This is the Ultimate?

I just finished watching Ultimate Avengers, and felt the need to post about it for a couple of reasons :

1) It's a D2DVD movie
2) It's about some of the Marvel icons from my childhood.

Both of these things obviously mean a lot to me. I'm actually quite torn about it because in looking at the credits - I've seen the work of the people involved with this movie before.

I've also seen better work from them.

This is the launch of a series of animated D2DVD movies that Lionsgate and Marvel are doing together. They are designed to capitalize on both the Marvel brand and the huge market for D2DVD animated movies. In theory this movie should be a home run, especially since its based on the wildly successful The Ultimates comic book.

And yet, we get this movie that shows so many worn edges and, dare I say it, lack of craft that it really disappoints. Truly.

1. The story - is lackluster at best with no momentum and a definite lack of drama. Its clear from the comics that the first arc of the story is Captain America's return to the world after being trapped in an ice floe for 60+ years. Yet, the story in this 70 minute movie meanders and loses focus. It was soooo slow! The drama that is present in the story is reduced to melodrama (mostly the Bruce Banner/Hulk stuff).

2. The animation - was poor and didn't take advantage of the strengths of the medium. Movement was choppy and off model. It looked cheap and frankly, I was reminded of the old Gantray-Lawrence animation from the 60's.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say - Marvel needs to do better. Much better. Take a lesson from Warner Bros.' The Batman vs. Dracula and craft a story and animation that really pushes the medium forward. Hire better designers and storyboard artists that give your characters the momentum they require to be fully-formed, multi-dimensional characters.
Hire better animation studios in Korea. Take some lessons from anime use that in the process.

Otherwise, Ultimate Avengers will ultimately circle the drain.