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!
78 Reviews
A good start for Marvel
TJ13806 March 2006
Overall, I have to say that "Ultimate Avengers" represents a good start in Marvel's planned series of films. While the animation isn't the best I've seen, the art and animation style does allow for some genuinely exciting action scenes, particularly in the climactic battle at the end of the film. The only problem is that much of the art comes off as flat and uninteresting during the quieter exposition scenes. "The Ultimates" is a comic book that was praised for it's incredibly detailed artwork, and while there is no way for it to be recreated on film without a gigantic budget, it's still a shame that the movie didn't live up to those expectations. Still, the artwork is far from horrible, and it did grow on me as I watched the film.
Although I don't think the movie quite earns its PG-13 rating like a literal adaptation of "The Ultimates" would, it's still nice to see an animated movie that is aimed at an older audience. The story is smarter than your typical animated fare (although it isn't as interesting as the original comics themselves), and the main characters have more depth than one would expect from an animated film. This is particularly true about the characters of Captain America and Bruce Banner. Captain America has to come to terms with the fact that he has been frozen for the last sixty years and that everyone and everything he knew and believed in has drastically changed or has been lost forever. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner is portrayed here as an unstable man dangerously obsessed with ridding himself of the dangerous monster that he becomes when he gets too stressed (fans of the Hulk will love this movie). He is not a very likable character, and it somehow makes him and the Hulk much more frightening.
The only major complaint I have with this movie is its running time. At only 71 minutes, it's just too short. There are lots of interesting things happening in this movie in terms of character development, but there are many more that remain unexplored simply due to the film's length. Only Captain America and Bruce Banner really get the treatment that these characters deserve, and while the others are indeed interesting, we don't know all that much about them in the end. The running time also can be blamed for the somewhat rushed and anticlimactic ending (although the final fight scene is truly exciting). This is all very unfortunate, because all Marvel had to do was add about anther half-hour to make this movie truly memorable.
In the end, while it isn't perfect, "Ultimate Avengers" does represent a good start in Marvel's planned series of animated films. I'd love to see more of this stuff, especially if Marvel really pulls out all the stops and turns out some movies that really live up to the comics.
Although I don't think the movie quite earns its PG-13 rating like a literal adaptation of "The Ultimates" would, it's still nice to see an animated movie that is aimed at an older audience. The story is smarter than your typical animated fare (although it isn't as interesting as the original comics themselves), and the main characters have more depth than one would expect from an animated film. This is particularly true about the characters of Captain America and Bruce Banner. Captain America has to come to terms with the fact that he has been frozen for the last sixty years and that everyone and everything he knew and believed in has drastically changed or has been lost forever. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner is portrayed here as an unstable man dangerously obsessed with ridding himself of the dangerous monster that he becomes when he gets too stressed (fans of the Hulk will love this movie). He is not a very likable character, and it somehow makes him and the Hulk much more frightening.
The only major complaint I have with this movie is its running time. At only 71 minutes, it's just too short. There are lots of interesting things happening in this movie in terms of character development, but there are many more that remain unexplored simply due to the film's length. Only Captain America and Bruce Banner really get the treatment that these characters deserve, and while the others are indeed interesting, we don't know all that much about them in the end. The running time also can be blamed for the somewhat rushed and anticlimactic ending (although the final fight scene is truly exciting). This is all very unfortunate, because all Marvel had to do was add about anther half-hour to make this movie truly memorable.
In the end, while it isn't perfect, "Ultimate Avengers" does represent a good start in Marvel's planned series of animated films. I'd love to see more of this stuff, especially if Marvel really pulls out all the stops and turns out some movies that really live up to the comics.
If you are an Ultimate Marvel fan, this film is a must see!
Hazzer_9922 February 2006
Being that I am only 18, I arrived after the era in which X-Men, The Avengers and other Marvel classics made their debuts. I picked some up here and there, but only when the Ultimate Marvel remakes arrived on the scene a couple of years ago did I become a dedicated Marvel fan.
Most of the new Marvel products available these days are generally Ultimate Marvel associated, those including Games and even the live-action movies. But of course, when converting a graphic novel to the screen, nothing better captivates a character than merely a moving comic - that being a cartoon! I was ecstatic when I found only a few days ago that this film had been made without my knowledge, so I immediately got hold of it and watched it - and I was NOT disappointed! The film is basically the first Season (comprising of I believe 13 comics) of The Ultimates, which was the "Ultimate Marvel" version of Marvel's original Avengers comic. All the characters (bar, unfortunately, Hawkeye for unknown reasons) appear in this comic, and not only do they bear as close a resemblance as a cartoon-film can to carefully drawn captions of a graphic novel, but the also wear the costumes found in the Ultimates comics. Too often do you find details missing in film adaptations, but despite the changes that were made to compress 13 comics into an hour and ten minutes of film time, I noticed nothing significant to annoy me.
So, as I said earlier, if you are one of the Ultimate Marvel fans, you have nothing to lose from watching this - if you find it too different from the original, then who cares? There are so many different versions of all the Marvel comics around these days, what's one more to the total on the off-chance some don't like it? I give it eight out of ten merely because the animation was good, but just not the best there are some better quality cartoons out there, but there always will be. It is certainly better quality than the Saturday morning cartoons that we have all come to love, and if we can watch them, we sure can watch this! So, I hope my opinions have helped you. Now go watch and enjoy!
Most of the new Marvel products available these days are generally Ultimate Marvel associated, those including Games and even the live-action movies. But of course, when converting a graphic novel to the screen, nothing better captivates a character than merely a moving comic - that being a cartoon! I was ecstatic when I found only a few days ago that this film had been made without my knowledge, so I immediately got hold of it and watched it - and I was NOT disappointed! The film is basically the first Season (comprising of I believe 13 comics) of The Ultimates, which was the "Ultimate Marvel" version of Marvel's original Avengers comic. All the characters (bar, unfortunately, Hawkeye for unknown reasons) appear in this comic, and not only do they bear as close a resemblance as a cartoon-film can to carefully drawn captions of a graphic novel, but the also wear the costumes found in the Ultimates comics. Too often do you find details missing in film adaptations, but despite the changes that were made to compress 13 comics into an hour and ten minutes of film time, I noticed nothing significant to annoy me.
So, as I said earlier, if you are one of the Ultimate Marvel fans, you have nothing to lose from watching this - if you find it too different from the original, then who cares? There are so many different versions of all the Marvel comics around these days, what's one more to the total on the off-chance some don't like it? I give it eight out of ten merely because the animation was good, but just not the best there are some better quality cartoons out there, but there always will be. It is certainly better quality than the Saturday morning cartoons that we have all come to love, and if we can watch them, we sure can watch this! So, I hope my opinions have helped you. Now go watch and enjoy!
Excellent Movie with Superb Production Value (Highly Recommended!)
assman2004 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The movie Ultimate Avengers is a very impressive first effort from Marvel animation. Captain America is frozen in the 1940's and rediscovered in the present day. Nick Fury goes about putting together a team of "earth's mightiest heroes" to halt a vile global threat, including the incredible Iron Man, Giant-Man, the Wasp, and the Black Widow. Bruce "The Hulk" Banner is also working as a scientist, attempting to recreate the super soldier program that created Captain America.
The animation is spectacular. Computer animation is used perfectly to enhance the realism of the scenes. This feature carries weight on its own, soldiers actually visibly die on screen and heroes actually bleed in this universe.
As good as the action is, the dialogue holds its owns and characters are developed perfectly to add more weight to the story. The threat feels real. In the end, the threat is eliminated but to the treat of the viewer, that's just when the real fun begins! I most certainly recommend this amazing movie. Nothing you'll see on Saturday morning (or night for that matter) can compare to this epic tale.
The animation is spectacular. Computer animation is used perfectly to enhance the realism of the scenes. This feature carries weight on its own, soldiers actually visibly die on screen and heroes actually bleed in this universe.
As good as the action is, the dialogue holds its owns and characters are developed perfectly to add more weight to the story. The threat feels real. In the end, the threat is eliminated but to the treat of the viewer, that's just when the real fun begins! I most certainly recommend this amazing movie. Nothing you'll see on Saturday morning (or night for that matter) can compare to this epic tale.
Close enough to a Saturday morning cartoon...but still good movie!
Dream_seeker14 February 2006
Being that I've read "the ultimates" beforehand and heard rumors that they were working on this movie at least 2 yrs ago; I was surprised when i actually got to see it.
The story revolves around Captain America, not entirely how he was made but during his times in World War II and his frozen "Demise". suddenly waking up in the 21st century with everything changing around him and an old alien threat looming in the mist an old school hero must call upon help from a new school team with the help of Nick fury (which i felt the person playing the voice of him was a bit bland but good all together). call upon Iron man, Wasp, Giant man, Thor, and Black widow to take down the opposing forces and from within as well.
The animation is evolved but not enough to satisfy most people but i will give them credit for bringing the team that did the ultimates to come in to work with the animation. the voice overs aren't up to standards but they will suffice to make the pace of the movie fast and furious right up to the climax...the story alone is taken out of the Ultimates and "Ultimate Nightmare" which is a side comic of the Ultimates during the time of an alien threat just bits and pieces though so don't expect too much. All in all the movie is good to match wits with a typical Saturday morning cartoon and I wouldn't be surprised if they do continue it to Saturday mornings but the movie is fast at times, the fights are pretty damn good but its not just a kids movie there are some scenes of violence that even i thought either can make or break this movie trust me someone will be bloodied up or broken...the story is typically straight from the ultimate series, and the voice acting could be better but this still a movie to watch...check it out!
The story revolves around Captain America, not entirely how he was made but during his times in World War II and his frozen "Demise". suddenly waking up in the 21st century with everything changing around him and an old alien threat looming in the mist an old school hero must call upon help from a new school team with the help of Nick fury (which i felt the person playing the voice of him was a bit bland but good all together). call upon Iron man, Wasp, Giant man, Thor, and Black widow to take down the opposing forces and from within as well.
The animation is evolved but not enough to satisfy most people but i will give them credit for bringing the team that did the ultimates to come in to work with the animation. the voice overs aren't up to standards but they will suffice to make the pace of the movie fast and furious right up to the climax...the story alone is taken out of the Ultimates and "Ultimate Nightmare" which is a side comic of the Ultimates during the time of an alien threat just bits and pieces though so don't expect too much. All in all the movie is good to match wits with a typical Saturday morning cartoon and I wouldn't be surprised if they do continue it to Saturday mornings but the movie is fast at times, the fights are pretty damn good but its not just a kids movie there are some scenes of violence that even i thought either can make or break this movie trust me someone will be bloodied up or broken...the story is typically straight from the ultimate series, and the voice acting could be better but this still a movie to watch...check it out!
Is it The Ultimates or is it The Avengers?
knight110tim20 February 2006
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.
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.
Not Bad, pretty nice actually !!!!!!
francoismequer20 February 2006
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
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
"Ultimate Avengers" - An origin story of The Avengers loosely based upon the Marvel Comics title The Ultimates.
flexkavanaca21 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
First, let me state my pleasure at the initiative of Marvel entertainment to produce their own direct to DVD adaptations of their characters. Hopefully this will allow for more faithful interpretation of the characters and (more importantly) the rich source material. With that said, the question to be asked is how does "Ultimate Avengers" succeed with the former in mind? The answer depends on your level of expectations from the movie title.If you belong to the "Old-school" Avengers camp exemplified by the Perez/Busiek era, then the story told in this animated feature may not be for you. If you belong to "The Ultimates" click, then you may be pleasantly surprised at how the spirit of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's work is adapted here. I have to say though,THIS FEATURE IS NOT THE ULTIMATES TURNED INTO AN ANIMATED FILM. If you are looking for a provocative, controversial and brilliant deconstruction of Superhero mythology mixed with political commentary READ THE ULTIMATES.If you want an above average animated Superhero story, get "Ultimate Avengers"
One Brilliant Animated Production!
peevedoff226 February 2006
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.
Decent comic movie
jmsmdm21 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Not bad for a comic movie/cartoon. The only big problem is that I got up to go to the restroom at a part and I came back and the credits were on. It went from the climax of the movie (which didn't seem like it - I expected a little more of a battle with the enemy) to the conclusion. Otherwise, my son enjoyed it and it was entertaining enough for me to watch with him. The character development was appropriate enough for the context of the movie. When making a movie like this I assume that the producers are gearing it towards a 8-18 audience, with an assumption that comic fans are going to see it because of the Avengers characters. Therefore, there isn't going to be a lot of explaining of "what the aliens are doing" as mentioned by a previous entry. These extra details if included would probably lose a lot of younger viewers. I did enjoy the preview of UA 2. The black panther character looks good and I am glad they seem to be continuing the alien story introduced in this story.
Ultimate Avengers: Generic Marvel animation
Platypuschow15 December 2017
Ultimate Avengers is a feature length animated alternative tale of how the Avengers were formed.
Sadly the foe that brings them together is highly lackluster and ultimately faceless. Combine that with failing to make many of the Avengers even remotely likeable and you don't have the best movie.
Captain America is defrosted, Iron Man learns to play with others, Thor comes down from his high horse, Antman just annoys from start to finish and Hulk is..........destructive.
For a high profile Marvel animation this was more than a slight let down.
There are simply better out there and the actual Avengers movie is a far better origin.
The Good:
Has its moments
The Bad:
Highly bland
Characters can be annoying
Story is pants
No real antagonist
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Mjolnir doesn't know if it wants to be a hammer or an axe
Hulk is worthy
They still haven't explained how Hulks clothes change in size with him!
Sadly the foe that brings them together is highly lackluster and ultimately faceless. Combine that with failing to make many of the Avengers even remotely likeable and you don't have the best movie.
Captain America is defrosted, Iron Man learns to play with others, Thor comes down from his high horse, Antman just annoys from start to finish and Hulk is..........destructive.
For a high profile Marvel animation this was more than a slight let down.
There are simply better out there and the actual Avengers movie is a far better origin.
The Good:
Has its moments
The Bad:
Highly bland
Characters can be annoying
Story is pants
No real antagonist
Things I Learnt From This Movie:
Mjolnir doesn't know if it wants to be a hammer or an axe
Hulk is worthy
They still haven't explained how Hulks clothes change in size with him!
One extremely satisfying thrill ride!
youyouaction21 February 2006
The action is spectacular and the storyline keeps you riveted from start to finish. This movie grabs with its cinematic lead in and flashback to World War Two. (Complete with throwback radio broadcast) From there, it's one big roller coaster ride to the pulse pounding finish. The battle sequences are some of the best ever animated. I think the PG-13 rating really helps. Soldiers die and heroes bleed, that completely draws the viewer in to the feature. I think movie fans of all ages will be stunned at how many levels this movie delivers upon. This is a smart and surprisingly interesting film that really delivers. Calling this movie a cartoon doesn't really seem right or do it justice.
Like my title says, one extremely satisfying thrill ride!
Like my title says, one extremely satisfying thrill ride!
makes this newbie want to see more!
crispy_comments28 May 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Having only basic knowledge of a few of these characters (Thor and The Hulk), I watched this movie on a whim. I enjoyed it more than I expected, although I was a bit confused at first, trying to figure out "who's that and what's their motivation/ability?" - but I understand there wasn't enough time to go into every character's history. Plus the target audience is probably familiar with it all and impatient to get on with the action. Still, Black Widow, Giant Man and The Wasp especially needed more screen time and fleshing out.
Much of the time and development is devoted to Captain America and I just fell in love with this character! First the movie grabbed me with an audio excerpt from Command Performance radio show and an awesome WWII opening sequence - I'm a big fan of this era and immediately perked up. I was impressed by the battle scenes, which reminded me of many live-action war films from the 1940s. It felt authentic... well, until we find out that the Nazis were in cahoots with...aliens! :)
Anyway, Captain America's character is very sympathetic and I really felt for him - the storyline of an old-fashioned hero, a decent guy from the past, who has to adjust to modern times, just resonated with me. I'm sure part of that is because I can relate a bit, due to my own feeling of not belonging in this time period - but part of it is the truly good writing and voice acting. Not only does Cap have to deal with culture shock, but the fact that many of his friends are dead, and other loved ones have aged and moved on with their lives without him. This is really only touched on in a few minutes, but manages to be very moving nonetheless.
The majority of the film deals with Captain America becoming the reluctant leader of the Avengers, a group of superheroes who aren't used to working as a team, and whose personalities, of course clash. They must combine their powers to deal with a major threat to the world ... those pesky aliens again!
This basic idea reminds me of the Justice League animated series' pilot - but I enjoyed the execution of Ultimate Avengers much more! I bought the JL DVD containing those first few episodes packaged as a mini-movie, and I remember finding it...boring. Dull characterization and just not emotionally engaging. It did not make me interested in watching the rest of the series. But if Ultimate Avengers was the pilot for a TV series...
Another sympathetic character here is Bruce Banner, who is desperate to find a way to control The Hulk and harness his violent strength for good. I liked the fact that he turned out to be the *real* threat at the movie's climax, rather than those paper-thin aliens. I sometimes get annoyed by tragic backstories and inner demons and so on - sometimes you just want a black and white, clear-cut good vs. evil story (like I said, I belong in the "good" old days with the Nazis! Well, not *with* them exactly, but youknowwhatImean) - but Ultimate Avengers' treatment of The Hulk was a great exception. Just enough angst to give him depth. I didn't find him too whiny like some people apparently did.
I'm not sure I like this treatment of Thor though. Seemed like the writers just weren't respecting him enough - what with the other characters thinking he was delusional and not a real God... and calling him a chick, and all. And doesn't he have anything better to do than hang around wharfs threatening fishermen?!
Although the female characters were underused and underdeveloped, it was nice to see Black Widow and Betty Ross make significant moves to help end the final fight.
Last but not least: the animation. I don't know why some reviewers found it lacking. At no time did I think to myself "oh it's okay...for direct-to-video." Seems to me it would be more than good enough for a theatrical release. (I actually assumed it *was*, until I came online and read otherwise.) Cool character designs, some great background art, nice effects, and just the right blend of traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI. I hate the overuse of CGI these days, preferring subtle enhancements that aren't too distracting.
Mainly though, the story is the thing. And, despite the flaw of having too many characters to develop in such a short running time, I found Ultimate Avengers a lot of fun. Not perfect, but better than the average action/adventure/superhero movie. Better than most animated OR live-action films in general, from this disappointing decade.
Much of the time and development is devoted to Captain America and I just fell in love with this character! First the movie grabbed me with an audio excerpt from Command Performance radio show and an awesome WWII opening sequence - I'm a big fan of this era and immediately perked up. I was impressed by the battle scenes, which reminded me of many live-action war films from the 1940s. It felt authentic... well, until we find out that the Nazis were in cahoots with...aliens! :)
Anyway, Captain America's character is very sympathetic and I really felt for him - the storyline of an old-fashioned hero, a decent guy from the past, who has to adjust to modern times, just resonated with me. I'm sure part of that is because I can relate a bit, due to my own feeling of not belonging in this time period - but part of it is the truly good writing and voice acting. Not only does Cap have to deal with culture shock, but the fact that many of his friends are dead, and other loved ones have aged and moved on with their lives without him. This is really only touched on in a few minutes, but manages to be very moving nonetheless.
The majority of the film deals with Captain America becoming the reluctant leader of the Avengers, a group of superheroes who aren't used to working as a team, and whose personalities, of course clash. They must combine their powers to deal with a major threat to the world ... those pesky aliens again!
This basic idea reminds me of the Justice League animated series' pilot - but I enjoyed the execution of Ultimate Avengers much more! I bought the JL DVD containing those first few episodes packaged as a mini-movie, and I remember finding it...boring. Dull characterization and just not emotionally engaging. It did not make me interested in watching the rest of the series. But if Ultimate Avengers was the pilot for a TV series...
Another sympathetic character here is Bruce Banner, who is desperate to find a way to control The Hulk and harness his violent strength for good. I liked the fact that he turned out to be the *real* threat at the movie's climax, rather than those paper-thin aliens. I sometimes get annoyed by tragic backstories and inner demons and so on - sometimes you just want a black and white, clear-cut good vs. evil story (like I said, I belong in the "good" old days with the Nazis! Well, not *with* them exactly, but youknowwhatImean) - but Ultimate Avengers' treatment of The Hulk was a great exception. Just enough angst to give him depth. I didn't find him too whiny like some people apparently did.
I'm not sure I like this treatment of Thor though. Seemed like the writers just weren't respecting him enough - what with the other characters thinking he was delusional and not a real God... and calling him a chick, and all. And doesn't he have anything better to do than hang around wharfs threatening fishermen?!
Although the female characters were underused and underdeveloped, it was nice to see Black Widow and Betty Ross make significant moves to help end the final fight.
Last but not least: the animation. I don't know why some reviewers found it lacking. At no time did I think to myself "oh it's okay...for direct-to-video." Seems to me it would be more than good enough for a theatrical release. (I actually assumed it *was*, until I came online and read otherwise.) Cool character designs, some great background art, nice effects, and just the right blend of traditional hand-drawn animation and CGI. I hate the overuse of CGI these days, preferring subtle enhancements that aren't too distracting.
Mainly though, the story is the thing. And, despite the flaw of having too many characters to develop in such a short running time, I found Ultimate Avengers a lot of fun. Not perfect, but better than the average action/adventure/superhero movie. Better than most animated OR live-action films in general, from this disappointing decade.
The Ultimate Waste of Time.
zleverton8 October 2006
Alrighty, so this film has gotten a bunch of good reviews and i'd like to firmly post myself as one of it's naysayers. the fact is, this movie appeals mostly to fans of current Avenger comic books, namely, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitches absolutely incredible The Ultimates.
now in the midsts of it's "sequal" The Ultimates is one of the most cinematic comic books you're likely to ever come across, if you did what they did to Sin City with The Ultimates, you'd have a smart, cool, funny, deep, politically charged action film unlike anything by the likes of Micheal Baye or Tony Scott.
the idea of The Ultimates is rather simple: the story of a government recruited super-hero team, set in the real world. so when we refer to "mister president" we are indeed referring to George Walker Bush. and so fourth and so on, taking the idea of marvel (comics set in real settings) one step further.
so considering all this, i was actually somewhat exited to see The Ultimate Avengers film, but man. was i disappointed. the film is corny, draggy, poorly animated, all the characters are just bleak, flat versions of themselves in the book. everything that makes the ultimates special has been replaced by awful one-liners. the most interesting characters have been reduced to one-trick ponies who get tiresome within the first three seconds.
Thor went from a radical left winger/Asgardian god who may just be a crazy nurse with delusions of grandeur and a super-weapon, to this flaky beardless moron with a hammer that can somehow be picked up by the hulk.
Giant Man went from a genius scientist with a superiority complex and a pension for beating his wife, to an archetypal "team leader." and so on, and so on.
all the depth has been sucked from these great characters. Mark Millar's distinctive and imaginative world has been replaced by marshmallows and Hulk fights that are placed in harmless warehouses where no innocent bystanders can get hurt. (in the book, this fight took place in Manhattan, and the death-toll was in the 300's and a lot of the story afterward has to do with Bruce Banner's guilt.) some of you reading this might just think i'm nitpicking, i'm being a comic book geek and i need to lighten up and let the movie be the movie and the comic be the comic, but y'know something? if they had just changed the plot, and kept to the core of the stories allure, i might have let it slide, but all they did is repackage The Ultimates to be none-threatening and unimportant, and it's not that. it's far from that.
2/10
now in the midsts of it's "sequal" The Ultimates is one of the most cinematic comic books you're likely to ever come across, if you did what they did to Sin City with The Ultimates, you'd have a smart, cool, funny, deep, politically charged action film unlike anything by the likes of Micheal Baye or Tony Scott.
the idea of The Ultimates is rather simple: the story of a government recruited super-hero team, set in the real world. so when we refer to "mister president" we are indeed referring to George Walker Bush. and so fourth and so on, taking the idea of marvel (comics set in real settings) one step further.
so considering all this, i was actually somewhat exited to see The Ultimate Avengers film, but man. was i disappointed. the film is corny, draggy, poorly animated, all the characters are just bleak, flat versions of themselves in the book. everything that makes the ultimates special has been replaced by awful one-liners. the most interesting characters have been reduced to one-trick ponies who get tiresome within the first three seconds.
Thor went from a radical left winger/Asgardian god who may just be a crazy nurse with delusions of grandeur and a super-weapon, to this flaky beardless moron with a hammer that can somehow be picked up by the hulk.
Giant Man went from a genius scientist with a superiority complex and a pension for beating his wife, to an archetypal "team leader." and so on, and so on.
all the depth has been sucked from these great characters. Mark Millar's distinctive and imaginative world has been replaced by marshmallows and Hulk fights that are placed in harmless warehouses where no innocent bystanders can get hurt. (in the book, this fight took place in Manhattan, and the death-toll was in the 300's and a lot of the story afterward has to do with Bruce Banner's guilt.) some of you reading this might just think i'm nitpicking, i'm being a comic book geek and i need to lighten up and let the movie be the movie and the comic be the comic, but y'know something? if they had just changed the plot, and kept to the core of the stories allure, i might have let it slide, but all they did is repackage The Ultimates to be none-threatening and unimportant, and it's not that. it's far from that.
2/10
Fans and non-fans alike will find something to love with this movie.
scotts86322 February 2006
Excellent movie here. For newbies, Ultimate Avengers is based off of The Ultimates, arguably the best Ultimate Marvel book out right now. This movie does a good job of adapting the comic to movie form. The transition isn't perfect, but it's still an outstanding film.
The movie has taken liberties with the comic story in order to suit it into movie form. Most people, like myself, won't mind, but a few die-hard Ultimates readers might be irked. In the movie, many of the characters are influenced more by their 616 versions than their Ultimate counterparts. The greatest liberty was taken with Iron Man. In the Ultimates, he willingly joined the Ultimates and his identity is public knowledge. In Ultimate Avengers, he is much more like 616 Iron Man.
Story wise, this movie combines the first and second arcs of the comic and does so in the perfect manner.
As far as voice acting goes, it's top-notch. All the characters sound as they should, although I still would've liked Sam Jackson to have voiced Fury. The best voice by far is Black Widow. She sounds excellent and is probably the best voiced of all the characters.
Overall, this movie does a great job of blending two major comic arcs into one story. The story will throw off people that were expecting a perfect comic-to-film transition, but people with an open mind will enjoy and appreciate the changes. Animation wise, this movie is like a cross between anime, and cartoon. I can honestly say that the animation looks as close as Brian Hitch's work as you're gonna get, which is a very good thing.
Final Verdict: I'm just gonna say it, this is a very good animated movie. It does the comic justice without straying too far from the source material. Fans and non-fans alike will find something to love with this movie. The animation is spot on, and readers of the comic will find many scenes to be almost ripped from the comic. All the characters are likable, and the voice acting is excellent. Unfortunately, fans of the comic will be unhappy with the more 616 than Ultimate aspects of the film. Nevertheless, it's a solid film and a very good sign of things to come by Marvel.
Score: 9/10
The movie has taken liberties with the comic story in order to suit it into movie form. Most people, like myself, won't mind, but a few die-hard Ultimates readers might be irked. In the movie, many of the characters are influenced more by their 616 versions than their Ultimate counterparts. The greatest liberty was taken with Iron Man. In the Ultimates, he willingly joined the Ultimates and his identity is public knowledge. In Ultimate Avengers, he is much more like 616 Iron Man.
Story wise, this movie combines the first and second arcs of the comic and does so in the perfect manner.
As far as voice acting goes, it's top-notch. All the characters sound as they should, although I still would've liked Sam Jackson to have voiced Fury. The best voice by far is Black Widow. She sounds excellent and is probably the best voiced of all the characters.
Overall, this movie does a great job of blending two major comic arcs into one story. The story will throw off people that were expecting a perfect comic-to-film transition, but people with an open mind will enjoy and appreciate the changes. Animation wise, this movie is like a cross between anime, and cartoon. I can honestly say that the animation looks as close as Brian Hitch's work as you're gonna get, which is a very good thing.
Final Verdict: I'm just gonna say it, this is a very good animated movie. It does the comic justice without straying too far from the source material. Fans and non-fans alike will find something to love with this movie. The animation is spot on, and readers of the comic will find many scenes to be almost ripped from the comic. All the characters are likable, and the voice acting is excellent. Unfortunately, fans of the comic will be unhappy with the more 616 than Ultimate aspects of the film. Nevertheless, it's a solid film and a very good sign of things to come by Marvel.
Score: 9/10
Marvel gets off to a decent, if not great, start
TheLittleSongbird22 August 2012
I saw Ultimate Avengers as someone who loves animation and superheroes. I don't think it is as good as some reviewers say, but it is also nowhere near as bad as others(some of which have a very ignorant tone to them, especially the ones who unfairly accuse those who liked it shills) say. As an adaptation, and I'm not sure if it was intended to be, it may be left wanting. As a standalone, which I think is a fairer way of judging it, it is decent. Ultimate Avenger was flawed for me, the film was too short, but that wasn't as big a problem as the pace, character designs and one character that could have been written better. The pacing is very uneven, it takes some time to get going and the very end is rushed and anti-climatic. The characters were for my tastes lacking fluidity and seemed jerky too much. I also wish that Thor was more interesting, he is rather stubborn and does little more than whine and threaten people. Aside from the character designs though, the rest of the animation is great, the backgrounds are very detailed and the colours are atmospheric. The music is driven and gives a haunting undercurrent to everything else forming the film. The writing is sharp, the story is compelling with an exciting final action scene and the action is well-choreographed and intense. The characters apart from Thor are interesting, with Bruce Banner/Hulk and Captain America very sympathetic characters and it was a pleasure to see The Wasp again. The voice acting is solid I thought, Olivia D'Abo's Russian accent was a little overdone for me and unidiomatic but the rest do spirited jobs. Overall, decent film but for me not a great one. 7/10 Bethany Cox
One of the better Marvel cartoons.
13Funbags27 July 2018
A good, if not exactly stunning, start.
kelvingreen23 February 2006
This film, the first product of the Marvel/Lions Gate animation deal, takes its inspiration and plot from the first year of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's mega-popular The Ultimates, but as the title suggests, there's more than a little of the original Avengers in here too. So-called New Avengers need not apply, as there's not much chatting, and the heroes do in fact appear during the story.
This is a pretty good debut, and as a lifelong Avengers fan, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my favourite heroes on screen, but it's also not without its problems. The animation quality is variable, and to be utterly truthful, the film occasionally looks a bit cheap, like a bog-standard production line Saturday morning cartoon show, rather than the special movie event it's supposed to be. Similarly, the art style used has that rather bland and generic US adventure cartoon style, which is a considerable disappointment considering the source material; I know enough about animation to know that converting Bryan Hitch's detailed art into an animated form would be prohibitively time consuming and expensive, but even so it would have been nice to have brought a more distinctive visual style to the project. The Japanese do it all the time. On the other hand, the direction is quite strong, and there are a number of great visual sequences that effectively translate the "widescreen' storytelling of the comic into the real thing. The fights, crucially important in something like this, are also well choreographed and full of exciting, fluid movement, with the climactic battle with the Hulk a particular standout.
The film's biggest drawback is the writing, in particular some misguided decisions regarding plot and characterisation. Combining the plots of the first two Ultimates arcs was a good move, as breadth of content has never been a strength of the source material, but it has led to a rather choppy final act, as the screenwriters seem to be unable to decide whether the climax of the film should concern the Hulk's rampage or the Skrulls/Chitauri. The finale kicks off with a Chitauri invasion fleet descending upon SHIELD's headquarters, but then the aliens are seemingly forgotten as the narrative focus shifts to the Hulk. There's no real sense that the Avengers defeat the aliens; it's more like the Chitauri spontaneously, but quietly, cease to be a particularly pressing problem. In comparison to the desperately hard-fought battle in the comics, this comes as something of a disappointment. Similarly, Captain America's Nazi/Chitauri nemesis, Herr Klenser, is introduced in the opening sequence (a brilliant reproduction of The Ultimates #1, although sadly lacking the "parachutes are for girls" moment), and is dispatched in a suitably ambiguous way that suggests a later appearance, but he fails to turn up, and as such we're robbed of the dramatic impact of the Cap/Kleiser fight, as well as the insane violence of the Nazi's battle with the Hulk. The result is a final battle in which Captain America, very much the narrative focus of the film as a whole, has no personal stake, and the Hulk is left with no one to fight.
The loss of Kleiser also robs the film of a thoroughly entertaining personality, and sadly it's merely one of the many missteps in characterisation made throughout the movie. The glitches are also quite baffling; Hank Pym's abusive tendencies towards the Wasp, the Hulk's cannibalism, and Captain America's abrasive personality are all toned down or done away with completely, suggesting an attempt to appeal to younger viewers, and yet there is plenty of death and destruction, and the film's Iron Man is from the non-Ultimate continuity, complete with the much darker portrayal of his alcoholism. In most cases, these changes aren't a problem, and probably won't even be noticed by the hypothetical new viewer, but in others, the film suffers; Pym's personality is clumsily replaced with the irreverent jokiness of Avengers Hawkeye, and the film-makers appear to have forgotten to give Cap anything to replace his Ultimate identity, resulting in a rather bland and forgettable lead character. Thor, easily the most entertaining and interesting of the Ultimates in their comic appearances, makes it to the film largely intact, but he doesn't get nearly enough screen time. We also lose the many scenes of the team chatting and getting to know each other, and while The Ultimates isn't exactly the most deep of comics, even that negligible depth is conspicuously absent here.
One area where I really can't fault the film is in the music. Well okay, perhaps I would have liked to have heard some kind of stirring "Avengers Theme", but on the whole, the composer does a fantastic job, providing a solid action movie score that effectively reflects and supports the on-screen action. I'm sure I'm not the only one to get an outbreak of goosebumps as Thor descends from the storm clouds, wreathed in lightning, and accompanied by an ominous choral theme. Spot on.
It might seem like I didn't like this film at all, but that's not the case, and not just because of my long-standing allegiance to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. While there are many flaws, they are for the most part rather minor, and don't detract entirely from what the film-makers get right, which is a faithful and entertaining adaptation of the storytelling style of the source material, if not every little detail. It would have been nice for Lions Gate and Marvel to begin their partnership with something truly stunning, but this certainly isn't a bad start, and it makes for a solid foundation for future stories.
This is a pretty good debut, and as a lifelong Avengers fan, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my favourite heroes on screen, but it's also not without its problems. The animation quality is variable, and to be utterly truthful, the film occasionally looks a bit cheap, like a bog-standard production line Saturday morning cartoon show, rather than the special movie event it's supposed to be. Similarly, the art style used has that rather bland and generic US adventure cartoon style, which is a considerable disappointment considering the source material; I know enough about animation to know that converting Bryan Hitch's detailed art into an animated form would be prohibitively time consuming and expensive, but even so it would have been nice to have brought a more distinctive visual style to the project. The Japanese do it all the time. On the other hand, the direction is quite strong, and there are a number of great visual sequences that effectively translate the "widescreen' storytelling of the comic into the real thing. The fights, crucially important in something like this, are also well choreographed and full of exciting, fluid movement, with the climactic battle with the Hulk a particular standout.
The film's biggest drawback is the writing, in particular some misguided decisions regarding plot and characterisation. Combining the plots of the first two Ultimates arcs was a good move, as breadth of content has never been a strength of the source material, but it has led to a rather choppy final act, as the screenwriters seem to be unable to decide whether the climax of the film should concern the Hulk's rampage or the Skrulls/Chitauri. The finale kicks off with a Chitauri invasion fleet descending upon SHIELD's headquarters, but then the aliens are seemingly forgotten as the narrative focus shifts to the Hulk. There's no real sense that the Avengers defeat the aliens; it's more like the Chitauri spontaneously, but quietly, cease to be a particularly pressing problem. In comparison to the desperately hard-fought battle in the comics, this comes as something of a disappointment. Similarly, Captain America's Nazi/Chitauri nemesis, Herr Klenser, is introduced in the opening sequence (a brilliant reproduction of The Ultimates #1, although sadly lacking the "parachutes are for girls" moment), and is dispatched in a suitably ambiguous way that suggests a later appearance, but he fails to turn up, and as such we're robbed of the dramatic impact of the Cap/Kleiser fight, as well as the insane violence of the Nazi's battle with the Hulk. The result is a final battle in which Captain America, very much the narrative focus of the film as a whole, has no personal stake, and the Hulk is left with no one to fight.
The loss of Kleiser also robs the film of a thoroughly entertaining personality, and sadly it's merely one of the many missteps in characterisation made throughout the movie. The glitches are also quite baffling; Hank Pym's abusive tendencies towards the Wasp, the Hulk's cannibalism, and Captain America's abrasive personality are all toned down or done away with completely, suggesting an attempt to appeal to younger viewers, and yet there is plenty of death and destruction, and the film's Iron Man is from the non-Ultimate continuity, complete with the much darker portrayal of his alcoholism. In most cases, these changes aren't a problem, and probably won't even be noticed by the hypothetical new viewer, but in others, the film suffers; Pym's personality is clumsily replaced with the irreverent jokiness of Avengers Hawkeye, and the film-makers appear to have forgotten to give Cap anything to replace his Ultimate identity, resulting in a rather bland and forgettable lead character. Thor, easily the most entertaining and interesting of the Ultimates in their comic appearances, makes it to the film largely intact, but he doesn't get nearly enough screen time. We also lose the many scenes of the team chatting and getting to know each other, and while The Ultimates isn't exactly the most deep of comics, even that negligible depth is conspicuously absent here.
One area where I really can't fault the film is in the music. Well okay, perhaps I would have liked to have heard some kind of stirring "Avengers Theme", but on the whole, the composer does a fantastic job, providing a solid action movie score that effectively reflects and supports the on-screen action. I'm sure I'm not the only one to get an outbreak of goosebumps as Thor descends from the storm clouds, wreathed in lightning, and accompanied by an ominous choral theme. Spot on.
It might seem like I didn't like this film at all, but that's not the case, and not just because of my long-standing allegiance to Earth's Mightiest Heroes. While there are many flaws, they are for the most part rather minor, and don't detract entirely from what the film-makers get right, which is a faithful and entertaining adaptation of the storytelling style of the source material, if not every little detail. It would have been nice for Lions Gate and Marvel to begin their partnership with something truly stunning, but this certainly isn't a bad start, and it makes for a solid foundation for future stories.
Average Avengers
xamtaro26 February 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Touted as the animated adaptation of Marvel comics "Ultimates" miniseries by Mark Millar, i must say that the movie did not quite live up to expectations. First came the 30 second teaser. The one with Hulk bashing on Giant-man then Iron man flies in and then the Hulk fights Captain America. Heavy blacks, realistic features, gritty and powerful. THe animation in that teaser was so brilliantly done that it looked exactly like in the comics. The framing and scenes were shot-for-shot translations of the comic panels.
But when the actually movie came out, it was very different.
1) Gone was the gritty-ness and real world feel of the story. MAny of the characters no longer act like how their counterparts did in Ultimates. rather they seem closer to the regular Avengers in the mainstream marvel comics continuity.
2)THe movie felt "kiddy-fied". The political bashing, the philosophical aspects, realistic character interactions, heck even the violence, ALL toned down. This is no longer the Bad-ass Ultimates i know and love.
3)Another aspect i loved about Ultimates was the flaws of the characters. No one was a perfect boy scout. Captain America was overly smug "holier-than-thou" attitude, Giant-man was abusive, Hulk was horny, Thor was an extremist, etc. Those real-world flaws, once again, toned down or completely gone. Captain America is now a "for the greater good" boy scout again, Giant-man is just another obstinate a**hole, Hulk is just savage as usual and Thor is just stubborn.
OK the story has its merits. It moves for a more mainstream superhero type tale as opposed to the real-world gritty type. Not as clever or intricate a saga as expected, but good clean superhero fun. A couple of interesting themes are explored such as Captain America being unable to adjust to the modern world or Bruce Banner wrestling with his inner demons, even the tumultuous relationship between Giant Man and Wasp. Alas, they are only touched upon for a few moments and then forgotten for the rest of the movie. A complete waste if you ask me.
The animation is......inconsistent. You got great scenes with exceedingly smooth animation combined with a high level of art detail and all the right shadows and shading, like in the final battle with Hulk. But then again you got really crappy, flatly colored scenes like the Space satellite scene and the WWII para drop scenes that look like they were Flash animated using basic motion tween and stock footage. For a movie, such inconsistent animation comes across as being sub-par. If it was touted as an OVA miniseries or a TV series pilot, i might have been more forgiving toward the animation quality. But no it was touted as a MOVIE, hence i expected MOVIE level animation. Cos honestly, it looks to be only on par with some of the best X-men Evolution Episodes.
Anyway, 6/10. I'll give it 7/10 if i wasn't such a big fan of the Ultimates graphic novels. Good clean Superhero fun. Straight forward plot that is easy to understand. Adequate quality animation The growing up older kids will love it. THe is sufficient violence(though not overly so) for the kids to go "look, im watching a grown up's show".
But when the actually movie came out, it was very different.
1) Gone was the gritty-ness and real world feel of the story. MAny of the characters no longer act like how their counterparts did in Ultimates. rather they seem closer to the regular Avengers in the mainstream marvel comics continuity.
2)THe movie felt "kiddy-fied". The political bashing, the philosophical aspects, realistic character interactions, heck even the violence, ALL toned down. This is no longer the Bad-ass Ultimates i know and love.
3)Another aspect i loved about Ultimates was the flaws of the characters. No one was a perfect boy scout. Captain America was overly smug "holier-than-thou" attitude, Giant-man was abusive, Hulk was horny, Thor was an extremist, etc. Those real-world flaws, once again, toned down or completely gone. Captain America is now a "for the greater good" boy scout again, Giant-man is just another obstinate a**hole, Hulk is just savage as usual and Thor is just stubborn.
OK the story has its merits. It moves for a more mainstream superhero type tale as opposed to the real-world gritty type. Not as clever or intricate a saga as expected, but good clean superhero fun. A couple of interesting themes are explored such as Captain America being unable to adjust to the modern world or Bruce Banner wrestling with his inner demons, even the tumultuous relationship between Giant Man and Wasp. Alas, they are only touched upon for a few moments and then forgotten for the rest of the movie. A complete waste if you ask me.
The animation is......inconsistent. You got great scenes with exceedingly smooth animation combined with a high level of art detail and all the right shadows and shading, like in the final battle with Hulk. But then again you got really crappy, flatly colored scenes like the Space satellite scene and the WWII para drop scenes that look like they were Flash animated using basic motion tween and stock footage. For a movie, such inconsistent animation comes across as being sub-par. If it was touted as an OVA miniseries or a TV series pilot, i might have been more forgiving toward the animation quality. But no it was touted as a MOVIE, hence i expected MOVIE level animation. Cos honestly, it looks to be only on par with some of the best X-men Evolution Episodes.
Anyway, 6/10. I'll give it 7/10 if i wasn't such a big fan of the Ultimates graphic novels. Good clean Superhero fun. Straight forward plot that is easy to understand. Adequate quality animation The growing up older kids will love it. THe is sufficient violence(though not overly so) for the kids to go "look, im watching a grown up's show".
Not bad at all
knightc627 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I had reservations on buying this DVD, even though I enjoyed the Ultimate books. I didn't think it would translate very well to TV, but I was pleasantly surprised. This was well worth the 14.00 price tag, and my 6 year old even got into it and wanted to watch it again immediately after seeing it. I thought this was a fair reflection on the quality of the work, as she cannot sit through Justice League or Spiderman cartoons, she finds them boring. But this one held her attention, probably because the artwork was good, the story was complex with a lot of nods thrown to us old comic book fuddies and readers of the original Ultimate books while still being able to convey the story effectively and be very enjoyable to those who never got into the characters in other formats. It's rare for a project dealing with characters who have such a long history with many to be so well received by hardcore fans and people introduced to the Marvel Universe for the first time as well. It isn't an exact reproduction of the first Ultimate Avengers line, the story is very similar but the scenes, actions and character interactions are almost all different. I say that so you won't worry that you are watching the same panels/actions/lines/ of the comics, but rather a new take on the same story of origin in the Ultimates books. I am already looking forward to the next installment and I'm pretty sure that this is going to start at least a dozen or so animated movies with the Ultimates themes. If the quality of the first stays consistent for all of the future installments, this will be a very successful line. Go ahead and pick it up for 14 bucks, it's worth it.
Ultimate? What is this ultimate?
neil-47624 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
See, if you're not the sort of person who keeps up to date with all sorts of alternative continuities, then you won't have the vaguest idea of the significance of the "Ultimate" tag so, as far as I'm concerned (what with me not being that sort of person and all) I'm just going to consider the movie on its own merits.
It is a tolerable super-hero animated movie telling an Avengers origin story, with a couple of reservations.
One, the animation isn't always that great - there are times when you get a distinct whiff of what one might refer to as "TV animation." And, two, the voice casting (and character design) for Bruce Banner is spectacularly bad. Neither the look nor the voice convince and, what's worse, they don't fit each other.
Apart from that, it's OK. But no better.
It is a tolerable super-hero animated movie telling an Avengers origin story, with a couple of reservations.
One, the animation isn't always that great - there are times when you get a distinct whiff of what one might refer to as "TV animation." And, two, the voice casting (and character design) for Bruce Banner is spectacularly bad. Neither the look nor the voice convince and, what's worse, they don't fit each other.
Apart from that, it's OK. But no better.
Terrible - The Ultimate Waste of a Story
FuBuddy12 March 2006
Just watched this movie. I've never written for any movie on IMDb, but after seeing this thing, I had to. This movie was terrible. The movie reminded me of the Ninja Turtles cartoon. And people saying its better than Transformers is retarded - that show is over 20 years old. I just remember all the hype surrounding this project and it failed at every level. The animation was nothing more than Saturday morning cartoon fare. Maybe I was spoiled by SW- The Clone Was cartoons of late, but this movie stinks. All the movement was jerky, the character designs represented nothing from the comic (the art for the closing credits looks a million times better than the entire movie), the shading is terrible; it looked blurry, not like shading. It had no style to it what-so-ever. This movie sucked left to right. Up and down. A waste of time for everybody involved. It's like all Marvel projects, save for Spider-man and the X-men movies (we'll see about the third ones for each...), half-assed. Put some effort into these damn things and you might have a good product, not just something that makes money (imagine how bank the F4 would have made if it was, you know, good). Only the Punisher movie was worse than this ( and I haven't seen Elektra yet...). I'm not going to get into all thats wrong with this thing (script, dialouge, action, line reading, etc...) - I'm just going to re-read the original story and forget this mess. This movie sucked.
Graphic Novel to Video Screen
doctortimelord23 February 2006
I disagree with an earlier comment. The story was quite enjoyable and was quite true to the Graphic Novel called "The Ultimates". If you enjoy this feature length story and cannot wait to see the second half of the story, then I recommend reading both Graphic Novels to get a sneak peak at the storyline thus far. I realize the characters involved were created 40 to 50 years ago, but this story does an excellent job of making these characters appeal to a newer generation. The animation is up to par with what is being produced in Japan, and opens up the world of Marvel to a global audience. Any fan of Anime/Manga or Animation/Comics would be very entertained by this.
A great adaptation that renders its characters surprisingly realistically.
Pjtaylor-96-13804425 June 2018
Essentially adapting 'The Ultimates' comic-book story-line but making it ever-so-slightly more kid-friendly (Ant-Man doesn't domestically abuse The Wasp and The Hulk doesn't eat anybody), 'Ultimate Avengers (2006)' does a good job of bringing Marvel's most famous superhero team to life. It introduces its core players pretty well, doing so all within (roughly) half the time of a usual superhero film - six years before the team hit the big-screen. The flick actually provides some fantastic characterisations, including a fleshed-out Bruce Banner who's relationship with Betty Ross is filled with the past traumas and false promises of one previously built on anger-induced abuse. It also puts a strong focus on the dysfunctional nature of the here unwanted team, with their struggles to follow orders and work together being a major plot-point that actually pays off in quite a satisfying, if expected, way. Perhaps because of its source-material, it manages to make each character stand-out in some way so that they all feel incredibly realistic, flawed in ways perhaps counter-intuitive to what you'd expect but ones that are interesting and logical nevertheless. The middle portion of the movie drags quite significantly, though, and the music isn't all that good, being cheesy and overbearing when it ought to be triumphant and being downright absent when it ought to be subtle and nuanced. Still, the first and third acts are pretty great and animated with a lively, if bloom-heavy and slightly washed-out, verve that makes both the frenetic fight sequences and quieter character moments feel, essentially, as real as one another. 7/10
Ultimate disappointment
rayner2322 February 2006
I am going to be fair to Marvel . . . this was their first animated feature film. That's okay, but it is still no excuse for Ultimate Avengers. I don't want anyone to think that I absolutely hated this film, but let it be known that it could have been a billion times better.
The first complaint I have is the animation (which was just average.) One could argue the style was just different than, say, good animation, but the key problem was that the actual film animation was just vastly different than the animation promised to me in the teaser trailer. The teaser had things framed like the comic book, but the actual movie had none of those moments in them. What the hell happened to the good animation? Where is my scene of Iron Man crashing the Hulk through Grand Central Station? Let's move away from the animation for a moment though. Let's go to a far more pressing argument of story itself. As a comic book fan and a movie fan and someone who somewhat understands the way Hollywood works, I will not gripe that the comic wasn't 100% accurate to the comic book. I won't even gripe that the comic wasn't 50% accurate to the comic book. In fact, I will even ignore that the movie was only accurate in that the names of the characters were the same. My complaint toward the story was that the movie completely left out any sort of feelings for the characters.
Let's take a film that is considered to be the Citizen Kane of animated features. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This was a fantastic film that gets better with age. As a child, I found it somewhat boring, but still entertaining. As an older child, I have learned to look for the subtext, listen to the fantastic dialog and I have learned to appreciate the motifs used in this film. That movie makes you genuinely feel for the characters. It makes you wonder why Batman does what he does. It makes you cry out in anguish as you realize that Bruce and Andrea lost something they can never hope to get back. In summary, Batman made you feel for the characters.
Avengers doesn't come close. It is a Jerry Bruckheimer film, but (because of poor animation) it doesn't even make the action look good. Bruce Banner was a somewhat interesting character, but he wasn't painted as a man tormented by the fact he is a monster, but a man who is addicted to being a monster. he searches for a way to control the monster. It takes away from his tragic figure and makes him more of a mad scientist type.
Finally, let's look at voice acting and writing. the dialog was trite and painful to listen to. Cap's voice sounded like a 17 year old asking his dad for the car keys. Geh. It was just terrible all around.
I understand that Avengers was a movie for all audiences, but so was batman . . . and look how beautiful that film turned out.
The first complaint I have is the animation (which was just average.) One could argue the style was just different than, say, good animation, but the key problem was that the actual film animation was just vastly different than the animation promised to me in the teaser trailer. The teaser had things framed like the comic book, but the actual movie had none of those moments in them. What the hell happened to the good animation? Where is my scene of Iron Man crashing the Hulk through Grand Central Station? Let's move away from the animation for a moment though. Let's go to a far more pressing argument of story itself. As a comic book fan and a movie fan and someone who somewhat understands the way Hollywood works, I will not gripe that the comic wasn't 100% accurate to the comic book. I won't even gripe that the comic wasn't 50% accurate to the comic book. In fact, I will even ignore that the movie was only accurate in that the names of the characters were the same. My complaint toward the story was that the movie completely left out any sort of feelings for the characters.
Let's take a film that is considered to be the Citizen Kane of animated features. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This was a fantastic film that gets better with age. As a child, I found it somewhat boring, but still entertaining. As an older child, I have learned to look for the subtext, listen to the fantastic dialog and I have learned to appreciate the motifs used in this film. That movie makes you genuinely feel for the characters. It makes you wonder why Batman does what he does. It makes you cry out in anguish as you realize that Bruce and Andrea lost something they can never hope to get back. In summary, Batman made you feel for the characters.
Avengers doesn't come close. It is a Jerry Bruckheimer film, but (because of poor animation) it doesn't even make the action look good. Bruce Banner was a somewhat interesting character, but he wasn't painted as a man tormented by the fact he is a monster, but a man who is addicted to being a monster. he searches for a way to control the monster. It takes away from his tragic figure and makes him more of a mad scientist type.
Finally, let's look at voice acting and writing. the dialog was trite and painful to listen to. Cap's voice sounded like a 17 year old asking his dad for the car keys. Geh. It was just terrible all around.
I understand that Avengers was a movie for all audiences, but so was batman . . . and look how beautiful that film turned out.
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