WONDER WOMAN: BLOODLINES / DIRECTOR: JUSTIN COPELAND, SAM LIU / SCREENPLAY: MAIRGHREAD SCOTT / STARRING: MARIE AVGEROPOULOS, KIMBERLY BROOKS, RAY CHASE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Ten years after Wonder Woman made her first solo animated feature, the Amazonian warrior makes her return in the latest addition to the DC Animated Movie Universe, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines. Just like her previous solo outing, this film once again takes us back to her origins on Themyscira, showing her saving Steve Trevor’s life and ultimately deciding to journey into Man’s World to become Wonder Woman. This is old ground that’s been done before so many times in the comics, the 2009 animated film and the live action 2017 film, so you do get the sense that there’s a lot of retread going on, resulting in one of the film’s biggest shortcomings.
The only difference is its connections to this new universe of DC animated films, and how this take on the origin ties into her beginning in 2014’s Justice League: War is pretty clever and well handled, even if the Diana from that film is completely different to the one presented here. Previously, she was a hothead that just heads straight into the action without any strategy like a battle-hardened warrior as opposed to the caring and sympathetic hero she’s supposed to be.
Once we get past her origin, we have a new story that focuses on her complicated relationship with Vanessa Kapatelis, better known by comic book fans as the Silver Swan. When the film focuses on that, it provides a compelling conflict with Diana having to fight someone who she wants to save due to their personal connection. However, Bloodlines does throw a lot of other storylines and characters into the mix, which makes the whole film a little overcrowded and scattershot, especially when it throws in other villains like Dr. Cyber, Dr. Poison, Cheetah, Giganta and Medusa.
The film really picks up in the crazy third act, with Diana desperate to save Vanessa while also having to stop a certain massive threat. This perfectly shows what Wonder Woman is all about; compassion, humanity and her determination to save everyone, even if that means sacrificing herself. The last third pulls off the intensity really well and the film definitely nails the action throughout. The animation has stepped up in terms of quality in a lot of areas, though there are some places where it doesn’t seem as fluid, which is a shame considering how brilliant the animation is in other films like The Death of Superman and Batman: Hush. The voice cast do a great job in their respective roles, especially Rosario Dawson who practically can do no wrong. Dawson is able to provide the grounded humanity and compassion the character needs, and here’s hoping she continues to do so in future films.
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines is a solid entry in the DC Animated Movie Universe, with good action and a central conflict that’s compelling to watch. But with an overcrowded plot and a lot of familiar territory being retreaded, this doesn’t quite match the heights of the 2009 animated film nor the 2017 live-action outing. For Wonder Woman fans though, this is still an entertaining film to check out.
