Ultimate Avengers: The Movie

Justin Gross
Michael Massee
Grey DeLisle
Marc Worden
Olivia d’Abo
Nan McNamara
Nolan North
Andre Ware
Dave Boat
Fred Tatasciore

Directed by: Curt Geda & Steven E. Gordon

Giant Man: Who’s the chick with the hammer?
Iron Man: Whoever she is, I’m glad she’s on our side.

Plot: Near the end of WWII, Captain America leads an assault on a German compound housing a doomsday weapon that is about to be launched at the United States. Once there he discovers not only the weapon but a monstrous race of aliens that helped the Nazis build it. After destroying the weapon in midair Cap is thrown, unconscious, into the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean, where he remains, frozen in suspended animation. Decades later the alien race (known as the Chitauri) are back and stepping up their assault on humanity and it’s up to Nick Fury to assemble the world’s first superhero team, led by the recently revived Captain America, to battle this deadly threat.

Review: At first glance one could call this movie a “watered down” version of the comic upon which it is based, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s The Ultimates Vol. 1. I can certainly see why someone would say that, but after seeing the movie for a second time I definitely wouldn’t agree with that opinion. Whereas The Ultimates, a very commercially successful reinterpretation of the original Avengers comic series, was obviously aimed at a more mature readership,
Ultimate Avengers: The Movie takes its cues from that series and molds it into something more solidly geared towards a teenage audience. I’m impressed, not only with the faithful adaptation of several classic moments from The Ultimates series, but with the way in which the movie comes into its own, creating a story that isn’t so much a copy of the original as it is inspired by it.

As a film Ultimate Avengers is surprisingly top-notch especially considering it is Marvel’s first major foray into animated movie making. While certainly not as stylish as DC’s Batman, Superman or Justice League cartoons it still features some good quality animation and a number of jaw-dropping action scenes. I was especially impressed by the last fifteen minutes of the film, probably one of the most exciting and brutal fight scenes I have ever witnessed in an animated movie. The film is worth watching for those last fifteen minutes alone. I was also struck by the quality of the sound effects, especially upon viewing the movie a second time. Whether it was Iron Man walking down a hallway, or a gun being cocked or an alien scream (which at times was blood curdling) every sound effect sounded so real, enhancing the believability of the story itself.

For the most part the voice actors did their jobs well. But like almost any animated film or TV show there were ups and downs. Justin Gross’ take on Captain America, for instance, was a little too… weak for my taste. And David Boat played Thor way too over the top, especially for what is supposed to be a more real-world version of the character. Olivia d’Abo’s had her moments as Black Widow, but most of the time it sounded like what it was, someone doing their best interpretation of a stereotypical Russian accent. But it wasn’t all bad. Michael Masse (who you might remember as Ira Gaines from the first season of 24 or Funboy from the original Crow probably did the best job as the sniveling, whiny, on-edge Bruce Banner. Likewise, Grey DeLisle as the Wasp captured the emotion of her character extremely well and Nolan North played the arrogant jerk that is Giant Man to a T. And Fred Tatasciore was just plain scary as the rampaging Hulk.

Aside from some of the poor voicing jobs I had very few problems with the movie as a whole. Yeah, it was a bit of a soap opera at times, but most comics are like that anyway. It took several liberties with the story on which it was based but I saw that as a plus rather than a detriment. Most of the characters acted exactly as they should. They were less abrasive and a little more likeable than their Ultimate counterparts (no Giant Man vs. the Wasp wife-beating scene I’m afraid), which isn’t surprising when you’re trying to market an animated movie with the possibility (or guarantee as the case may be, with Ultimate Avengers 2 being released later this year) of sequels in the future.

I will say that I thought Captain America acted uncharacteristically wimpy. His reluctance to take the leadership role just didn’t sit right with me somehow. But when he steps up in the last fight he really steps up, which made up for the way he acted throughout most of the rest of the movie. And I would have loved to see a few more moments from the original comic planted into the movie, but that’s just the fanboy in me. I really missed Bucky’s line from the first issue where he explains to one disgruntled G.I. that Captain America “thinks parachutes are for girls.”

Overall, this movie kicks butt and is well worth seeing at least once. I liked it enough that I’ll probably end up buying it and the sequel when it’s released. I was impressed by how much care was put into the film by all the people involved. It shows great promise for future animated Marvel projects and other direct-to-video releases from the company. ‘Nuff said.

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