‘Wonder Woman: Bloodlines’ Review- Characters Not Utilized Enough

The 14th installment of the DC Animated Movie Universe is ‘Wonder Woman: Bloodlines,’ a Warner Bros. Animation feature directed by Sam Liu and Justin Copeland.

We open on a retelling of how Diana (Rosario Dawson) met Steve Trevor (Jeffrey Donovan), this time Trevor crashes on Amazon Island after being attacked by Parademons. He warns the Amazons of the upcoming attack from Apokolips, but Queen Hippolyta (Cree Summer) refuses to listen, prompting Diana to escape with Trevor to warn the world of the Parademon threat. With the help of Etta Candy (Adrienne C. Moore), he gets Diana a home with Dr. Julia Kapatelis (Nia Vardalos) and her daughter (Marie Avgeropoulos), who grows jealous of her mother’s attention on Wonder Woman.

Five years later, Vanessa steals from billionaire tech-industrialist Veronica Cale (Constance Zimmer) and plans to sell the technology to Doctor Cyber (Mozhan Marnò) and Dr. Poison (Courtenay Taylor) to give abilities to their members of Villainy Inc. When Julia dies in Wonder Woman’s attempt to stop the exchange, Vanessa vows revenge and allows herself to turn into the Silver Swan, a new powerful foe.

The first thing I wanted to point out is that the animation was excellent. While not as impressive as some other features in the DCAMU, it still is high quality with the fight scenes flowing very well. I also want to praise the design for Wonder Woman’s costumes. Her first one is designed to resemble her New 52 outfit and later she wears one similar to Gal Gadot’s armor in the live-action movie. I also enjoyed the plot. It was a bit basic, but I found it entertaining and interesting.

The casting was a mixed bag. Rosario Dawson once again shined as Wonder Woman, as did Jeffrey Donovan as Steve Trevor and also Michael Dorn’s appearance as the Minotaur. However, I felt Cree Summers casting as both Medusa and Hippolyta was too obvious. Summers just sounds too young for the Queen of the Amazons and it was obvious that it was her performing both roles. Same with Kimberly Brooks as Cheetah and Giganta. I have a hard time believing they could not have found separate actresses for these roles.

It was the same with the characters. Cheetah is one of Wonder Woman’s most fierce enemies, but she is relegated to a glorified cameo appearance in a movie that showcases the criminal organization she is a part of. On the opposite end, Etta Candy is used too much, not to mention how the writers “woke” her character up. WB changed her race, her role in the mythology, and her dating preferences all to draw social media praise and say, “Hey, look, we’re politically correct.” Wonder Woman has supporting characters who are all of these things. There was no need for these ridiculous changes. Now, this does not take away from the story overall, but it is cringe-inducing.

Bottom line, Wonder Woman: Bloodlines has several issues that make you roll your eyes, but the story is interesting and does a good job of connecting to the entire DCAMU.

Check out the trailer below:

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my movie review of Sonic The Hedgehog OVA and Aquaman. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

Did you know my new fantasy novel “The Seven Royals: All Good Things” is now available on Barnes and Noble and Amazon? You can get your e-book copy at BookLocker.

You can find me everywhere on social media! Facebook: Author Jacob Airey | Instagram: realjacobairey | Twitter: @realJacobAirey | Parler: RealJacobAirey | YouTube: StudioJake

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