Wonder Woman: Bloodlines unfortunately is not only one of the lesser within the DC Animated Universe but arguably the worst and continues a bit of a slide following the disappointing Reign of the Supermen, and the poorly scripted Batman: Hush.
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines
(2019)
Genre(s): Adventure, Fantasy
Warner Bros. | PG13 – 83 min. – $39.99 | October 22, 2019
Date Published: 11/19/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Witness the legendary origin of Wonder Woman (ROSARIO DAWSON) as she fights for good with her sword and magic lasso. Equally strong in body, heart and will, she makes it her mission to help a troubled young girl (MARIE AVGEROPOULOS) enlisted by a deadly organization known as Villainy, Inc., whose criminal members have their sights set on invading Themyscira. Review: Mentioned in the past, but I generally do enjoy these DC Universe Animated films though of late, the quality, particularly in storytelling, and sadly Wonder Woman: Bloodlines doesn’t buck the trend as the previous film within this universe, Batman: Hush, was rather disappointing, but at least I could appreciate certain aspects. The animation might be not to be everybody’s taste though I haven’t minded the “New 52” style and here it was fine. The issue is the plot feels disjointed wanting to focus on Diana’s relationship with Vanessa — and her turn to becoming the villain Silver Swan — but also a story with a criminal organization, Villainy Inc. (how clever), and their plans to invade Themyscira only pivot again as a resurrected Medusa has come to destroy the Themyscirians once and for all. So within this one movie, we’ve got three plots, each could’ve been its own thing. And in between there’s messaging about mothers and daughters which was actually rather well done, if not hitting you over the head about it at times. Oh, and for good measure, Wonder Woman’s arch-nemesis Cheetah makes a brief appearance because… why not. Add in Doctor Poison as Villainy, Inc.’s right-hand woman and you’ve got too much going on. Wonder Woman: Bloodlines also features Jeffrey Donovan voicing Steve Trevor. Here I thought Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor was an odd choice for The Death of Superman and The Rein of the Supermen (as well as a brief and unnecessary appearance in Batman: Hush), but if it’s possible, it seemed like Donovan was sleepwalking through his voice acting, never seeming to put anything behind it. I’m not sure if it was due to disinterest or not being used to purely doing voice roles (I know he did narration for Burn Notice), but he was completely wrong for the part and vastly paled in comparison with Nathan Fillion who voiced the role in 2009’s Wonder Woman. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.25/5 |
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This release comes with a matted slip cover, inside of which is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. DC Showcase: Death (19:08) is another cool animated short that focuses on some of the lesser characters who couldn’t sustain their own animated feature. The Cheetah: Ferocious Archenemy (10:50) is a profile on Wonder Woman’s archnemesis. Sneak Peek at Superman: Red Son (11:21), the next DC Animated movie and interviews with the filmmakers. There’s also previews for Justice League vs. Teen Titans and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and two episodes from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. |
4K VIDEO – 4.5/5, BD VIDEO – 4.25/5 |
| Warner Brothers releases Wonder Woman: Bloodlines onto 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray presented with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p and 1080p high-definition transfers respectively. As with most of these DC animated features, these tend to look quite good, albeit not always great, in either format, with bright, vibrant colors shining throughout. I did notice some modest banding in both the UHD and BD but not as perceptible in the former. |
4K/BD AUDIO – 4.75/5 |
| Both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs come with standard DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, which was serviceable enough, outputting clear dialogue through the center speaker with the front and rear channels giving some modest depth during the action/fight sequences, most notably the finale on Themyscira. |
OVERALL – 3.25/5 |
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Wonder Woman: Bloodlines unfortunately is not only one of the lesser within the DC Animated Universe but arguably the worst and continues a bit of a slide following the disappointing Reign of the Supermen, and the poorly scripted Batman: Hush, can only hope Superman: Red Son reverses the course (though that one is not within the New 52-style DCAU). |