DVD

The Invincible Iron Man

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My odyssey through Marvel DVDs for this weekend ends with the third of the Marvel animated set: The Invincible Iron Man.

Overall, I was disappointed in this DVD; I am sure that will change over time. I made the mistake of watching it right after the Ultimate Avengers movies. Iron Man has a different look and feel, more anime in style.

The story is actually stronger, buried in Chinese mythology. This also means a slower story from an action point of view. Iron Man is voiced by the same actor from the Ultimate movies, so credit to Marvel for consistency.

Overall, not a bad DVD. It has the extra features of 5.1 sound, an alternate opening sequence (I liked this one better), an origin feature, a tour of the armour gallery, concept art, and a look at the next Marvel animated feature (Dr. Strange).

My advice: Worth watching, but not right after the Avengers. Keep up the good work, Marvel.

DVD

Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther

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First off, Marvel needs a new movie-naming team. To recycle movie title phrasings within the same year is pretty bad.

This movie picks up in the aftermath of the first movie. While the bad guys were defeated, there were prices to pay. Intercut this with the introduction of a small African nation and our newest hero, Black Panther. We also see the aliens from the first movie, meaning that our heroes were not entirely successful. From here our story takes off.

Again, I was pleased with the animation and storytelling, even if it did seem like parts of “Independence Day” and “War of the Worlds” had invaded the story. In watching this one and its predecessor, it felt like I was watching the comic book. The widescreen aspect and the 5.1 sound mix again adds to the movie.

DVD features include a feature on the Ultimates, a funny gag reel, and first looks at the next two animated projects (Iron Man and Dr. Strange).

My advice: Well if you listened to me on number one, then you will be happy with this sequel.

DVD

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie

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A few months ago, I was wandering through BJ’s Wholesale Club when I noticed an interesting DVD box set: 3 Marvel Comics animated movie discs and a bust of Iron Man, all for the low price of $20. So, being the superhero geek that I am, I grabbed the set. It was a no-brainer, since two of the three movies were already on my wish list. The 3 movies in the set are:

  • Ultimate Avengers: The Movie
  • Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther
  • The Invincible Iron Man

For this review, I am focusing on the first movie, Ultimate Avengers.

I originally watched this on Cartoon Network. It was a quiet release and I only knew about it from happening to read Ain’t It Cool News that day. I was impressed with what I saw then and nothing has changed now.

So I fired up the DVD after watching the Fantastic 4 DVD. Marvel got it right with these animated movies. The story was kept simple, but not too simple. The animation was in the traditional 2-D style, but not anime-style. I felt like I was watching Saturday morning cartoons again. As such, the characters feel more human because of the hand-drawing.

The story has to cover a few areas: some origin aspects, as well as the threat of a new danger. This movie could have easily been about Captain America, with some guest stars. The movie starts off in WWII, with Cap battling against Nazis that have teamed up with aliens in an effort to win. Cap helps to beat them and is then carried away by a nuclear missle. After defusing the nuclear arms part of the missle, Cap is thrown unconscious into an iceberg.

The credits roll by as we move forward to present-day. S.H.I.E.L.D. is on an expedition to find Cap’s body, which they do or else it would be a short movie. Turns out General Fury needs samples of Cap’s DNA to replicate the super-soldier formula.

From this point on, we are introduced to the familar members of the Avengers team (as well as Marvel Comics, in general):

  • Black Widow
  • Giant-Man
  • Wasp
  • Thor
  • Iron Man
  • Hulk

Needless to say, we see the typical storylines of people trying to form a team when they all used to work alone. There are a number of good plot points and the movie ends on a satisfying note, as well as one that sets up for sequels.

The DVD extras are pretty good, with a trivia “pop-up” track and a feature on how the Avengers were created in comic books.  They also mixed the sound in 5.1, which makes it even more fun.

My advice: if you like this genre, then definitely check out the movie — you will not be disappointed.

DVD

Fantastic 4: Best Buy Special Edition DVD Set

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Given that Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer starts today, I decided to do something that I did not have time to do before Spidey/Shrek/POC — Watch the first movie again.   I missed seeing this in the theater (so far, it and Ghost Rider are the only two I missed in the theater since the resurgence), but based on my friends’ feedback (”Fartastic Four”), I wasn’t worried.

Then the DVD came out.  Best Buy had a special edition made, with it coming in a can with extras.  In addition to the DVD, there is a CD-ROM with all of the comic books released up to that point and lobby cards with scenes on them.  The DVD included the usual features:

  • Cast Audio commentary (did not listen to)
  • DTS and 5.1 Dolby sound
  • Deleted Scenes (not even worth looking at)
  • Video Diary — chronicles the press tour done by the cast to promote the film
  • 2 Making of documentaries
  • Casting Session — an actual show from Fox Movie Channel.  I thought it might be casting readthroughs at first.
  • Music Videos — eh
  • Trailers — Interesting to see how Fox moved off of July 4 as the release date to July 8.

I have to admit — I fell asleep the first time I watched this movie.  I was over at my girlfriend’s place and it was late.  She got irritated that I fell asleep, but such is life.  Anyway, I never got around to trying to see it again until today.

Two years removed from the hype and zero expectations, I have to say that the movie is not that bad.  True, I have a soft spot for superhero movies, but this is more of the fun side of comics.  So many of the hero flicks put a coat of angst over the main character.  While that is important for Batman and Spiderman, angst should not be part of Superman or Fantastic 4.  The name alone is supposed to invoke positive, happy emotions.

Stan Lee has done this on purpose — he wants that extreme:

  • Happy — It’s the Fantastic 4
  • Hate — It’s Dr. Doom

For an origin story, it is ok.  Unlike most hero movies, this one has to get 5 origin stories out there.  Would true “fanboys” be upset at some of the characteristics?  Yes, but I am not a “fanboy” of Fantastic 4 like I am with Bats or Spidey.  The story line is weak and many things predictable.  You get exactly what you expect.

My advice: Save it for a lazy Saturday afternoon of vegging on the couch — TV broadcast is ok, but if you want to NetFlix it, there are worse choices out there.

Movies

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

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My AMC marathon came to an end At World’s End. I decided to risk the curse of the “3″ yet again and see the latest installment of Pirates of Carribbean (POC).

I loved the first one a lot. I had no expectations and hit at a time that I just wanted to have fun at the movies. I was pleased when they made the right references to the ride and I was satisfied with how things ended. Given the box office it earned that year, the ending became more of a “guideline.”

I heard they filmed Part 2 and 3 at the same time. I exeperienced this twice before — let’s review, shall we:

  • Back to the Future — There was concern that Michael J. Fox would outgrow the role. While Parts 2 and 3 can be minor distractions, some concern towards story would have helped.
  • Matrix — In my opinion, the story ended with the first one, but everyone got greedy. ‘Nuff said.

What is notable about the the two previous examples is that Part 2 is largely forgettable in the overall story arc. POC at least put some important plot points in Part 2 to make it relevant. Which now brings us to Part 3.

We pick up with the immediate mission of recovering Jack Sparrow. This mission seems to cover the first half of a long movie (2 hours, 45 minutes). Then it becomes the battle that we are waiting for.

Gore Verbinski shot a beautiful movie, but I was left wanting more exposition in certain areas and less time spent on some visuals. That said, it could have been worse — a lot worse.

I saw it on digital projection, which was nice. The music was wonderful and the story was ok. It satisfied cleaning up plot points from Part 2 and had a decent ending.

My advice: matinee to full price — need to see it on the big screen for full appreciation, but nowhere near as good as POC 1. If you do go, make sure to stay through the entire credits — like the first two, there is a scene at the end….

My thoughts on the world of movies…