Being a movie collector is lots of fun. You go to the store or the online site and shop for hours looking for deals on your favorite movies. But, a problem for me is I go to secondhand stores and will sometimes buy movies that maybe I wasn’t crazy about when I saw them but now it’s only $6, so I figure “Why not?”

I have mentioned before that my wife is supportive of my collecting, but she also gets annoyed because I buy movies and they sit on my shelf, never seeing the inside of my blu-ray player.

At first, I told my wife “I’ve watched most of them!” But recently I decided to separate the films that I have not watched. And darn it, my wife is right!

So, I took all those discs and placed them on the bottom of my shelf. My movies are organized alphabetically, so I thought for fun I would mix them up, place them back on the bottom of the shelf and watch whatever movie is next.

I will review the discs as it will keep my focused on completing my task of finally being able to tell my wife, “I have watched them all!”

Welcome to Blu-Buried!

Wonder Woman (2009)

After a battle with the God of War Ares (Alfred Molina), the Amazonian’s led by their Queen Hippolyta (Virginia Madsen) are victorious, Ares is defeated and Hippolyta decides to strike a fatal blow. Zeus and Hera intervene, sparring Ares’ life but binding him with bracelets, and imprison him on an island paradise that Hippolyta hides from man.

After several centuries, Hippolyta is blessed with a daughter, the princess Diana (Keri Russell). Fiercely independent and head strong Diana is looking for more than an island paradise.

Fate literally crashes on their paradise as Steve Trevor (Nathan Fillion) is shot down in an aerial battle. A tournament is held for the Amazon who will take Trevor back to his “world”. Diana, sneaks into the tournament and wins, thus she brings Trevor back to his world.

While the tournament is taking place, Ares escapes with the help of a traitor among the Amazons.  He makes his way to Hades (Oliver Platt) who removes the bracelets that shackled him. Soon, Ares brings the war to the humans, and it is up to Diana and Trevor to work together and defeat Ares.

I was blown away with how much I liked this film. It is lots of fun, with some thrilling action and some pretty hardcore violence for a PG-13 animated film. Russell is great as Diana as she embodies her strength and determination needed to bring her to life. Fillion also brings the right amount of swagger to the role of Steve Trevor. But perhaps his greatest moment comes near the films end. Throughout the film, Steve Trevor is portrayed as a womanizer and somewhat of a scoundrel. However, on the way to battle Ares in Washington D.C., Trevor has a moment of truth and venerability. It’s delivered with sincerity and when he realized that his foot in caught in the Lasso of Truth. It also gets a chuckle.

Molina as Ares is a standout. He owns every scene he is in, and his bargaining with Platt’s Hades is a delicious blend of villainy.

The action is top notch. Each battle delivers on power and violence. You can actually feel each punch when Diana takes on a minion from Ares in a mall. It is grand.

Wonder Woman is a can’t miss entry into DC’s animated universe.

It seems that a problem with the early DC animated films is that the video quality on the blu-ray always seems to be just ok. Wonder Woman looks better than the last film I reviewed, Batman: Year One but the same issues continue to pop up. Washed out colors and banding rears its head throughout the picture, but the action looks sharp and is fluid.

On the audio side Wonder Woman is fantastic. Music comes through clear as does the dialogue. No need to constantly mess with your balance, it is mixed well and sounds great.

As this is the Commemorative Edition that was released in conjunction with the live action Wonder Woman film, Warner Brothers has added a new extra. I read that some have been omitted but since I have not seen that version, I am not sure what was removed other than a Green Lantern short.

But what you do get is pretty good.

The new feature is What Makes a Wonder Woman, which is a nice if unfortunately, too short 10-minute look at the history of Wonder Woman, featuring Patty Jenkins, the director of the live action film, Lauren Montgomery, the director of the animated film and of course Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman herself.

There’s also a commentary with the makers of the film, which is a pretty solid track. I do like the commentaries on DC’s animated films as the filmmakers are fans as well which makes the journey through the film with them lots of fun.

While the new feature I wished had a longer and more substantial runtime the two documentaries that were ported over from the previous release are excellent.

A Subversive Dream: Really digs into Wonder Woman’s history. Peppered with great interviews this is a truly informative feature.

The Daughters of Myth: This documentary explores Wonder Woman’s origin and her mythological roots.

Also included is a sneak peek at Batman and Harley Quinn and some trailers.

Overall, this is a solid and entertaining entry into DC’s animated universe. The story is well known but the action and voice talent is top notch. The video continues to be the biggest hiccup on these releases as being just good not great. The audio is fantastic. The extras are quite good and add to the overall enjoyment of the disc. Highly Recommended.

Film: A

Video: B

Audio: A

Extras: B+

Overall: B+