No Wonder

I just recently watched another Direct to Video animated release from Warner Premier. The Final Frontier was a piece of crap, while Gotham Knight was a mixed bag. Honestly, with Wonder Woman, I didn't know what to expect.

I was never fascinated with this character while I was growing up. I mean, I doubt if any kid classified as male would find female superheroes fascinating. With the way they were drawn--- with those insanely huge breasts and physiques of ridiculous proportions, female characters in most comic books seem to be nothing more than an outlet of repressed sexuality. Sure, for women, these female superheroes symbolize gender equality, women's liberation and whatnot. But women aren't really the target audience of comic books, right?

I only got to know the Wonder Woman character through the Justice League cartoon series. I never saw the live action TV series even on syndication. And the character seemed nothing more than an accessory in the Super Friends cartoon series that I used to watch when I was a kid. But in the Justice League series--- they showed the character in a different light. Wonder Woman appeared cool--- and her fight scenes weren't too shabby either. For the first time, along with Hawk Girl, I was rooting for female superheroes. In the Justice League series, they weren't just there for support, they weren't just mere accessories. They were vital to the whole team. They were heroes, just like the rest of them.

When i popped the disc into my DVD player, i was immediately in awe. WOW. That was one of the best opening scenes I've ever seen, be it in an animated or a live action movie. Intense. Gripping. With impalements and beheadings. I immediately wondered why Hollywood was having problems with the script for the live action Wonder Woman movie, when there's a perfectly good script right here! But after that great opening sequence, things began to mellow down. I was waiting for the action to build up again--- but it never did. Even the climax was unsatisfying. When the final action sequence was over... I said, "that's it?" There's a potential with this storyline, they just failed to sustain it. The Justice League series was successful in enriching the character, and the back story here was amazing. The problem isn't because the Wonder Woman mythos is deeply rooted in fantasy and mythology. It isn't because the back story is better suited for historical times, it can easily be adapted to present times as showed in this film. The problem is, they can't seem to find writers who can put all these good things into something that's cohesive. A bit of polishing here and there is all that's needed. The blueprint for a great movie is already here, they just have to furnish it with the proper materials. At this rate, no wonder the live action Wonder Woman movie is still years away from production. If ever that film finally receives the go signal from the studios, I hope they've already managed to create a great script by then. As shown by the Justice League series, the character has huge potential. It would be such a pity if they failed to deliver.

Batman: Gotham Knight

Batman: Gotham Knight is the third direct to video release from Warner Premier, the first two being Superman: Doomsday and Justice League: The New Frontier. This film was heavily promoted as a bridge between Batman Begins and its impending sequel, The Dark Knight--- a transitional story of sort. Obviously, this is an attempt to cash in on the anticipation for the sequel's imminent release, very similar to The Animatrix, another direct to video animated film that was released when the Matrix fever was at its peak in 2003. But whereas The Animatrix was a genuine attempt to answer questions and tie up loose ends--- and it did accomplish those goals, Gotham Knight does none of that. The six animated shorts do not really seem to be related to the Batman universe that Christopher Nolan has created. They don't even tie up loose ends from the first movie. Another blatant example of false advertising at its finest. Bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight my ass.

To really appreciate this film, one should take it for what it really is. It's not a transitional story made to bridge the gap between the two films. Granted, the events shown could have happened in the time period between the two movies, but the time line is so vague that the events could have happened at anytime during Batman's life... and since they don't actually contribute anything to enrich the storyline in the first movie, nor do they foreshadow events that would happen in the sequel, it's misleading to refer to this film as transitional. The six animated shorts are simply glimpses in the life of the title character. That doesn't make it bad. For one thing, the animation is top notch. Different teams were assigned to each chapter (featuring top anime creators from Japan!), and although each style is remarkably different from the other, not one chapter was haphazardly done. They created the perfect blend of Japanese and American styles of animation. It's pretty obvious that a lot of effort was made to deliver what we see onscreen. Top writers were recruited to create the storyline for each chapter. While this seemed like a perfect idea on paper, these writers seemed to find it difficult to tell a story that would make a lasting impression. With just 10-15 minutes allotted for each story, who could blame them? The whole film runs for only 76 minutes... it would have been better if they just made each episode longer. The short stories are self contained, and when taken individually, some are pretty boring, but the better chapters, namely chapters 4 and 6, more than make up for them. It's not perfect--- the Batman Animated series shown in the 90's featured more compelling stories, but I would say this is still an above average effort (unlike the previous animated video release from Warner Premiere). Every casual viewer would most probably find something to like. As for Batman fans, this film is enough to whet their appetites a bit before all hell breaks loose when The Dark Knight is released... and that's only 5 days away from today! WOO-HOO!!!