There is a list, at least in my head, of Hollywood projects that should have happened and didn’t. Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman is one of those; while this err in judgment is being somewhat corrected by the fact that he is going to helm The Avengers, like so many DC heroes the Amazon princess has still never gotten a fair representation of herself on screen.
Other than Nolan’s Batman the one consistent way DC characters come to screen is through the DC direct to DVD animation division, which produced an origin story titled only Wonder Woman. While this story fit into the less cheesy frame of Dianna’s character than Linda Carter’s TV series, Wonder Woman still lacks everything a big screen version of the tale could bring her – namely reality and emotion.
This is the Batman Begins of Wonder Woman only it’s missing the glorious connective thread David Goyer wrote into Nolan’s tale. Instead, we begin Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazon’s defeating Ares and being granted a sanctuary for her Amazons. Since this great war of the gods the Amazon’s have been living in secrecy in a completely man-free environment until Capt. Steve Trevor crash lands on the Amazon’s island – an event that coincides with Ares escape into the real world. Dianna, princess of the Amazon’s is then sent to return Taylor to his country and find Ares, while Dianna secretly hopes to find a way to reconnect the Amazon’s with the outside world in the process.
While this plot sounds pretty concise and connected let me assure it is not. The main thing missing is any development of Taylor or Dianna themselves and the natural move of Dianna from being an Amazon princess to a super hero reluctant to return home. It all just happens.
Also, while I love the voice talent in this movie, I can’t help but feel that animation is not the way to connect with the Amazon’s. The DC animation lacked the heart and feeling I wanted to get behind the lines that were being said and the animation felt like a barrier leaving me wondering if it was the actors or images that were leaving me unable to connect to the characters.
All in all, while Wonder Woman was enjoyable it left me wanting a big screen version with a killer script that only Joss Whedon could have provided.
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Writer: Michael Jelenic
Wonder Woman: Keri Russell
Steve Trevor: Nathan Fillion
Ares: Alfred Molina
Artemis: Rosario Dawson
Hera: Marg Helgenberger
Hades: Oliver Platt
Hippolyta: Virginia Madsen
Advisor: Mr. President, the threat has been neutralized.
President: How?
Advisor: It seems by a group of armored supermodels.
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