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During the war Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America,
seemingly makes the ultimate sacrifice in a successful attempt
to stop a German nuclear weapon based on alien technology.
Frozen in ice, for over forty years, he is rescued by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Rogers wakes up to a world still at war with his old adversary
Kleiser, agent for the alien Chitauri...
The Ultimate Avengers is an animated film based on the
successful re-imagining in the Marvel comic universe, which
started with The Ultimates written by Mark Millar and
drawn by Bryan Hitch, which began its print run in 2001. It
was notable for its adult themes and excellent art work. Nearly
all of the Avengers characters appeared, but the tone
of the story had more in common with the team's previous title
The Authority, than any other Avengers title.
A
strong theme running through the story was the uses and abuses
of power. Many of the characters went through changes: Captain
America is a man out of time and has difficulty in coming
to terms with the loss of his friends and the state of the
world; the Hulk is a psychotic killing machine who is not
above a bit of cannibalism, if the situation presents itself;
and Thor is an Eco-warrior who claims to be the son of Odin,
even though his records show that he is an ex-nurse who suffered
a psychotic break.
Marvel
and Liongate obviously had to make the decision on how much
of the comic could be transferred to the animated film and
still stay faithful to the source material. I would presume
that Henry Pym's decent into wife beating went straight out
the window. So ultimately what we have here is a compromise
between the need to appeal to the widest audience and the
comic book fan's desire to see a grittier story. Some elements
have survived the transition. The Pym's marriage is obviously
on the rocks; we are introduced to Thor menacing a boat; and
Bruce Banner still hasn't quite got to grips with being the
Hulk. And, for those of you that haven't read an Avengers
comic in the last ten years, Nick Fury is now an African American.
The
story is fairly straight forward, with a renewed attack by
the Chitauri. Nick Fury initialises Project Avenger, which
brings together a number of super powered beings, under the
control of S.H.I.E.L.D. Some come willingly - others have
to be coerced.
The
animation, whilst good, is still somewhat lagging behind the
level that many anime films achieved a decade ago. The show
often contains a lack of detail, especially in the backgrounds,
though this may have been a deliberate choice to keep the
style in line with previous animated shows and to give it,
presumably, a more comic book feel. I say presumably, as comics
themselves have come a long way in their graphical style.
So
is it any good? If you think your going to see The Ultimates
on film then your in for a disappointment. However if you're
just after an exciting and well constructed animated film
then this just might be for you. In the end I have to admit
to liking it. There is a follow up film, that came out this
year [2006], which wasn't quite so good. Given that one of
the best characters was Iron Man it will be interesting to
see what happens in his up and coming solo film.
Although
the PR blurb assures me that the final package will include
a first look at Ultimate Avengers II, a DVD-Rom Game,
something called a voice talent search, a featurette and some
collector's cards, I was only supplied with the bare bones
film. So I cannot comment on their relevance or quality, hence
this is reflected in the lower mark that the film was awarded.
The
film is presented in a very clean print with 5.1 audio and
an aspect ratio of 16:9 and has a running time of sixty-nine
minutes.
Charles
Packer
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