list and a great way to introduce this character to a broader audience.