Wonder Woman embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue a troubled young girl from Villainy, Inc., a criminal organization that plans to invade the superhero's island home of Themyscira.
Is there still some strong anti-female sexism in the superhero industry? Wonder Woman: Bloodlines is only the second solo animated film that Wonder Woman has been in (the first to be released since 2009). And yet, the film was created and then released back in October of this year, and I was none the wiser as none of the reviewers I follow, reviewed it. This is despite them reviewing Batman: Hush, Justice League vs. The Fatal Five, Reign of the Supermen, and The Death of Superman all being widely covered (the latter two even receiving a theatrical release at the major film distributors.
I may be looking to deeply into it. It could be something as simple as DC's live-action Joker film garnering so much attention for such a long period of time that Bloodline was sidelined by the algorithms. Anyway, I'm getting distracted. This animated film exists and is a part of the larger DCAU (Animated Universe). The first act actually starts with some similarities to the 2017 DCEU live-action Wonder Woman's origin film but is influenced by The New 52 iteration of graphic novels, with Diana and Steve meeting in modern times, rather than World War I.
This iteration is a much more physical version of Wonder Woman with a "punch first, ask questions later" frame of mind. It's an intriguing way to portray the Amazonian, taking her away from her usual diplomatic manner, and attempting to prove beyond all doubt that women can bring the power to a physical fight. In a slightly odd choice, however, Wonder Woman goes up against many characters from her own rogue's gallery, but only the female ones, going up against the likes of Cheetah, Doctor Cyber, and Doctor Poison.
With this push towards a more physical superhero, we end up with a less engaging heroine. Her usual doting, caring personality has been pushed aside and doesn't manage to culminate any organic and authentic chemistry with any other characters in the film until the third act. Rosario Dawson. Has the sound of Diana Prince down, but isn't able to bring the emotional weight to her vocal performance.
With an enticing first act that expands upon the origin story in the live-action solo movie, the pacing is inconsistent in the second act, slowing down completely. The third act is, however, very well-executed with brilliantly choreographed action scenes, and some reasonably tense moments. Unfortunately, the film was only reasonably tense as the plot included two MacGuffins that removed any sense of threat of danger. When things are easily able to be reversed and fixed, there is no reason to care for the characters wellbeing.
All in all, Wonder Woman is a reasonable animated film. The animation is good (in the usual DCAU style), with some great action sequences in the third act. Let down by an unemotional first half with inconsistent pacing, and the inclusion of devices and technology that can undo major events, Bloodline becomes a forgettable film.
With no big stakes, minimal expansion of the lore and an unenthusiastic vocal performance, perhaps it is better that this film flew under the radar.