Animation Comparison: Bloodlines vs 2009 (SPOILERS)

Just finished watching 2019's BLOODLINES animated movie.

I like it. But I don't get it.

It seems like it has enough of the ingredients for real greatness. It definitely uses more of Wonder Woman's mythos than the 2009 animated movie did. We get Julia Kapatelis, Silver Swan, Doctor Poison and Doctor Cyber, Giganta, and Veronica Cale. Etta Candy is wildly different from her paler 2009 incarnation (thank goodness).

And Steve Trevor is much better here than his 2009 impression (but still quite not as good as Chris Pine).

Rosario Dawson is great as Diana, and the animation is largely good.

So why doesn't the story grab me?

I guess, outside of Silver Swan, the rest of Villainy Inc got almost no development at all. These folx ain't the Batmam rogues where we've seen them countless times before and can skip in-depth intros.

The Cheetah is a hench. Again. Ugh. There is NEVER emphasis on her brains, just claws and speed. Hated that, especially here.

Medusa as the big bad was a head-scratcher. I honestly thought the "prototype" was going to be Genocide (I still think she can be made into a quality foe in the right hands). And this version of Medusa was slaughtering Amazons and Wonder Rogues alike.

The final fight just had that MOS feel of going on too long.

And Cale just came off as a Diet Lex Luthor.

I guess this felt like, well we know we're rebooting the DC animated movie universe after the JLD movie after this, so have at it.

The 2009 movie felt way more cohesive and the like the start of something. This was scattered and felt like the end.

Don't know if I'll rewatch.

What did y'all think of this movie? And compared to the 2009 one?

I thought it was ok, but prefer the 2009 one. Watching Bloodlines you can just feel the creators thinking "We won't be making any sequels to it, so let's just throw in as much stuff as possible" and as a result the narrative is disjointed and unsatisfying. It should've been at least two movies.

I prefer this to the '09 version. Mainly that I find Diana and Steve more likeable than their '09 counterparts even if the plot was more crammed and less-focused.

Agree with everything you said.

The first film felt more cohesive but didn't include anything Wonder Woman-y beyond a Cheetah cameo, an unrecognizably brutish Deimos (but still admittedly cool fight scene with him), and a bland Ares. It shoehorned a bunch of brand new Amazons that nobody cares about (Alexa, really?), made Etta Candy the complete opposite of the character, and had the most generic "trying to be badass" Steve Trevor I've ever seen.

The second film had Wonder Woman stuff, but used them poorly (for the most part). Dr. Poison and Cyber never get to really pop off, and seeing Cheetah once again as a joke is just beyond me. And don't get me started on killing off Julia just to turn Vanessa into the Swan. It wasn't good in Robinson's run and it certainly wasn't good here. Plus, we did NOT need to see that origin again. And while ultimately sorta useless, I do like that they at least tried to bring some fun back to Etta's character.

Obviously I don't really love either movie but at least the second one has fun Wonder Woman elements that I can enjoy. I hope we one day get a third film that has a bit more focus on a singular plot and a good showing for one of her rogues (Circe or finally a Cheetah one would be great).

The one thing I really hated about Bloodlines is the post-credits scene. Veronica pretty much admits that she's responsible for Julia's death, Vanessa's transformation and Vilainy Inc's attack on Themiskyra...and Diana let's her get away with it. Wut? That scene should've gone like this: "You want to visit Themiskyra? That can be arranged." Then she grabs her and puts her on an indefinite vacation on the Transformation Island :p

[QUOTE=Nyssane;5205489]I hope we one day get a third film that has a bit more focus on a singular plot and a good showing for one of her rogues (Circe or finally a Cheetah one would be great).[/QUOTE]

I think War of the Gods can be made into a good Circe-centric movie if you keep the basic premise but remove all the unnecessary stuff and maybe add some elements from the Witching Hour/Witching War.

[QUOTE=Psy-lock;5205533]

I think War of the Gods can be made into a good Circe-centric movie if you keep the basic premise but remove all the unnecessary stuff and maybe add some elements from the Witching Hour/Witching War.[/QUOTE]
I've thought this also. I think it could be a good [I]Under the Red Hood[/I]-like adaptation where the extraneous stuff could get removed to make it more focused and streamlined.

Bloodlines, because at least Steve and Etta aren't terrible in it and it's neat to see all these characters animated. The plot's usage of them isn't great

[QUOTE=Nyssane;5205489]Obviously I don't really love either movie but at least the second one has fun Wonder Woman elements that I can enjoy. I hope we one day get a third film that has a bit more focus on a singular plot and a good showing for one of her rogues (Circe or finally a Cheetah one would be great).[/QUOTE]

The movie's original plot in development for this being Cheetah's movie and it being shifted to Vanessa is the most frustrating thing about it. Cheetah is a mook, Julia gets killed off and Vanessa's plot doesn't have the room to breath and instead she just comes across as annoying.

Getting rid of the Swan stuff would make it a much better movie, unfortunately it is also the main focus. Making it Cheetah also may have afforded more focus on Cale and Cyber if they were really aiming for adapting the Rebirth storyline. It may also have provided an additional fight scene for Giganta if Cheetah wasn't going to be a one-off mook fight.

[QUOTE=Gaius;5205539]I've thought this also. I think it could be a good [I]Under the Red Hood[/I]-like adaptation where the extraneous stuff could get removed to make it more focused and streamlined.[/QUOTE]

A Witching Hour/Witching War adaptation would be great.

I actually would love a Children of the Gods adaptation with Circe as the mastermind and Grail as muscle could be wonderful. I actually think that arc filmed like a hybrid horror movie/superhero movie like Gotham by Gaslight could be quite the treat.

I like Bloodlines better. Too much is always preferable to not enough.

[QUOTE=PopQuezy;5205572]A Witching Hour/Witching War adaptation would be great.

I actually would love a Children of the Gods adaptation with Circe as the mastermind and Grail as muscle could be wonderful. I actually think that arc filmed like a hybrid horror movie/superhero movie like Gotham by Gaslight could be quite the treat.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I kind of wish these animated films took maybe not-so-great stories in the first place and used the different medium to maybe get a better story out of them rather than try to adapt (whether through expanding or condensing) the various acclaimed DC stuff.

[QUOTE=Psy-lock;5205533]The one thing I really hated about Bloodlines is the post-credits scene. Veronica pretty much admits that she's responsible for Julia's death, Vanessa's transformation and Vilainy Inc's attack on Themiskyra...and Diana let's her get away with it. Wut? That scene should've gone like this: "You want to visit Themiskyra? That can be arranged." Then she grabs her and puts her on an indefinite vacation on the Transformation Island :p[/QUOTE]

I always kinda forget Veronica was in the movie. I would've much preferred her to not be the evil mastermind and just had her as a neutral figure (for now). Set her up for a future movie. Not going to make a future movie? That's fine, Cale is no big loss. But it would be nice to have at least [I]some[/I] kind of set up if a sequel does pop up in the future.

[QUOTE]I think War of the Gods can be made into a good Circe-centric movie if you keep the basic premise but remove all the unnecessary stuff and maybe add some elements from the Witching Hour/Witching War.[/QUOTE]

Yes! War of the Gods is one of those storylines that are so messy in the comics, but could easily be parsed down and streamlined to be a 90 minute animated film starring Wonder Woman.

I'd also love an adaptation of The Hiketeia. Maybe they could incorporate Circe in that somehow.

[QUOTE=SiegePerilous02;5205568]The movie's original plot in development for this being Cheetah's movie and it being shifted to Vanessa is the most frustrating thing about it. Cheetah is a mook, Julia gets killed off and Vanessa's plot doesn't have the room to breath and instead she just comes across as annoying.

Getting rid of the Swan stuff would make it a much better movie, unfortunately it is also the main focus. Making it Cheetah also may have afforded more focus on Cale and Cyber if they were really aiming for adapting the Rebirth storyline. It may also have provided an additional fight scene for Giganta if Cheetah wasn't going to be a one-off mook fight.[/QUOTE]

Agree completely. Having Barbara Ann instead of two characters (Julia and Vanessa) would've made for less clumsy storytelling. I'm not against Vanessa being the Swan, but the whole point of that betrayal is because of the character's relationship to Diana, and that plot is already done (better) with Barbara Ann. Cutting Cheetah completely would've been preferable, too, and give Giganta a round 2.

While on the topic of Giganta, I *despise* her calling Diana "Wonder Bitch" or whatever. Really? I get these movies aren't intended for kids, but that line was just so ridiculous and unnecessary.

[QUOTE=Nyssane;5205660]

I'd also love an adaptation of The Hiketeia. Maybe they could incorporate Circe in that somehow.
.[/QUOTE]
I could see them maybe doing that, if only because it has Batman so they can advertise he's in it if they think it will sell more.

You could probably put Circe in the place of the Furies in the story if they wanted to include a more traditional rogue.

[QUOTE=Koriand'r;5205584]I like Bloodlines better. Too much is always preferable to not enough.[/QUOTE]

I'm going to agree with this... I always get excited to see any of Wonder Woman's non public domain rogues gallery...It's just a shame that they were kind of wasted to prop up a Greek legend (Medusa). Then again, you're talking to the guy who was more interested in Dr. Poison than Ares in the Wonder Woman movie.


It's sad how we have to get excited for the mere usage of Diana's mythos (no matter how efficient it is). Oi...I'm starting to think some of Wonder Woman's rogues best showing in modern media was in a Batman cartoon (Brave and the Bold)

I liked both animated Wonder Woman movies, but I definitely prefer Bloodlines. 09 WW was a fun adaption, but I didn't care for the back story between Hippolyta and Ares, nor the random non-canon amazons, and that version of Etta Candy should never be heard from again!

I prefer Rosario Dawson as Diana's voice, as well. If for no other reason than because I know it's something she's really excited to be able to do and she loves the character.

Also, I really prefer the Rebirth-y armor to the more traditional "star-spangled swimsuit" from 09.

Cheers,
Ray
=w=

[QUOTE=SiegePerilous02;5205568]The movie's original plot in development for this being Cheetah's movie and it being shifted to Vanessa is the most frustrating thing about it. Cheetah is a mook, Julia gets killed off and Vanessa's plot doesn't have the room to breath and instead she just comes across as annoying.

Getting rid of the Swan stuff would make it a much better movie, unfortunately it is also the main focus. Making it Cheetah also may have afforded more focus on Cale and Cyber if they were really aiming for adapting the Rebirth storyline. It may also have provided an additional fight scene for Giganta if Cheetah wasn't going to be a one-off mook fight.[/QUOTE]

I actually think it's for the better. I wouldn't want Cheetah's origin to be wasted on this crappy animated universe.

[I]Bloodlines[/I] is disappointing. By no means was the 2009 movie perfect, but I think if you just compare what each movie brought to its respective landscape, 2009 was a bit of fresh air where there just wasn't much to celebrate outside of comics. [I]Bloodlines[/I] came in an era where there were a lot of JL animated movies, and of course the Gal Gadot movie, and didn't really seem to break any new ground, or at least not in a markedly impressive way.

Specific complaints I had include things like the opening scene of the movie, which seemed like a completely unnecessary rehash of the WW origin story. These movies are already a bit on the short side, why spent budget (movie time, production time, money) to retell something most viewers already knew? It was nice to see classic villains, but there's no great payoff to seeing characters like Cheetah or Giganta because their importance was negligible. The post-credits scene also seemed tacky. It would've been much better to incorporate the reveal of Veronica Cale as the real villain within the movie's actual narrative instead of making it a "By the way" moment after the movie climax. Seemed like they put too much effort into making a punchy post-credit scenes, to the detriment of the main movie.

It's not the worst movie in the line that began in 2007. It's probably not the worst post-[I]Flashpoint[/I] up to [I]Apokolips War[/I]. But it's just not all that satisfying for what it tried to accomplish in mixing in a lot of WW's history. The 2009 film definitely works better as one cohesive story.

One thing I'll give [I]Bloodlines[/I] is I felt like they had a good, well-rounded, depiction of Wonder Woman in showing her as a capable Superhero who was compassionate, clever, and emphatic when she needed to be and reserved the use of the sword for a major threat that actually warranted it instead of just swinging it around (and she still tried to talk Medusa down before fighting her).
[QUOTE=DochaDocha;5206505][I]Bloodlines[/I] is disappointing. By no means was the 2009 movie perfect, but I think if you just compare what each movie brought to its respective landscape, 2009 was a bit of fresh air where there just wasn't much to celebrate outside of comics. [I]Bloodlines[/I] came in an era where there were a lot of JL animated movies, and of course the Gal Gadot movie, and didn't really seem to break any new ground, or at least not in a markedly impressive way.

Specific complaints I had include things like the opening scene of the movie, which seemed like a completely unnecessary rehash of the WW origin story. These movies are already a bit on the short side, why spent budget (movie time, production time, money) to retell something most viewers already knew? It was nice to see classic villains, but there's no great payoff to seeing characters like Cheetah or Giganta because their importance was negligible. The post-credits scene also seemed tacky. It would've been much better to incorporate the reveal of Veronica Cale as the real villain within the movie's actual narrative instead of making it a "By the way" moment after the movie climax. Seemed like they put too much effort into making a punchy post-credit scenes, to the detriment of the main movie.

It's not the worst movie in the line that began in 2007. It's probably not the worst post-[I]Flashpoint[/I] up to [I]Apokolips War[/I]. But it's just not all that satisfying for what it tried to accomplish in mixing in a lot of WW's history. The 2009 film definitely works better as one cohesive story.[/QUOTE]
Maybe more narratively cohesive but I think certain characters are handled better in [I]Bloodlines[/I] (and that opinion seems shared) and I think showing off Diana's Rogues Gallery is commendable in and of itself even if they weren't used as effectively as they could have.

I think rehashing the origin kind of threw off the pacing but was also somewhat necessary from a character standpoint in terms of showing the building up of all the emotional conflicts in the movie.

Quality is better than quantity so I picked the 2009 movie.