Wonder Woman (2009) direct-to-video animated movie review

8.5/10

Before she was a hero, she was an amazon. And before she had a live action movie, she had an animated one

The Good: snappy well written dialogue, perfect casting, underlying thought provoking themes, sympathetic antagonist, well developed protagonist, epic soundtrack

The Bad: occasional sub par animation, uninspired fight scenes

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Wonder Woman makes her live action solo movie debut in 2017, but that is not her first feature length film. In 2009, the animated Wonder Woman movie was produced by Warner Premiere as part of its then-new direct to video series of movies. Overshadowed by higher profile releases like Batman Gotham Knights (no doubt bolstered by the success of Christopher Nolan's dark knight trilogy), the 2009 Wonder Woman animated movie failed to perform as well in terms of sales. Surprising when you consider that on its own, WONDER WOMAN is a well made, thought provoking, energetic little movie that deserved much more recognition than it got.

Our story opens in ancient times where the amazon women wage a bloody war which ended with the imprisonment of Ares, but at the cost of many lives. As a reward, the greek gods grant the amazon queen Hippolyta a child fashioned from clay: Diana. The amazons flourish in isolation on paradise island where Diana grows up into a fine young warrior. But a part of her seeks greater adventure outside the boundaries of the island. Her chance comes when pilot Steve Trevor survives a frantic mid air battle and crashes on the island.

As the amazons hold a contest to determine the one most worthy to escort Trevor back to america, Ares escapes with the help of a traitor just as Diana wins the contest. Tasked with tracking down Ares, Trevor opts to help Diana as the enter man's world in search of the missing god of war. But Ares has a far more sinister plan in the work, one that could spell the doom of the world and the extinction of the amazons.

Right from the get go, the first thing that struck me was the dialogue in the movie. Written by comic scribe Gail Simone, the dialogue is witty, clever and mature. Take the visuals out of the equation and it feels like watching a well written live action movie or prime time tv show.

Our characters are brought to life by a perfect cast; Alfred Molina is truly menacing as Ares, Rosario Dawson as the regal queen, and Keri Russell imbuing a nuanced inner strength to Diana.

However the true standout performance is Firefly's Nathan Fillon as daring scoundrel pilot Steve Trevor. Steve is part Han Solo, part Maverick Mitchell from Top Gun and Fillon slips into it perfectly. He completely owns the roll, delivering his dialogue in the most natural way possible, sharing a magnificent chemistry with Russell.

The story is deeper than your average cartoon. Aside from being an origin story for Wonder Woman, showing her growth from reluctant and slightly defiant girl to a champion of the oppressed, the narrative weaves in many underlying themes relevant to our times.

Themes of sexism, gender bias, racial privilege and the differing expectations on man and woman are all interwoven into the narrative and brought to the forefront. It is refreshing to find a movie that is this smart in its handling of such themes; indeed a rarity in american animated works.

Unfortunately, the movie is not without its flaws and WONDER WOMAN's flaws are in the visuals. The animation was done by Moi Animation, a Korean studio who worked on many critically acclaimed works such as Legend of Korra and Young Justice. WONDER WOMAN was their first feature length work, having only done animation in the past for TV shows like TEEN TITANS and BOONDOCKS. The animation is ok. Nothing horrible but nothing as stunning as their later works. The often uninspired way the fight scenes are done does not help matters. Fights either involve one too many cuts or just do not feel as dynamic as other later DC animated movies.

The art work is also up to personal taste. Director Lauren Montgomery brings a look that mixes 90s Disney cartoon aesthetic with the more simplistic designs of the Bruce Timm cartoons, but the mix tends to look a bit lazy at times.

I personally did not like it as all the women looked the same, with big emphasised lips and angular hips, only differentiated by different hair styles. The few attempts at using CGI for vehicles just came off looking cheap and unprofessional.

On the bright side, composer Christopher Drake bring an epic score to the movie, giving otherwise mediocre fight scenes a sense of intensity and danger.

At 75 minutes, some would call the movie short, but i call it succinct. A lot happens in that time, going from paradise island, to america, to the depths of the underworld, and then to a climatic showdown in Washington DC. This brisk pace may leave it up to the viewer to connect some of the sub plots but the main story of Diana's more innocent nature contrasting with the ways of the modern world works to develop her character from sheltered princess into a true warrior and hero. This movie in a word is terrific, let down only by its technical shortcomings. If you can forgive that, that you would be in for a truly wonderful experience.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: A
Art: C+
Animation: B-

Story: A
Voice Acting (English): A

Characters: A

Music: B+

Replay value: A
"Brains": B-

Batman Vs Robin (2015) Direct-to-DVD animated OVA

Overall verdict: 6/10

The Good: well written dialogue, exceptional action, improved art and animation,  well developed hero's journey for Damien, deliciously over the top villain

The Bad: Awkwardly written romance, contrived and convenient plot resolution, minor animation errors

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Damian Wayne was trained to be the greatest assassin in the world. Following is liberation from the League of Assassins, Damian is taken in by his father Bruce Wayne, who is also the legendary Batman. By day, Bruce and Damian work to bond as father and son. While at night, Batman teaches his new Robin to suppress his urge to kill and embrace a non-lethal philosophy of crime fighting. Inexperienced in being a parent, Bruce finds it difficult to trust his bloodthirsty son, and thus keeps him like a prisoner. But a new vigilante prowls the night. A vigilante named Talon who is more than happy to bring out Robin's killer instinct and have him as a partner.  

Ever since the previous instalment in this New Batman Direct-to-video animated universe, I had predicted that the comic book storyline "Court of Owls" would be one day adapted into an animated movie. (Don't believe me, read my review for SON OF BATMAN here). In a way, my wish has been granted. The mysterious Court Of Owls, a secret cadre of the rich and powerful who had been dictating the city's fate from eons ago, does feature in BATMAN VS ROBIN.  Their designs are a direct translation from comics and this movie even translates key scenes of Greg Capullo's (the original artist of the comic) artwork into animation. Sadly that is where the similarities end. 

The greatest crime BATMAN VS ROBIN commits, especially for a fan of the comics such as myself,  is how this movie completely alters the original "Court of Owls" storyline. The original comics, written by critically acclaimed scribe Scott Snyder, was an epic in its own right. 

A massive inter-title crossover that kickstarted DC's New 52 continuity featuring not just Batman and Robin, but Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, Catwoman and even the Teen Titans. Heck, somehow even Jonah Hex was brought into it. The apocalyptic scenario saw Gotham City overrun by reanimated killer Talons each sent on specific assassination missions to wipe out key individuals; among the targets is the Bat family. 

This movie reduces that storyline into another "underworld gang looking to take over" plot combined with the story of a rival vigilante to Batman who tries to return Damian to his old bloodthirsty ways. Yes, the singleminded Talons have been reduced to Batman's dark reflection. A masked Vigilante, like Batman, but willing to kill. 

We do get some development to the Father/Son relationship between Bruce and Damian. We get a glimpse into Damian's inner struggle with conflicting ideologies and his quest to find his own identity. All his life, he has felt used by others for their own ends and now he faces a choice between potential fathers.  

Damian is the main character here with all other characters relegated to a supporting role, including Batman. Stuart Allen reprises his role of Damian, bringing a realistic and believable "mature beyond his years" kid voice to the character. His level of emoting has improved somewhat from SON OF BATMAN, reflecting Damian's humanisation and rejection of his assassin past. 

The other voices tend to border on mediocre; a fault most likely lying in the actors since voice director Andrea Romano has produced top notch work so far. Jason O'Mara returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne but uses the exact same voice for both personas. A stark difference to other Batman voice actors, particularly Kevin Conroy (who in a nice bit of fan service, voices Bruce Wayne's father) who uses distinct tones and inflections to distinguish Batman and Bruce Wayne as the mask and the true identity. Jeremy Sisto (who also voiced a previous incarnation of Batman from JUSTICE LEAGUE THE NEW FRONTIER) is the deep toned Talon but.......little else. Whether angry, frustrated, confident or wavering, Talon sounds exactly the same. 

TheAnswerStudio brings their anime styled look to this movie as well as the previous SON OF BATMAN. Compared to their last effort, detail in the artwork has gone up a notch; gradient shadows, those dynamic lighting effects, and reflective sheen on metal objects truly add to the visual spectacle. Sadly, like so many of its contemporaries, this movie falls victim to the same trappings that typical Japanese anime fall into. It looks beautiful but the smoothness of the animation suffers; the frame rate looks jerky, hand to hand combat is given the illusion of movement through motion blur, and in certain scenes involving many characters on screen the level of detail drops.

Our storyline tends to be all over the place. You never get a clue on what our villains' motivations were, how much of a threat their organisation is to Gotham, or even why Nightwing seems to have some unsaid grudge against Damian. This was expanded upon in the comics, but truncated and lost here in this movie. The writers tried to play with a mystery element here but the twists could be seen coming ten minutes into the show. 

What results is a predictable watered down version of an exceptional comic book. On its own, BATMAN VS ROBIN is decently entertaining with a good deal of action, decent character development for Robin, and visual eye candy in the artwork. Sure it is a far cry from Greg Capullo's stunning comic panels but it holds its own among anime movies of 2015.  However, among Warner Premiere's catalogue of Direct-to-video animated movies, this one ranks in the lower tiers thanks to its rushed nature, simplified story, disappointing acting and choppy Japanese anime style animation. 

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Entertainment: B+
Art: A
Animation: B-

Story: C+
Voice Acting (English): B- 

Characters: B+

Music: B-

Replay value: A-
"Brains": D-

Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning (2012) direct-to-video movie

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

The Good: Intriguing mystery plot, intense action, realistic stunts and violence, surreal atmospheric cinematography, ties up loose ends for the Universal Soldier movie series, old school synthesiser soundtrack, Scott Adkins finally acts.

The Bad: Overuse of slow motion, annoying "white flashes" during hallucination scenes, over-the-top performances from antagonists, slow first act.

3D Readiness: Native 3D

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A change in direction is risky. You may end up alienating your original fan base, you may end up with an unrecognisable sequel that is a sequel in name only, or you may end up creating a better product. UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING is that better product. Not just a sequel, but an expansion on a waning science fiction action franchise, DAY OF RECKONING closes many loose ends and answers questions that were left hanging by 2009's franchise revival UNIVERSAL SOLDIER A NEW BEGINNING/Regeneration.


Luc Devereaux, the protagonist from the original 1992 movie, has gone AWOL. Having failed in reintegration into society, Devereaux has accepted his cold hearted killer and merciless soldier persona with a new nihilistic mindset. Used like a weapon then discarded by his handlers, the disillusioned Devereaux slowly recruits other Unisol sleeper agents to join him for an eventual uprising against the government and the black ops programme that robbed them of their humanity. His latest act of terror was the cold blooded murder of a woman and child, the wife and daughter of a family man named John (our protagonist played by Scott Adkins).


Mysteriously left alive, John starts to track down the elusive Devereaux for the sake of revenge, but ends up unveiling mystery after mystery. The greatest mystery however comes from within as John is tormented by hallucinations of Devereaux and manifests combat skills that he had never learned; skills that allow him to best other Unisols in hand to hand combat.


Those skills would be tested as John hunts down the truth of his past, evades the relentless Unisol "Magnus" who has been sent to stop him, and takes a journey into the heart of darkness that is Devereaux's hidden fortress. John's journey is a painful one about losing one's humanity to vengeance. As his obsession grows, his methods become more inhuman and cruel. As he goes further down this dreamlike rabbit hole of a story, John is faced with a risk of becoming the devil to defeat the devil when he finally faces Devereaux.

Scott Adkins portrays that gradual metamorphosis from man to killing machine with a good level of nuance and restraint. Finally given a starring role that goes beyond just fighting and scowling, former stuntman and trained martial artist Adkins shows off his acting chops, taking John across the full range of emotions from despair to a focused drive, to single minded obsession. Sure it's not much, this is not some romance drama after all, but it serves the story while allowing Adkins to go "Rambo" on all his enemies.



Having cast trained martial artists like Adkins, Andrei Arlovski and Jean Claud Van Damme, the action in DAY OF RECKONING is bloody, intense and marvellously shot. It is the sort of hard hitting full on fighting with practical effects that is a rare sight in this day and age of special effects and digital stand-ins. This movie never shies away from bloodshed, showcasing every wound, shot and death with grim realism.


From the onset, the mystery plot is gripping with its fair share of twists and unexpected revelations. It does sag a bit in the first act but once you get past that, the pace picks up. If you have been following the franchise, many questions are answered here. For example, how does Dolph Lundgren's Andrew Scott character return again and again despite meeting gruesome ends in each instalment?


Drawing inspiration from APOCALYPSE NOW (the whole "former soldier gone rogue and amassing an army" as well as the surreal journey into darkness theme), TERMINATOR (the relentless pursuit of John by Unisol Magnus) and MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (brainwashed sleeper agents/assassins with false memories), UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING is a gripping tale from start to finish.


As a whole, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING achieves what many of its contemporaries fail to: it is a direct-to-video movie that looks just as good as a hollywood blockbuster. No doubt the result of John Hyam's masterful direction and cinematography. His camerawork achieves an interesting look to the film that slowly mutates from soft and sombre into harsh lighting with clashing colours reflecting John's physical and emotional journey. Accompanied by haunting synthesiser music courtesy of Michael Krassner, the movie draws you in with its surreal atmosphere.  Perhaps the only questionable filming decision was to utilise an epileptic flashing strobe light in scenes where John has his hallucinations.


A dark yet fitting end to the franchise which still leaves some doors open for further sequels.

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Entertainment: B+

Story: A-
Acting: C+

Characters: B-

Music: B+

Replay value: B

"Brains": B+

Batman: Assault on Arkham [2014] direct-to-video animation movie review

Overall verdict: 9/10

The Good: Stunning detailed artwork and character designs, dynamic fight sequences, smooth character motion, timely comedy without going overboard, badass soundtrack, marvellous cast chemistry and acting.

The Bad: Misaimed marketing (Batman), short running time, 

3D Readiness: none

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Villains get the spotlight in BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM, a loose prequel set before the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum video game. A black ops mission to assassinate the Riddler is foiled by Batman, prompting CIA operative Amanda Waller to assemble "Task Force X", aka The Suicide Squad. Morally ambiguous Vigilante Black Spider, seductive ice queen Killer Frost, savage brute King Shark, Australian scoundrel Captain Boomerang, crazy Harley Quinn and the cynical assassin Deadshot. These sociopathic misfits have to put aside their differences to work together, lest they "lose their heads".

Playing out like a good ol fashioned heist film in the vein of THE ITALIAN JOB or OCEAN'S ELEVEN, we see six villains assembled by Amanda Waller and sent on a mission impossible deep into the heart of the dreaded Arkham Asylum to retrieve a thumb drive containing sensitive information, that was in the Riddler's possession. From the electronic heavy rock soundtrack to the Taratino-esque roll call opening credits sequence, you know you are in for a completely different animated movie. The fun begins when we get to see how well these bad guys play off one another in a script that is chock full of dark humour and depth.

Although each villain does not get much development, we do get a "keynotes" look into their personalities, their motivations and their minds as the brisk pace of the movie sprints from action scene to action scene. Their roles in the team are familiar archetypes for classic villain teams: the alpha male leader (Deadshot), the butt monkey backstabber (Captain Boomerang), the dumb muscle (King Shark), the seductress (Killer Frost), the mysterious odd one out (Black Spider), and the psycho (Harley Quinn). Yet in this familiarity comes the opportunity for the characters to truly shine thanks to some magnificent chemistry and voice acting. 

Alas, for a title named "Batman: Assault on Arkham" the titular Batman plays a supporting, almost cameo, role. But when he does appear, he exhibits a powerful onscreen presence. Those barely visible eyes staring intensely from within the cowl, the new look of the costume which blends the dark blue streamlined design of Justice League Unlimited with the armoured detailing of New 52, not to mention the return of the classic Batman voice Kevin Conroy. But I digress. Batman is not the focus here, the Suicide Squad is. And they get one hell of a 75 minute showcase. Throughout the movie, you get a sense that some of the team members have their own agenda and secrets. What looks like a crazy outburst turns out to be a well calculated distraction for example. This movie keeps you guessing and keeps the tension up from start to finish. 

Like previous DC Animated movies, ASSAULT ON ARKHAM does not shy away from bloody violence or semi-sexual depictions. The near nudity, the blood letting, it is insane, threading close to an "R" rating. Action is smooth, fluid, with a very high budget quality which combines detailed artwork with dynamic animation. Visually, Moi Animation studios have outdone themselves once again delivering top notch animation that surpasses many of their Japanese anime counterparts. For quick comparison, take a look at the animation on SON OF BATMAN done by Japanese anime studio "TheAnswerStudio" and then compare it to the visuals in BATMAN ASSAULT ON ARKHAM. No contest. 

BATMAN ASSAULT ON ARKHAM was a risky experiment, but an experiment that pays off. Edgy but fun, dark but not brooding, intense but not shallow. There seem to be things you can do onscreen and a dark sense of fun you get with villains instead of heroes. Here I am hoping that DC would consider releasing a villain centric animated movie for every two hero centric movies per year. The DC rogues gallery needs to be tapped and tapped well. This is a good start.

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Entertainment: A-

Story: B+

Characters: A-

Animation: A

Art: A

Music: A-

Voice work: A

Replay Value: A-

"Brains": C-