Ultimate Avengers

Where to begin? Ultimate Avengers is simply one brilliant rendition of Marvel's (and Earth's) Mightiest Heroes. I've read different reactions and I've heard from both sides of this debate. Some serious Ultimates fans wanted this movie to be an exact reenactment of the comic book. Marvel instead made a conscious decision to infuse the old school Avengers in to the Ultimates mix. It was a masterful decision. The combination works very well. Gone are the overblown and, quite frankly, juvenile elements of the Ultimates. Having a horny Hulk or an outrageously abusive Henry Pym may work to capture the teenage comic crowd (which is exactly why the Ultimate Universe was created) but it doesn't play with main stream audiences. The title Ultimate Avengers fits because it's just that, a perfect meshing together of two separate universe of characters. The edge that made the Ultimates popular is still present but the characters that made the Ultimates possible in the first place still shine through. Captain America is perfect. You can really see why Marvel is lining up to give him his own live action movie. It'll be great, maybe even better then this masterful animated treat.

What a strange beast this is. Clearly - and explicitly - based on the brilliant Millar and Hitch comic 'The Ultimates', this cartoon refuses to shake off its mainstream Marvel heritage.

The Ultimate Universe has been the best thing to happen to Marvel for many a year, being a fresh imprint re-imagining all their characters back to 'day one' to hook new readers who might have been put off by the encyclopedic background knowledge needed to keep up to speed with events in the original comics.

The Ultimates were the new incarnation of The Avengers, Marvel's mightiest superhero group since the 1960s. Mark Millar took a much tougher, more 'realistic' and mature approach to the idea of a team of supersoldiers - treating them as 'weapons of mass destruction' - rather than just masked crimefighters and alien invader repellents.

The Ultimate Avengers movie - which could have been mind-blowing done live action in the style of Spider-Man or The X-Men - is a strange mix of the two universes, dumbing down Millar's story and making it more child friendly, but still keeping the characters of new Ultimate universe, with their cocky natures, bickering and inter-party feuds... although The Hulk doesn't get to eat anyone, which is a shame! The animation is pretty good, but not a patch on Bryan Hitch's artwork, which again gives the cartoon a very run-of-the-mill, sub-anime feel in the wake of its high calibre source material. The story and dialogue are also above-average for American cartoons, but could have been so much better ... the problem arises from trying to turn an adult comic back into a kiddy cartoon.

That being said, it still makes good viewing - even if it runs the risk of leaving both Avengers and Ultimates fans cold and disappointed - and a sequel is due out in July, taking the Ultimate Avengers to Wakanda, the home of The Black Panther.

As a fan of comics and of the Avengers I would say that this was a great first effort. The folks at Marvel ensured that the story and the characters stayed true and the Lions Gate people did an excellent job with the production. Although the runtime was short, all 71 minutes was very entertaining. A nice job of team introduction. The animation was "good" but I would like to see it improve some in future efforts. The extras were scarce, but they were interesting to watch. There is a nice preview of the upcoming Ultimate Avengers 2 as well as a DVD-ROM extra. Overall, I would give this effort an 8 out of 10. I see continued success with this co-venture. Nuff Said!

I just read a review that declares Ultimate Avengers the "Best Animated Superhero Movie of All-Time!" I'll go one better. It's the best animated action movie of all-time, beating big boys like Titan AE, Transformers and The Iron Giant. Most sane people agree that it certainly beats any single episode of Justice League, X-Men Evolution, Batman or Spider-Man. Some want to compare it to these TV series and their entire run but that's apples and oranges. If Ultimate Avengers spins off in to a series, then there can be discussion.

As it stands now, Marvel's first animation effort set the bar quite high, not only for its future endeavors but for other companies and other studios. Ultimate Avengers proves that animated features don't have to talk down to a presumably child audience. You can set up characters and develop a story just like a live action film. The bonus being that once it's time for action, animation offers no limits. Ultimate Avengers proved this in spades. The alien battle and Hulk brawl were intense and spectacular. Setting them up, though, was what elevates this film past the other movies mentioned above. Marvel's live action movie experience bringing the likes of Spider-Man, X-Men and even Daredevil to the screen must have given them the edge. They've brought a remarkable animated world to life with Ultimate Avengers.

Being a fan of the original Comic Book, I was waiting pretty impatiently for this movie. The result is not bad at all, The drama is still there (see the cemetery scene, Banner fighting his inner-beast, the flash-back). The action is really good and the animation well done.

I just wish the movie was longer. The realistic violence and the drama of the original comic book is far from the movie. Marvel probably wanted the movie to be a family feature but I still hope to get a more adult version... maybe a live movie?

The plot starts really nicely with the disapearence of Cap America during the War. I wish Red Skull would have made an appearance. The Alien story was not the best way to go but it is just an excuse to throw a twist we all were waiting for... The most dangerous ennemy was inside the group.

The characters are all interesting except from Thor (I never liked him anyway but he is just a guest as a Beer drinker lol). Cap America is lost in this new world he discovers. Nostalgia and flashback: He is the most interesting hero in this story.

Watch closely for some character's habits. -Tony Stark is still running after women and still dinking. The armor looks good. - Giant man is a smart ass and still jealous. - Nick Fury still looks like Samuel Jackson (too bad Samuel didn't play the voice). - Black Widow doesn't do much but She is still very Sexy. - Thor is useless... - Hulk/Banner is very interesting as He is very ambiguous in his motives. We never know what he truly looks for...

Well, not bad for a first one, What's next? If the live movie gets made, I'm up for a part!!!!!

francois90210@yahoo.com