Sam Liu has directed Marvel and DC animated films for awhile now, with big-time stories on his resume, like All-Star Superman, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Planet Hulk, Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Justice League vs. Teen Titans, Batman: The Killing Joke, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract. Each of these has followed a storyline from the comics, but Bloodlines is a little different.
Taking its cues from Mairghread Scott’s script, it shows various stages of Diana/Wonder Woman’s journey from the island of Themyscira, when U.S. pilot Steve Trevor crash-lands there, to her battles in “man’s world” with the likes of Villainy, Inc., including Doctors Poison and Cyber and Cheetah, as well as Diana’s one-time friend, Silver Swan.
The story focuses on the teamwork of Diana and Trevor (Rosario Dawson and Jeffrey Donovan) against the others, while alluding to Diana’s continuing work with the Justice League. It’s witty, engaging, and more than the after school episodes of other kid-oriented shows, with slightly more mature themes but a fair dose of profanity and sexuality that’s absent on cable TV’s version of these heroes.
Special features include a look at Cheetah (“Ferocious Archenemy,”) a sneak peek at the next film (Superman: Red Son), and the animated short “Death.”
