Ultimate Avengers 2 2/5 reviewed by Mike

Ultimate Avengers 2 is the latest in Marvel Comics' line of straight to DVD films, and if my information serves me correct, it is officailly their second fully animated feature film, the first being Ultimate Avergers: The Movie, which went straight to DVD several months ago.

I didn't write an official review for the last Avengers movie, but if I had, I would have given it a solid 3. Yes, it was a little campy, and "saturday-morning-cartoon-ish" but I expected that going into it, and was still genuinely entertained. As for this sequel, this is one of those films that really rides the line between a 2 and a 3.

The films are loosely based off the smash hit comic book "The Ultimates" by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch. This comic is truly great--its a total revamp of Marvels old classic Avengers--told in a dark and gritty setting with deep characterization at its heart. The films tell a slightly watered-down version of the stories from the books. The basic idea is that an alien race was helping the Nazis during WWII, and if not for Captain America, Hitler's boys would have launched nukes onto US soil. Of course, Cap got frozen under the ocean because of that incident, and awakes in our time to find that the same aliens are still up to no good, and he has to assemble the Avengers (Iron Man, Black Widow, The Wasp, Giant Man, Thor, all under the direction of Nick Fury) to stop them. Also we have the added benefit of The Hulk going on rampages, even though Bruce Banner is trying to help the team. That was the first movie's plot--this sequel picks up where the first left off--our evil aliens are still at work, only this time in the hidden country of Wakanda, where a new super hero--the Black Panther--lives. So, the Avengers have to team up with Black Panther to give the aliens what-for.


Obviously the comics never deal with Black Panther - this movie strays far away from the plot of the comics, and thats what I think causes the biggest problems. Without a solid Mark Millar story to work from, the plot these writers produce is bland and full of logic problems--the biggest one being that although the Hulk breaks out and you think he's going to destroy everything--you never see it happen because the movie ends. The first film may have been kiddish, but at least it had a plot arc. This story is more like an excuse to have some action scenes, and after a while, the credits roll--there's no real story.

The characters are dissapointing as well. All of the uniqueness and depth of the comic characters are taken away to keep it kid-friendly. We don't see Iron Man struggling with alcoholism, we don't see Giant Man beating his wife, and her emotional struggles because of it. Everyone becomes a generic stereotypish character. The voice acting also leaves a bit to be desired. It's not awful, but Black Widow's over-the-top russian accent pretty much kills any scene she's in. The animation itself isn't bad, but it could easily be a lot better. It's over simplistic, feels rushed, doesn't flow very well, and the CGI stuff doesn't blend at all, and feels really awkward. I will say that I thought the coloring on this sequel was better than the original.

Even with all these problems, I still found myself entertained, and I didn't feel like I had wasted my money. There's plenty of good action, and because it's aimed at a younger audience - a younger audience would really enjoy it. If this movie came out when I was in 8th grade, I would have loved it. If you like superheroes, you'll probably atleast find this film entertaining for the time it takes to watch, although you'd be better off just sticking to the first film. However, there is a really cool special feature on the disc where Millar and Hitch as well as Joe Quesada and other Marvelites are interviewed at length. I actually enjoyed the featurette as much as I did the film. If you buy the DVD at Target, you get treated to an additional disc that contains a bunch of comics you can read on your computer, which is pretty awesome.

All in all, it doesn't quite measure up to the work Bruce Timm has done on the DC animated stuff (Batman, Superman, and Justice League) but its still a fun, entertaing superhero saturday afternoon fun film. Just don't expect the depth thats in the comics--go read them!

See this movie if:
-You have been an Avengers fan for a long time, or you're younger than me
-You want some nostalgic, fun superhero action thats fairly mindless
-It's a lazy day off, and you want to relax. Pop some corn and watch Cap beat up some aliens!

Don't see this movie if:
-You're hoping its a faithful adaptaion of Millar and Hitch's brilliant "Ultimates" comics
-You don't like superheroes, especially simplistic ones
-You're expecting an equivalent to Bruce Timm's animated DC work