Wonder Woman - Blu-ray

Movie: On a small island, safely shielded from the rest of the world, the Amazon princess Diana (Gal Gadot) is trained to be a strong warrior. Yet she has no idea of the truly divine power that lies dormant within her. It's not until young pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) washes up on the beach after a crash landing, pursued by enemy soldiers, that Diana gets a glimpse of the world that lies beyond the protective umbrella. And that impression is not a good one. So she decides to accompany Steve and fight for humanity against evil. Because she is convinced that the bloody turmoil of the First World War can be stopped if she succeeds in defeating Ares, the god of war. And so Diana goes into battle - and Wonder Woman is born!

Wonder Woman is the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe, which has so far been under no good star after Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Even though Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman didn't really flounder at the box office, the films weren't particularly well received by critics or fans. Suicide Squad was a step in the right direction, but still couldn't really meet the expectations of many fans. The good news, however, is that the makers listened to the criticism and seem to have learned from it. Because aside from the once again somewhat overstuffed finale, Wonder Woman gets everything right that was criticized about the other DC movies.

Director Patty Jenkins, who has incomprehensibly not directed a feature film since her multi-award-winning 2003 debut Monster, strikes the perfect balance here between classic adventure film and great fantasy cinema, spiced with just the right dash of tongue-in-cheek humor. Gal Gadot has already proven in Batman v. Superman that she is the perfect choice to embody the comic book heroine created in 1941. But it's here that she really gets to show off all her strengths. Gadot is just as convincing as an action heroine as she is as an actress. Since she's not just reduced to the warrior in the sexy outfit here, the Israeli actress can actually give the character something like depth - something her fellow Superman and Batman in the DC Extended Universe have lacked so far.

The film also benefits immensely from the great chemistry between Gadot and Chris Pine, who gives an extremely charming hero but never steals the show from the main character. Because this is fully Wonder Woman's movie - and therefore also a real novelty: the first blockbuster with a superheroine (the debacles Catwoman and Elektra don't count and should better disappear from the collective comic-fan memory anyway) - and then with a really great one, too!

It should also be mentioned positively that the film - unlike the other DC films - is no longer so gloomy and especially the first big action sequence takes place in beautiful daylight. This increases not only the show values, but also the fun factor of the film significantly. But even Wonder Woman, for all its deserved praise, is not entirely without its flaws. For example, the supervillain can only convince to a certain extent and towards the end the style for which Zack Snyder had to take so much criticism with his films takes over again. But even if the last act is not quite convincing, Wonder Woman is overall a really successful comic adaptation and a great superheroine film that offers the audience action, great effects, suspense, humor and a little dash of romance. What more could you want? For this, there is clearly a: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: After the last DC movies were mainly gloomy, Wonder Woman convinces especially at the beginning with many bright scenes, which are characterized by a powerful color scheme. As the war scenes progress, the colors give way more and more and the all-too-familiar gloom takes over. At least contrast and detail sharpness are at a high level here as well, so the enjoyment of the film isn't marred any further. The Dolby Atmos mix is very lively and allows for the very powerful sound effects, as well as small ambient noises, to come through very well. Very Good!

Extras: The bonus material starts with an amusing epilogue to the film (approx. 2:41 min.), which has even been dubbed for the German release. This is followed by a standard making of about the making of the film (approx. 16:26 mins). Hidden under the heading The Vision of a Director are five short docs about the hidden island (approx. 4:56 min.), about the battle on the beach (approx. 4:56 min.), about the old photograph that has already been seen in Batman v. Superman (approx. 5:07 min.), about Diana in the present (approx. 4:39 min.), as well as about Wonder Woman at war (approx. 5:03 min.) - a scene that has been extremely important to Patty Jenkins from the beginning.

This collection of featurettes is followed by other short documentaries about the Amazons (approx. 9:35 min.), about the three great legends in the DC Universe (approx. 16:05 min.), about the importance of Wonder Woman (approx. 23:08 min.), as well as with a behind-the-scenes look (approx. 15:34 min.). All of these features are a mixture of interviews, footage from the filming or from the preparations, as well as various film clips. Especially for fans there are some very interesting and worth seeing moments included, but overall the whole thing remains quite superficial despite the abundance.

To finish off the bonus material, there are five extended (approx. 9 min.), as well as an alternative scene (approx. 1:04 min.) and a few amusing outtakes (approx. 5:37 min.). All in all, a decent: worth seeing!

Conclusion: Wonder Woman is arguably the best and most entertaining film to date from the current DC Universe. An action-packed adventure film that also doesn't miss out on the humour and can convince with a really strong heroine. The Blu-ray pleases with a very good implementation of image and sound. The nearly two hours of bonus material highlights various aspects of the production and the character Wonder Woman, but ultimately only scratches the surface. Still, it all absolutely deserves enough for an: Absolutely Recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp