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By KJS
Ultimate Avengers - The Movie (2006) : A Review (23/04/07)
In 2006, Marvel released their first feature length animated movie. Having recently taken what is somewhat a belated interest in comic book characters, I decided to buy it. Ultimate Avengers is reviewed here. |
My Copy of the Film |
I've never taken an interest in the exploits of comic book characters before, so it seems strange that I would start in my 20's.
I'd purchased a majority of the recent Marvel and DC live action flicks, like the X-Men, Hulk, Superman, Spiderman, Blade, Fantastic Four and Batman films, as well as many more, and I pretty much enjoyed them all, so I thought I'd give Marvel's first attempt at an animated epic a chance to impress me.
Ultimate Avengers was a straight-to-DVD movie that promised action and an interesting retelling of how Captain America came to fight alongside the likes of Thor and Iron Man. It didn't disappoint.
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As well as the film, the DVD I bought came with "FREE EXCLUSIVE CHARACTER CARDS!" (See below) I got Hulk, Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Each card came complete with character profiles, so I now know that Hulk weighs 128lbs as Bruce Banner, but 1,040lbs in his Hulk form - fascinating! I also know that Steven "Captain America" Rogers' middle name is "Grant".
The Exclusive Free Character Cards! |
The film starts back in World War II. An American attack on a Nazi base isn't going according to plan, until the "super-soldier" Steve Rogers turns up to help. Having made his way in to the Nazi base, following an innovative method involving using his own plane as a weapon, Steve proceeds to discover aliens working alongside the Nazis. They are preparing a nuclear missile for take off. Steve promptly boards the missile as it launches and manages to disarm it using a grenade - but not before he takes a tumble, ultimately landing him in the icy depths of the cold sea.
Next thing we know, the film has skipped 60 years into the future. Nick Fury and Professor Betty Ross (of S.H.I.E.L.D) are in a submarine searching for Steve (AKA Captain America). What they expect to find is a corpse, with the intention of gaining the super-soldier serum from his blood, in order to use it on modern soldiers.
To cut a long story short, once Captain America is found and taken back to S.H.I.E.L.D, he regains consciousness and escapes, talking out numerous armed guards in the process, but is eventually talked into coming back.
The alien threat from the World War II scenes has returned, so Nick Fury is trying to assemble a team of superheroes to conteract that threat. Having surprisingly returned to life following his discovery, Captain America is put in charge.
With Black Widow and Cap definitely already on board, Fury sets out to recruit Iron Man, Thor and Wasp (and, consequently, Giant-Man).
They are all initially sceptical.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bruce Banner is working on a way to use the super-soldier serum to control the Hulk.
When Iron Man, Wasp and Giant-Man decide to join the Ultimate Avengers, they are all sent out to find an alien (a "Chitauri") who has infiltrated a S.H.I.E.L.D base and locked himself in to do some damage to their sytems.
Wasp goes off to find the Chitauri |
Some wreckless behaviour on the part of Wasp, Iron Man and Giant-Man results in the failure of the mission. With so many egotistic "individuals" in the "team", it was never going to be smooth. This leaves Captain America questioning his own position as leader.
After being reassured that the failure was not his fault, he decides to return to the Avengers fold to fight another day.
Nick Fury gives the Avengers a dressing down |
When the final battle ensues and an army of Chitauris attack, Dr. Banner informs Betty Ross that he has learnt how to use the super-soldier serum to control the Hulk and joins the battle.
Inititally, his theory seems to be right, but he gradually starts to lose control, turning
on his own team, lashing out at them whilst informing them that this is "his fight". He starts trying to take on the Chitauris alone.
Thor then arrives, apologising for his lateness, and proceeds to help towards what is ultimately a victory for the Avengers against the Chitauris. But the battle is not over. Hulk is pissed that they wouldn't let him fight alone, so it becomes Hulk Vs The Ultimate Avengers.
Hulk gets the better of most of them, but Thor then intervenes and turns the tide. However, Hulk somehow manages to obtain Thor's hammer, proceeds, with some difficulty, to lift it and knocks Thor out for the count.
Ultimately, Betty Ross calms him down, with the help of some strong tranquilisers, and the battle is over.
Banner then hides himself away, ashamed of what he did, and disappointed that his efforts to control the Hulk was a failure.
The Ultimate Avengers then celebrate their victory with a hearty helping of Asgardian Ale and the film comes to an end.
Ultimate Avengers is a milestone, in that it is Marvel's first feature length animation, and I reiterate that it doesn't disappoint. The animation, whilst suffering from a few flaws - including some strange looking walking (I'm telling you, Disney did it better in the 1928 classic "Steamboat Willie!") - is pretty damn impressive, with some superb "3D" effects. The action scenes are also some of the best I have seen in an animated movie.
The voice acting is actually pretty impressive too, with no real obvious errors in the casting apparent, and all aspects of the musical score are perfect for the scenes that they accompany.
The DVD itself is great, with some interesting and fun extras, including a whole host of interviews with the men behind the magic.
If you've enjoyed any of Marvel's recent live-action flicks, give this a shot - you'll be happy you did.
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Rating (Out of 5 Captain America Shields) : 4
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