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February 22, 2006
Ultimate Avengers
Ultimate Avengers can't possibly match the brilliant graphic novel by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, but it does a pretty good job of trying. The movie is aimed at a PG-13 audience, so there are no wife-beating Giant-Men, drunken millionaires, or horny Hulks looking for Betty, although Jarvis still looks a bit gay. The plot follows Millar's outline remarkably close at times, especially with the opening World War 2 sequence involving Captain America (although he doesn't use a gun). Steve Rogers is the main focus, and the film does keep all the bits about being displaced in time. Millar said that when he envisioned the Ultimates, he thought of it as Avengers: The Movie. His introduction of the main characters and the buildup to the first fight would work great in a big budget feature film. Imagine if you had Samuel Jackson (Nick Fury), Tom Cruise (Tony Stark), Brad Pitt (Thor), and Lucy Liu (Janet Van Dyne) all in the same movie? Alas, we don't get the same talent here, as Andre Ware's voice for Nick Fury isn't what I imagined. The animation is what I would call competent, but it's not really as good as most anime or even the Justice League Unlimited series. They did use all of Bryan Hitch's character designs. Iron Man in particular looks so fantastic, I don't know why they wouldn't make an entire TV show around the character.
The plot deviates from the graphic novel in a number of ways besides toning down the adult misbehavior. Iron Man needs to be coerced into joining, which is a bit weird. Bruce Banner's mental deterioration isn't handled as gracefully. The aliens are the main threat, and the Hulk goes berserk after that is over, but he doesn't rampage throughout New York City. There were some great scenes that they could have used: the Hulk knocking Giant-Man into a skyscraper, or Captain America dropping the tank on the Hulk. Why didn't they go for it? I question whether all Ultimates fans will like Ultimate Avengers, but I do think that all longtime Marvel and Avengers fans will be thrilled to see these characters in animated form. Ironically enough, younger viewers may be turned off by the slow buildup to the action. Nuff said.
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