Wonder Woman appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. As expected, the movie came with good visuals.
Overall sharpness seemed strong. Only a hint of softness impacted the image, so it usually remained tight and concise. I saw no shimmering or jaggies, and both edge haloes and print flaws remained absent.
Like every other modern action movie, Wonder Woman opted for a heavy orange and teal orientation. These choices might be tedious but the Blu-ray depicted them in an appropriate manner.
Blacks showed good depth, and shadows offered largely nice clarity and smoothness. A few low-light sequences came across as slightly opaque, but these weren’t a major issue. In the end, the movie provided pleasing visuals.
In addition, Wonder Woman brought us a stellar Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Downcoverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the soundscape opened up best when it indulged in its many battle sequences.
These used the various channels in a vivid, immersive manner that placed the elements in logical spots and meshed together well. The track gave us a strong sense of place and action.
Audio quality also pleased. Speech remained natural and distinctive, while music was full and rich. Effects came across as accurate and dynamic, with tight low-end. I liked this mix quite a lot.
This package includes both the film’s 2D and 3D versions. The picture comments above address the standard 2D presentation – how did the 3D compare?
In terms of picture quality, the 3D edition held up well. As usual, it looked a smidgen darker than the 2D presentation, but just a sliver, so both offered nearly identical visuals.
As for the stereo imaging, the 3D opened up matters in a moderate manner. Most of the film concentrated on depth, and it did well in that regard, as the movie boasted a solid sense of dimensionality.
A few more “eye-popping” tidbits cropped up, and those added some visual pizzazz to the proceedings. The fight between the Amazons and the Germans worked well in this regard, as swords, arrows and bullets popped out of the screen. Later battles contributed nice punch as well, though the Amazon sequence remained strongest in that regard.
Between the 2D and 3D versions, I’d go with the 3D. While this never became a great 3D presentation, it added enough to turn into the more fun and satisfying of the two.
One negative: the 3D disc offered DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio instead of the 2D’s Dolby Atmos track. If you have Atmos capabilities, that may make you more interested in the 2D version. I’d stick with 3D but that’s a personal preference.
The audio becomes a greater complication for those able to watch the movie’s 4K UHD edition. That disc includes the Atmos soundtrack and boasts stronger picture quality than the 2D or 3D versions.
Again, I really like 3D, so that would remain my pick of the three editions. However, it’s a much closer call when confronted with the 4K UHD visuals and that disc’s Atmos audio. I wish WB would include Atmos sound on their 3D discs.
As we shift to extras, we open with Epilogue: Etta’s Mission. This goes for two minutes, 41 seconds and shows what happens to Trevor’s assistant Etta and his mercenaries after the war. Nothing substantial occurs, but it offers a bit of fun.
With the 16-minute, 26-second Crafting the Wonder, we find comments from director Patty Jenkins, producers Charles Roven, Richard Suckle and Zack and Deborah Snyder, executive producer Geoff Johns, director of photography Matthew Jensen, costume designer Lindy Hemming, costume armourer supervisor Patrick Whitaker, set decorator Anna Lynch-Robinson, supervisor modeller Craig Narramore, senior prop modeller Katie Lodge, production designer Aline Bonetto, supervising location manager Charles Somers, visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer, and actors Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen and Danny Huston.
“Crafting” looks at story/character areas, cast and performances, cinematography and visual design, costumes, props, locations and sets, and Jenkins’ impact on the production. Though it seems more than a little fluffy at times, “Crafting” hits a lot of important topics and gives us a fairly good array of details.
Five segments appear under A Director’s Visio: “Themyscira: The Hidden Island” (4:56), “Beach Battle” (4:56), “A Photograph Through Time” (5:07), “Diana in the Modern World” (4:39) and “Wonder Woman at War” (5:03). Across these, we hear from Jenkins, Bonetto, 2nd unit director/stunt coordinator Damon Caro, and specialty glass photographer Stephen Berkman.
Through these, we visit various sets to view the scenes mentioned in each title. Jenkins delivers most of the information and ensures we get a brisk investigation of the requisite filmmaking subjects.
Next comes Warriors of Wonder Woman, a nine-minute, 53-second program with Jenkins, Gadot, Nielsen, Caro, cast physical trainer Mark Twight, special action performers Morgan Jacobsen and Jenny Pacey, and actors Robin Wright, Jacqui-Lee Pryce, Ann Ogbomo, Doutzen Kroes, Madeleine Vall Beijner, Ann J. Wolfe, Hari James, Brooke Ence, Samantha Jo, Hayley Lindor, and Lisa Loven Kongsli.
This show looks at the physical training of the Amazons. Some decent notes emerge, but much of the piece simply applauds the participants.
The Trinity runs 16 minutes, five seconds and features Roven, Johns, Jenkins, Suckle, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Gadot, comic writers Jill Thompson, Paul Dini and Greg Rucka, DC Entertainment/WB Consumer Products president Diane Nelson, animation director Lauren Montgomery, and comic artists Phil Jimenez, Cliff Chiang and Liam Sharp.
Though the title alludes to the relationship among Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman, “Trinity” focuses mainly on Wonder Woman. This results in a mix of decent notes.
During The Wonder Behind the Camera, we find 15 minutes, 34 seconds with Roven, Jenkins, Gadot, Deborah and Zack Snyder, Wright, Bonetto, Pine, Nielsen, Suckle, Lynch-Robinson, Hemming, first AD/co-producer Tommy Gormley, executive producers Rebecca Steel Roven and Wesley Coller, visual effects producer Amber Kersch and co-producer Curtis Kanemoto. We get notes about Jenkins and other members of the crew. It’s more than a little self-congratulatory but it has a smattering of good takes.
Finally, Finding the Wonder Woman Within occupies 23 minutes, eight seconds and gives us notes from Gadot, Jimenez, Nelson, Thompson, Rucka, Deborah Snyder, TV producer Rhonda Cowan, former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, stunt woman Zoe Bell, NASA Voyager manager Suzanne Todd, marketing specialist Anna Obropta, USC professor Dr. Stacy Smith, playwright Diane Lane, tennis pro Sloane Stephens, movie producers Lynda Obst and Emma Thomas, TV director Millicent Shelton, race car driver Danica Patrick, and NASA flight systems engineer Tracy Drain.
In this program, the participants reflect on personality facets such as courage, empathy and strength. It seems like generic self-help material without a lot of depth.
Five Extended Scenes follow: “Boat Conversation” (3:37), “Selfridges Shopping” (2:07), “Parliament Steps” (1:13), “Morning at the Train Station” (1:13) and “Charlie Never Sleeps” (0:54). We also get an Alternate Scene called “Walk to No Man’s Land” (1:04).
I hoped the package would include some fully deleted scenes, and these extended/alternate pieces don’t make me forget their absence. The extra material provides a smattering of added character information/beats, but none of them boast much impact.
The package concludes with a Blooper Reel. This five-minute, 37-second compilation shows the usual array of silliness and mistakes. It’s forgettable.
The 2D disc opens with a preview for Justice League. It lacks the trailer for Wonder Woman.
A major hit that revitalized the DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Still, it offers a solid adventure that brings the title character to the big screen in a satisfying manner. The Blu-ray offers very good picture and audio along with a largely informative set of supplements. Wonder Woman offers a good action experience that works well in its 3D incarnation.
To rate this film visit the prior review of WONDER WOMAN