Movie Review - Wonder Woman (1975)

Wonder Woman

The New Original Wonder Woman [Pilot]

1975

Production Companies:  Douglas S Cramer & Warner Bros. Television

Back in the days of my youth the comic books and their relevant television shows were lighter in emotion and humour and were aimed at the youth market.  These programs usually aired between six and eight in the evening.  And I will hasten to say was better for it.  Though there were adult matters expressed in the story there were watered down so we had good family entertainment.  Something I think the DC Universe is missing at the moment.

And at the top of the pile of superhero shows on offer was Wonder Woman.  I was happy to watch the pilot movie once again and it brought a smile to my face once more.  There are some cringe-worthy moments in the show.  For example the Amazon's view of men, which today doesn't ring so true as it's not just men who commit evil and atrocious deeds.  Then there's the invisible plane.  I loved the concept of the plane, though you can see Wonder Woman in the pilot seat; it's more like a plane of glass than invisible.  As a kid I saw nothing wrong with it now with adult eyes I see it for what it is and though it makes me laugh it still fills me with nostalgia.

However, the story pretty much sticks to the Origin Story that was in the comic books at that time, before the Greek Gods became involved in the Wonder Woman Mythos.  Steve Trevor (ace pilot) crashes in the Bermuda Triangle while engaged in a dog battle with a German pilot.  He is found by Diana on Paradise Island (no Thymiscira at this point in history) and his wounds are tended to until he is well enough to travel.  Queen Hippolyta decides he needs to leave the island as soon as possible, to keep the island and its inhabitants secret from man and the outside world.  She then holds a "games" where the winner will be charged with returning Steve Trevor back to his life and to make sure he is well.  Diana, in disguise, takes part in the games and wins.  When she drops off Trevor at the hospital she finds herself pitted against the Germans and their scheme to bomb a secret base in the heart of Washington DC.  

The way that Leonard Horn directs this story is to keep it light, full of humour, and to make it resemble a live-action-comic along with dialogue boxes.  This makes it a rip-roaringly-enjoyably movie to watch.  Horn is also great at using differing camera angles to help with the fight scene's and to create more believable Wonder Woman effects as well as give interest to the viewer.  This is one well-crafted movie. 

As for the cast; I totally forgot how good an actress Lynda Carter is.  There's a reason why she made this role hers and why she will be remembered fondly for it and it's not because she fit the costume so beautifully, it's that she actually brought the character to life and made her appear realistic and believable, even in the face of some absurd lines and, at times, goofy story telling.  Lynda Carter will always be Wonder Woman for me.  Lyle Waggoner is perfect as Steve Trevor, who has just the right amount of ego and charm for the character.  This is a guy you can believe has a girl in EVERY port.  The other surprise in this pilot movie is Red Buttons as Ashley Norman.  He pulls the character off perfectly.  However, it's John Randolf as General Blankenship that start to let the film down a little as his character is more like a jovial uncle rather than a General.  Then there's Stella Steven, who fluctuates between being really good and really wooden.  It really is a strange thing to witness and does hinder the film as it breaks the link between movie and viewer.  Though, besides Lynda Carter, my favourite actor and his character in the movie is Nikolas who is portrayed brilliantly by Henry Gibson.  His portrayal of a faithful German Soldier come Butler come American Spy is well crafted and so funny to boot.

There are some faults in this version, though for me, they are all forgivable as the movie is such good fun to watch.  I would recommend this to everyone as it may just put a smile on your face as it did mine.  Well worth a watch.

An extended Network Promo for the full series.

Comic Book Review - Night Of The Monster Men (Batman Crossover)

Night Of The Monster Men

A Batman, Nightwing, And Detective Comics Crossover Story

2017

4 / 10

Story By Steve Orlando And Tom King with James Tynion IV

Artists:  Batman - Riley Rossmo; Nightwing - Roge Antonio; Detective Comics - Andy MacDonald

I'm not a big fan of the crossover way of publishing and creating a story and the Night Of The Monster Men is the perfect example as to why.

The main reason is artwork.  Since comics are pretty much graphically immersive with the action being shown via the artwork while the writing expresses the characters feelings so when you have three differing styles telling the same story it can hamper and even hinder the work.

Being honest I'm not that keen on any of the artist's renditions though there are some similarities between Riley Rossmo and Roge Antonio's work.  Though they are different style-wise the characters do have recognisable faces and body sculpture.  For the most, it nearly flows, though I didn't like how Antonio drew Gotham Girl.  However, it's Andy MacDonald's art that is just too different from the other two's and this spoiled the story for me.  I am NOT saying that MacDonald's art was below par, it isn't... well not up to the last page in the series where you have difficulty recognising Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane, but it is too different to Rossmo's and Antonio's to be a distraction, though his rendition of Gotham Girl is the strongest.

I believe this would have worked better had Rossmo drawn the whole series.  His style is so well suited to this type of story.  Along with the colourist Ivan Plascencia they give the story a nice moody feel and I really love the way they created the rain-drenched streets of Gotham.

The only thing that annoyed me about his style was how small Batman's ears were on his cowl.  Rossmo's rendition of the monster men themselves, for me, was the best.

Riley Rossmo

Roge Antonio

Andy MacDonald

As for the story, we start off with a severe weather warning and a storm which threatens to flood Gotham worse than the Zero-Day flood so Batman and the Bat-Team take it upon themselves to help the police to evacuate the populace.

Though, who would have thought it, Hugo Strange has avidly been watching the weather and has chosen this particularly nasty day to attack the Batman.  Not really, it must be chance and luck he chose this particular day to fight; Batman and his posse will be spread thin when he activates the Monster Men to strike.

This is a strong beginning as we learn how Strange orchestrated his scheme while watching the team defend themselves against monsters, some of which are pretty near indestructible.

As the story progresses the Orphan and Spoiler who have helped to move the Gothamites out to higher ground start to have some issues of their own as the people crammed into the cave start to get restless and violent.

What will happen to the team...

Now, this is where the story begins to spoil.  The ending is pretty weak compared to the rest of the story and lets it down pretty badly.  Strange's reasoning for starting the assault and Batman's resolution to the situation left me feeling deflated, I wanted more.  For such a grand plan I expected Strange would have a grand justification.  Then I was expecting a big boss fight when Batman finally faced Strange, after all, you see strange working out his muscles.  The ending the writers give their readers is worse than the conclusion to Batman V Superman or Stephen King's "Dark Half".  It now ranks up in my top ten of letdowns.  Though I have to say the journey to get there was greatly entertaining... mostly.

I wouldn't recommend this title to anybody as there are so many better pieces of work out there.  It's just as shame because this story had the potential to be one of the great Batman stories.

Alternate Covers.