Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006)

Purely Joyful Movie!

best movie i've ever seen.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

With ultimate Avengers 2, i can see that Marvel is moving away from just doing another animated adaptation of "The Ultimates"(an excellent graphic novel miniseries by Mark Millar) but rather, establishing the "Ultimate Avenger" universe as a separate animated universe altogether.The Black Panther is introduced here and the whole Chitauri arc from the first movie is carried on to a satisfying conclusion. Overall better than the first movie but my main beef is that IT'S TOO SHORT!!!!A few points good and bad 1) The violence. Its been taken up a notch with the movie starting off with the bloody death of the original Black Panther. Every punch, cut, and hit that the characters take are presented very intensely. Not overly violence as, say, SPAWN, but sufficiently bloody to not want to let 11 year olds and below to watch.2) The story. Definitely better than the first since it doesn't have any prior graphic novel to live up to. the story does sufficiently well on its own, only problem is that its too short.3) THe characters. Give and take. Some characters like Captain American, Black Panther and Bruce banner are developed very well here and you get to understand their full intentions and purpose on why they do what they do and why they are who they are. I expected more from Hank Pym(Giant Man) though, *SPOILER*seeing as how he dies at the end*SPOILER END*4)The animation. Got better i must say. THe matte backgrounds are definitely more stunning and less "flat" compared to those in the first movie, especially the external jungle and Wakanda scenes. However, the inconsistency is still there. Great scenes like Black Panther's first battle with the Avengers + Captain America and Black Panther's final fight with Klaiser all are very detailed, very smooth animation with high frame rate and no "short cuts". However, the "big" scenes like the aliens worldwide invasion and the Wakanda alien big battle look terrible. The move to do everything in traditional 2D is a noble one in this day and age of overly used 3D animation, but a good blending of 2D and cel-shaded 3D would have been better for the big battle scenes. The animation is still not up to MOVIE standard but will suffice as a TV show.Once again, if Marvel had combined Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2 and Marketed them as, say, a 8 episode miniseries? I'm sure people wont be so quick to criticize. But alas, they marketed them as 2 movies and thus making the public expect MOVIE quality animation and story. What we have is a top-of-the-line first few episodes of a TV series, or good OVA miniseries, or sub-par movie.

The new Black Panther seeks out Captain America to avenge his father's death by an evil alien, so General Fury assembles the Avengers to come along. This was my first sighting of Thor's power of precognition and of teleportation. What happened to the extras of ULTIMATE AVENGERS I? Pop-up trivia is one thing, but no subtitles at all? Also, the Black Panther's village has an uneasy juxtaposition of low-tech and high-tech; ah the wonders of vibranium.Still, the interaction between Captain America and Giant Man is fun, as is that between Cap and Black Widow. It has a nice scene of Tony Stark among his various Iron Man armors, including War Machine. I give it a lower score because it feels more like an advertisement for the Marvel Alliance video game, for Iron Man, and for Doctor Strange than a self-contained movie.

In an age of silly anime and dumbed down cartoons, this Ultimate Avengers franchise is more then a breath of fresh air. Films like Ultimate Avengers 2 (and that's just what it is ... a full blown feature film)take the classic Marvel grandeur and add a modern twist. The action is intense and the story flows so very well. Classic Marvel characters like Iron Man, Captain America and the Black Panther (the worlds first African-American superhero) really shine in this format. My only real disappointment lies in the fact that the Hulk wasn't really used and that the Thor depicted is nothing but a watered down version of the classic Thor. Still, the other characters and the riveting story more then make up for any shortcomings. The alien threat from the first film is handled and resolved brilliantly while doing so without it being necessary for the viewer to have seen the first movie. That's a hard thing to pull off but, like the rest of the movie, they did it so very well.Great animated movie that's well worth anyone's time and effort.

This was an EXCELLENT movie. I have watched it 4 times since I have got it. Many times, in succession with the first. A very quality animation. There is no need to watch the first to enjoy this. Any average person can jump in and enjoy this.Now, onto the spoilers.The Blank Panther was spectacularly implemented. Everythign from his claws to the suit was awe-inspiring. The authors took some artistic liberties with it though. For instance, they made the suit transform to a liking of a panther, (in the face) when the user, (T'Challa") gets angry or emotional. Still, quite excellent.Thor was... Godly :) Iron Man's War Machiene suit was sick. And whoever wrote his characters lines did excellent. I love some of his lines. The emotional hook of Giant Man and Wasp was not over-bearing but it was there and it did its job. You felt the attachment and, I, was a little disappointed by Gian Man's death... Touching. The authors showed a new side of Cap. Instead of being entirely self-righteous, he showed his bitter side. I thought it added more depth to the character and played off nicely. As always, the Black Widow provided the sexy sense of adult that the animation might have been lacking previously. She was the glue that help Cap and the team together, it seemed to me.The hulk was a minor spot-light in this film, if he showed at all. But that is understandable if you have seen the previous film. Shame, he is a star hero ;-)Overall, a GREAT movie, though I liked the first one a little better, due to some of the battles. The Hulk - Avengers battle was on of the best I've seen in the animated comic universe.