Marvel-Knights:Iron-Man-Extremis-Review
May 6th 2011 05:27
Marvel Knights: Iron Man - Extremis - Review
Information:
Directors: Joel Gibbs, Mike Halsey
Producers: Ruwan Jayatilleke
Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: November 30, 2010
Run Time: 60 minutes
Synopsis:
The Invincible Iron Man May Have Met His Match In The New Serum Known As EXTREMIS!
An ill-fated attempt to re-create the legendary Super-Soldier Serum responsible for making classic heroes such as Captain America leads to the development of Extremis, a military nanotechnology serum that directly taps into the repair center of the body, giving an injured soldier the ability to heal himself at an alarmingly accelerated rate. Conflict erupts when the Extremis serum is injected into members of the local domestic militia, including Mallen, a soldier hell-bent on avenging the deaths of his family. When a brief battle between Iron Man and Mallen leaves billionaire Tony Stark in critical condition, it becomes clear that the only way for Stark to defeat the Extremis virus is to use it himself.
Boasting a fresh take on the Iron Man origin, highly acclaimed writing by master storyteller Warren Ellis and the magnificent artistry of Adi Granov, Iron Man: Extremis comes to life with the stellar blend of 2D- and 3D-motion comic animation that only Marvel Knights can deliver!
Review:
This Iron Man DVD is a "motion comic" from Marvel Knights. They have taken the Extremis comic and turned it into a quasi-animated movie in six episodes. Before you discount this style of animation, note that the artwork is far superior to any of the other Marvel/DC "animated movies" (which all seem to look like slightly better versions of Cartoon Network cartoons) because it utilizes Adi Granov's original artwork with CGI enhancements of most of the tech and action scenes. The animation is fluid, and after only a few minutes you won't even realize you're not watching a fully-animated Marvel movie.
The strength of this DVD is Warren Ellis' storyline, which is more compelling than any recent comic book movie, except for perhaps The Dark Knight and the first Iron Man movie. This motion comic is unpredictable, hard-core, and exciting.
My only complaint about this DVD was N. Ronald Levine, who voiced the character of hippie Sal Kennedy - what a horrible casting choice! The scenes with Levine take you right out of the movie as you roll your eyes at the bad acting. Luckily, he's not in the movie much except for one scene in the middle.
If you're like me, every time you buy one of these Marvel or DC animated movies, you look at the cover art and eagerly hope that the product itself utilizes that same level of artistic expertise, only to discover that it's another Cartoon Network-looking piece of crap. But with Iron Man: Extremis, you finally get to see a full story with top-notch painted animation - and it's worth it!
Grade - C (minus) - I'm glad I gave this product a chance.
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