In a field of talented, hard-working creators, Bryan Hitch may be the most 'widescreen' oriented comics artist working today. In fact, his work is so powerful and cinematic that it is almost impossible for an actual animated adaptation to match what he and Mark Millar are doing every month in the pages of "The Ultimates". And the folks here can't do it. But they come close. And there are flashes of genuine energy and inspiration here that carry "Ultimate Avengers" and make it a treat for anyone who enjoys these characters in either their 'original' or 'ultimate' versions.
No one asked me, but I think the art directors would have been better advised to go with the simpler, stylized 'angular' look of animation that worked so well with the new "Justice League" adventures. Going for the highly realistic over-the-top look used here means that every frame has to be just right, or things will look cheesy and stiff, like a bunch of human-shaped inflated balloons on display. Captain America, in particular, suffers from this design choice - he's just another bland, over-muscled oaf, when any fan of the character knows that he is the most dynamic fighting man alive. So that is a minor disappointment. You see Cap animated for the first time, you want it to be special.
On the other hand, when the character is supposed to look bulky and over-sized, as with the Hulk, and Ultimate Iron Man, it works out fine. In fact, the Hulk's depiction here is an example of what good hand drawn animation can do for 'larger than life' characters - he is far more convincing and impressive in "Ultimate Avengers" than millions of dollars worth of CGI could make him in his "live action movie".
The screen play does feel a little cramped - but it manages to include most of the elements and scenes that made the first volume of "The Ultimates" such a good read. I was hoping they would include a good knock-down, drag-out fight between Thor and the Hulk, and they did. I was hoping there would be a bit where Thor cut loose with a lightning storm against the Chitauri, and there was. I was hoping that Cap would get to do some fancy shield slinging, and the creators depicted that very well....and so on. They left a lot of stuff out, and changed elements to fit the format (otherwise the movie would have cost $200 million and been 4 hours long)...but they made good choices and compromises and the results are quite watchable.
My other complaint is that the voice work, and some of the dialog, while professional enough, was a little bland. Not enough to detract from the experience, but not enough to add anything extra to it. It got the job done, which is probably much harder than I give credit for. The overall sound design was great, though, and added a lot of texture to the movie. I especially liked little touches like the whine of Iron Man's boot jets and the 'shing' of Cap's shield as he frisbeed it at targets. Someone put in a lot of hard work on stuff like this.
Good stuff. More, please.
No one asked me, but I think the art directors would have been better advised to go with the simpler, stylized 'angular' look of animation that worked so well with the new "Justice League" adventures. Going for the highly realistic over-the-top look used here means that every frame has to be just right, or things will look cheesy and stiff, like a bunch of human-shaped inflated balloons on display. Captain America, in particular, suffers from this design choice - he's just another bland, over-muscled oaf, when any fan of the character knows that he is the most dynamic fighting man alive. So that is a minor disappointment. You see Cap animated for the first time, you want it to be special.
On the other hand, when the character is supposed to look bulky and over-sized, as with the Hulk, and Ultimate Iron Man, it works out fine. In fact, the Hulk's depiction here is an example of what good hand drawn animation can do for 'larger than life' characters - he is far more convincing and impressive in "Ultimate Avengers" than millions of dollars worth of CGI could make him in his "live action movie".
The screen play does feel a little cramped - but it manages to include most of the elements and scenes that made the first volume of "The Ultimates" such a good read. I was hoping they would include a good knock-down, drag-out fight between Thor and the Hulk, and they did. I was hoping there would be a bit where Thor cut loose with a lightning storm against the Chitauri, and there was. I was hoping that Cap would get to do some fancy shield slinging, and the creators depicted that very well....and so on. They left a lot of stuff out, and changed elements to fit the format (otherwise the movie would have cost $200 million and been 4 hours long)...but they made good choices and compromises and the results are quite watchable.
My other complaint is that the voice work, and some of the dialog, while professional enough, was a little bland. Not enough to detract from the experience, but not enough to add anything extra to it. It got the job done, which is probably much harder than I give credit for. The overall sound design was great, though, and added a lot of texture to the movie. I especially liked little touches like the whine of Iron Man's boot jets and the 'shing' of Cap's shield as he frisbeed it at targets. Someone put in a lot of hard work on stuff like this.
Good stuff. More, please.