When 'Ultimate Avengers' had its first trailer, I was excited but hesitant. The animation looked pretty Saturday-morning, and the voice acting sounded somewhat cheesy. I am happy to report that 'Ultimate Avengers' is a pretty good first attempt by Marvel to create an animated franchise.
The movie is based on the 'Ultimates' comic book, where heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the Hulk coexist in today's world. Captain (voice of Justin Gross), after a final stand against the menacing Chitauri aliens, has been frozen for 60 years. He finds himself now in the hands of Nick Fury (Andre Ware), who's putting together a team of superheroes to fight the returning Chitauri. These heroes include Dr. Bruce Banner (Michael Massee), aka the Hulk, who hopes Captain's return will help him stabilize the Hulk with Captain's Super Soldier Serum; Iron Man (Marc Worden), the hi-tech cybernetic commando, and Russian superspy Black Widow (Olivia D'Abo). The Ultimate Avengers must now put aside their differences and work as a team to fight the Chitauri... in addition to the growing threat of the Hulk.
Beginning with an awesome WWII battle, 'Ultimate Avengers' has some spectacular superhero action. Its PG-13 rating is justified, considering that although many of the more intense aspects of the comic (i.e. Hulk going on a rampage to kill Freddie Prinze Jr., Giant Man and Wasp's spousal problems) have been toned down, the movie is pretty violent. People get blown up, tossed around, shot at, and the Hulk even breaks Giant Man's knee at one point. The end battle is particularly impressive, and the animation is much better than the trailers had led me to believe.
The voice acting is also pretty good, with standouts being Justin Gross as Captain America and Michael Massee as Bruce Banner. Gross, while a tad too boyish-sounding for hard-edged Captain America, is earnest, sincere, and appropriately patriotic. I like how Massee makes Banner into a truly tortured individual; he's not very likable, but you sure feel for him. The rest of the voice cast is good (I like Andre Ware's Sam Jackson-esquire delivery of Nick Fury's lines), and it's fun as always to hear the immortal Grey DeLisle as Wasp.
'Ultimate Avengers' is a good starting point for the franchise.
The movie is based on the 'Ultimates' comic book, where heroes like Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the Hulk coexist in today's world. Captain (voice of Justin Gross), after a final stand against the menacing Chitauri aliens, has been frozen for 60 years. He finds himself now in the hands of Nick Fury (Andre Ware), who's putting together a team of superheroes to fight the returning Chitauri. These heroes include Dr. Bruce Banner (Michael Massee), aka the Hulk, who hopes Captain's return will help him stabilize the Hulk with Captain's Super Soldier Serum; Iron Man (Marc Worden), the hi-tech cybernetic commando, and Russian superspy Black Widow (Olivia D'Abo). The Ultimate Avengers must now put aside their differences and work as a team to fight the Chitauri... in addition to the growing threat of the Hulk.
Beginning with an awesome WWII battle, 'Ultimate Avengers' has some spectacular superhero action. Its PG-13 rating is justified, considering that although many of the more intense aspects of the comic (i.e. Hulk going on a rampage to kill Freddie Prinze Jr., Giant Man and Wasp's spousal problems) have been toned down, the movie is pretty violent. People get blown up, tossed around, shot at, and the Hulk even breaks Giant Man's knee at one point. The end battle is particularly impressive, and the animation is much better than the trailers had led me to believe.
The voice acting is also pretty good, with standouts being Justin Gross as Captain America and Michael Massee as Bruce Banner. Gross, while a tad too boyish-sounding for hard-edged Captain America, is earnest, sincere, and appropriately patriotic. I like how Massee makes Banner into a truly tortured individual; he's not very likable, but you sure feel for him. The rest of the voice cast is good (I like Andre Ware's Sam Jackson-esquire delivery of Nick Fury's lines), and it's fun as always to hear the immortal Grey DeLisle as Wasp.
'Ultimate Avengers' is a good starting point for the franchise.