Post by Phoenix on May 23, 2006 11:40:36 GMT -5
Ultimate Avengers:The Movie is a made for DVD flick brought to us by "Marvel Animated Features." A sequel will be released this August and already the studio has in the works a Dr.Strange and Iron Man animated movie. Being a big fan of Mark Millar's The Ultimates comic book I knew I would pick this DVD up but I waited for the price to drop to about $10. The film is only 71 minutes long so I felt that the original $16-$20 retail price was a bit steep.
First off, you do not have to be familiar with the comic to watch the film. There is a nice introduction to all the characters, although you only see the back story of Captain America. Everyone else is recruited as is (already a hero) to form the Ultimates and fight some alien butt. So someone who is not familiar may feel cheated out of some history. Honestly though, these characters each have such a lengthy past that it's just not possible to include it all in one film. Each could have their own movie. Hey, they all have had their own comic at some time or another. Still with the little time the makers had to work with all the individual personalities actually shine through.
The plot follows the history of Captain America, then sprinkles in appearances by Thor, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Ant Man/Giant Man, Wasp, Black Widow and, most importantly, The Hulk/Bruce Banner. They all work together (sort of) to fight a serious alien threat. When we sat down to watch my husband's only desire was to see "the Hulk bust out and tear some s&^% up." Check.
I'd read some reviews that said the animation was sub par and I don't agree with that at all. While this isn't state of the art stuff it's much better than you would see on a Saturday morning cartoon or most of the new animations on Cartoon Network. There is a ton of detail throughout the whole film and I thought it was very well done. Particularly the battle scenes are jaw-dropping cool. Much better than JLU or Batman: The Animated Series, and I love both of those cartoons.
If you like these heroes this is worth ten - fifteen bucks. The DVD extras aren't that hot and the only thing I really wanted to watch was the Avengers II first look. The "Avengers Assemble Featurette" was a bunch of egotistical comic book artists and writers discussing how great they are so I'd just skip that. It kind of pissed me off and I wish I wouldn't have watched it. The "Ultimate Voice Talent Search" was BORING. I recommend just watching the movie and the preview for the next animated film.
My overall score: 8/10
First off, you do not have to be familiar with the comic to watch the film. There is a nice introduction to all the characters, although you only see the back story of Captain America. Everyone else is recruited as is (already a hero) to form the Ultimates and fight some alien butt. So someone who is not familiar may feel cheated out of some history. Honestly though, these characters each have such a lengthy past that it's just not possible to include it all in one film. Each could have their own movie. Hey, they all have had their own comic at some time or another. Still with the little time the makers had to work with all the individual personalities actually shine through.
The plot follows the history of Captain America, then sprinkles in appearances by Thor, Nick Fury, Iron Man, Ant Man/Giant Man, Wasp, Black Widow and, most importantly, The Hulk/Bruce Banner. They all work together (sort of) to fight a serious alien threat. When we sat down to watch my husband's only desire was to see "the Hulk bust out and tear some s&^% up." Check.
I'd read some reviews that said the animation was sub par and I don't agree with that at all. While this isn't state of the art stuff it's much better than you would see on a Saturday morning cartoon or most of the new animations on Cartoon Network. There is a ton of detail throughout the whole film and I thought it was very well done. Particularly the battle scenes are jaw-dropping cool. Much better than JLU or Batman: The Animated Series, and I love both of those cartoons.
If you like these heroes this is worth ten - fifteen bucks. The DVD extras aren't that hot and the only thing I really wanted to watch was the Avengers II first look. The "Avengers Assemble Featurette" was a bunch of egotistical comic book artists and writers discussing how great they are so I'd just skip that. It kind of pissed me off and I wish I wouldn't have watched it. The "Ultimate Voice Talent Search" was BORING. I recommend just watching the movie and the preview for the next animated film.
My overall score: 8/10
