Review: Ultramarines Is Entertaining Enough But Far From Perfect.
- Mar 28, 2017
- 2 min read
To say that the Warhammer 40000 universe is varied and interesting would be an enormous understatement. It's a place filled with valiant heroes, foul villains and the most disgusting of alien kind. It's more than ripe for the film treatment. And, when that film finally came along, it wasn't quite what I was expecting.
Brother Proteus (Sean Pertwee) and his brothers are being deployed for the first time as Ultramarines, an elite group of super soldiers. There mission is simple, locate the source of a distress signal emanating from what seems to be a lifeless planet. What they find on the surface is an implacable foe and the nigh inevitability of death.
Ultramarines is a mixed bag to say the least. Visually, it's mostly great. The armour of the Space Marines is intricately decorated, their weapons have heft and weight, the vehicles seem tangible and the environments are loaded with detail. What kills it is the men under the armoured suits. To say that they are ugly would be an insult to ugly. Most of them are horrifyingly old or look like a blind man's interpretation of a face. The same can be said for the quality of the animation. Some is decent, some is awful and some is downright excellent.
The writing and action is a mixed bag as well. While there are a few nice speeches and a number of one liners, much of the dialogue is stilted to say the least. At least it sounds good. The main cast reads like a who's who of british cinema. Terrence Stamp, Sean Pertwee, Donald Sumpter and John Hurt, all of whom do an excellent job at lending their characters some much needed personality.
The action, for the most part, is the highlight of the film. It's gory, violent and downright brutal at times. While there isn't a lot of the good stuff, more a small number of average scenes with a single stellar sequence, but that one sequence is unlike anything I have seen before. It truly captures the weapons and warfare of the universe.
Ultramarines is a movie, that's for sure. While the voice acting and action is quite entertaining the so so writing and varied animation is a let down. Thankfully it has a solid Gothic styled score to give it a much needed boost. If you're a fan of the world it's worth the watch but if you're not, feel free to skip it.
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