Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (Blu-ray + DVD-Video) + The Invincible Iron Man (Blu-ray/Lionsgate)
Picture:
B+/B-/B+ Sound: B+/B-/B+ Extras: C+/C Film: B-/C
Marvel’s
new releases of Next Avengers: Heroes of
Tomorrow and The Invincible Iron Man
take two completely different superhero angles, but each have their own
uniqueness and respectable merits; though neither film lived up to
expectations.
The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow starts
as an android named Ultron overtakes and destroys the entirety of the ultimate
Avengers team. Tony Stark makes it his
duty to collect and save the Avengers’ children; hiding them safely away from
the tyrannical, murderous, maniac that has made it his sole mission to pluck
the Superhero elite from the earth.
Stark conceals the children in a secret Artic hideaway for years,
training and refining their abilities as Ultron overtakes the world; but as the
years progress the children find that their abilities are much more then they
ever imagined. There is James (son of
Captain America and Black Widow), Pym (son of Giant Man and Wasp), Torunn
(daughter of Thor), and Azari (son of Black Panther and X-Men’s Storm).
The
children’s secret location is accidentally revealed when Tony Stark is captured
and the young heroes set out to save their fallen mentor and themselves. Knowing that they can’t fight off the
powerful Ultron alone the younglings take it upon themselves to recruit some of
the fallen heroes from the original massacre to help their cause. The “Next Avengers” find Hawkeye’s son, a
reluctant Bruce Banner, a banged up Vision, and elderly Betty Ross to join
their team. The team is young and
inexperienced, but the Next Avengers
just may prove that the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree as they have
the battle of a lifetime when they fight for what they believe in and try to
save the world.
The story
behind Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
is gripping and exciting, but has some shortcomings at the same time. This reviewer has more of an open mind about
the combination of superheroes and children’s animation than most, so the leap
to the Next Avengers wasn’t too
difficult; but the film is still not a perfect transition or blend. The film is most definitely geared toward the
“family friendly” and children’s market, rather than the darker route that many
comic series have become over the years.
Each character is brilliantly developed without being too childish or
full of that odd brand of “teenage angst” that many young superhero endeavors
have embodied. Instead it is the
convergence of all the elements of the film that make it seem a little “too
poppy” for its own good; as it does not deliver the full depth and development
that a superhero film should. The film
does get a tad darker as time goes by, but all in all they are still kids and
the feature kid-centric if nothing else.
This reviewer can see the characters developing into something bigger
and better in the future, but for now even with the heart and souls of heroes
they still lack the muscle.
The Invincible Iron Man (unlike the amazing Jon Favreau
film) makes all the wrong choices up front by making the animated feature over
inundated with tedious plot lines, tangential ideas, and an underlying
clumsiness that left the film devoid of any true plot or character. Marc Worden voices Iron Man as the feature
opens with Tony Stark Industries working at the site of Ancient Chinese Ruins
that, unbeknownst to Stark, will hold the remains and could release the
powerfully evil being, Mandarin, into this world. Of course, the evil being was once a
murderous warrior who conquered many lands and if released will set out to do
the same in this new, modern world. A
secret organization named the Jade Dragons kidnaps Stark’s friend and kills
some others. Stark sets out to
investigate the odd and tragic events, but is in turn captured himself. Stark makes himself a suit of armor to battle
some uneasy spirits that intend to resurrect the bloodthirsty Mandarin; which Stark
can not simply allow. We can stop here…
The new
animated feature completely dismantles the established Iron Man Universe and
reassembles it into a boring and uninspiring mess. Not only is Tony Stark portrayed as a drab,
unusual corporate-naut; the character of Mandarin and the Jade Dragons are
nothing like how the comics portrayed them.
All in all the bastardized Tony Stark/Iron Man story that is on this
feature should be dismissed by fan boys and simple on-lookers as a failed
attempt to bring the classic Marvel Universe to life in animated form. Between incoherent plots and poor character
development The Invincible Iron Man does
not amount to the superhero film it was meant to be; just stick to the Robert
Downey Jr. Film…seriously.
The
technical features on both the heroic Blu-ray releases are extremely pristine
as far as picture and sound, though the bonus features need work. The picture on both Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow and The Invincible Iron Man Blu-rays are presented in a
1080p/AVC-encoded 16 X 9 Widescreen that contains vibrant colors, solid/bold
blacks, and a sharp image that makes for a more than pleasurable viewing
experience. Marvel’s animated features
tend to have a series of animation quality issues, as compared to Warner Bros/DC’s
releases, but these two releases seem to be some of the best work Marvel has
recently accomplished. The sound quality
on both features are on par with the image as in its DTS HD Master Audio 7.1
Surround Sound Tracks the films boom with smooth dialogue, boastfully explosive
action sequences, and a solid directionality that is seamless as the on screen
events pan from one speaker to the next.
While other studios don’t give even the biggest blockbusters the star
treatment as far as audio and visual features on Blu-ray, Lionsgate holds strong
by treating even the most minuscule releases with the utmost quality care.
The DVD
edition of the Next Avengers: Heroes of
Tomorrow is nice, but does not have the same excellent picture and sound
presentation as the Blu-ray version. The
1.78 X 1 anamorphic widescreen presentation has good colors and solid blacks,
but overall does not have quite the same color vibrancy or crispness that is
contained on the Blu-ray. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 surround sound is nowhere near as full or expansive as the Blu-ray DTS
presentation, but is adequate for a DVD and gets the job done.
Whereas
the picture and sound quality are excellent on both the Blu-ray release
discussed above, the extra features leave more to be desired. On Next
Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow the extras on both the DVD and Blu-ray
releases are the same and include a couple somewhat interesting “making of”
featurettes and several trailers for future releases. The featurettes are nicely presented (in HD)
and do throw some compelling factoids at the viewer, but overall the short 11
minute and 10 minute “behind the scenes” featurettes are not very good and
leaves something to be desired. Writers,
directors, and artists all show up to put their two cents in on the new release
and the future of the franchise, but this reviewer viewed the featurettes as
more of promotional stunts than solid extra features.
Extra
Features Include:
Legacy: The Making
of Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Kid Power: Next Gen
Marvel
First Look at Hulk
vs. Wolverine
First Look at Hulk
vs. Thor
Trailer Gallery
The Invincible Iron Man’s extra features are the same as
those found on the 2007 DVD release, right down to the (sadly) standard
definition presentation [except on the “First Looks”]. The
Invincible Iron Man special
features can be summated as sparse and uninteresting. Features include a short and blasé
“behind-the-scenes” look at the origin of Iron Man, an alternate opening that
is composed of a very rough Animatic that was better left out, some concept art
and story boards (blah!), a look at all the different Iron Man suits from over
the years, and a couple of future release “first looks.” Overall, the extras were weak and did not
hold a rewatchable quality in the slightest.
Extra
Features Include:
Alternate Opening
Sequence
The Origin of Iron
Man Featurette
The Hall of Iron Man
Armor
Iron Man Concept Art
First Look Hulk vs.
Wolverine
First Look Hulk vs.
Thor
A Look at Doctor
Strange
Trailer Gallery
The Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow and The Invincible Iron Man are comparable
as far as technical features on Blu-ray, but the features stories evolve quite
differently; giving Next Avengers the
edge as far as family friendly/kiddies’ market, but Iron Man more so portrays the classic Marvel Superheroes that
audiences want to see, but did it in all the wrong ways. Comic fan boys will not be clambering to see Next Avengers anytime soon, but the
straight to video film is a good way to introduce children to Superheroes at an
early age, without getting too excessive with the fighting or violence. Iron
Man was an excellent visual and audio experience…too bad it made my eyes
burn and ears bleed to even listen or watch the horrible plot.
For more
on The Invincible Iron Man, try this
link to our previous DVD coverage:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5151/The+Invincible+Iron+Man+(Animated
- Michael P. Dougherty II
