OK, so I think I've managed to put my finger on why I'm unimpressed with Ultimate Avengers. It's Captain America. I spoke about how I wasn't happy with the vocal casting in the first movie, but it is America's voice that I find the most inaccurate, and it becomes clearer in the second movie where the cast really are quite well done with the exception of the ole Cap'. His voice is too light for my liking, and when he is not in uniform, he appears to be absurdly muscular and has a strange Futurama feel about him. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact he is the lead character.
The second movie deals with two stories - the return of Herr Kleiser, leader of the Chitauri from the first movie, and the introduction of T'Challa, the Black Panther. All the other Avengers appear, though Nick Fury seems to have very little to do except give a briefing at the beginning of the movie and then get knocked out at the end. When the Chitauri begin their world wide invasion, SHIELD appears leaderless, so it would have been nice to introduce, perhaps, Carol Danvers as Fury's second - or Dum-Dum Dugan. Anyone really, would have been appreciated.
Some of the threads that were in the original Ultimates comics were lost in the last movie, but a few are used for the second movie, particularly the turbulent relationship between the Pyms, though unlike the comic, where it ends in violence and a nasty breakup, in the movie they get back together again and cry in each other's arms, which is a bit crap, to be frank. Captain America finally gets it on with the Black Widow, but his obsession with his past in the opening of the movie is well handled. Tony Stark gets some great moments, particularly when he decides to use his War Machine costume to fight at the end because it has "some big guns". Curiously he appears to be leading Janet Pym and Betty Ross off for a threesome at the end of the movie - one can only wonder about that ending; given Stark's character its hard to believe anyone would think any different.
Also moody and miserable in this movie is poor old Bruce Banner who has been incarcerated and charged for his crimes as the Hulk, getting no sympathy from anyone, and only the odd visit from Betty Ross. I'm not sure about whether I was happy or not with him surviving the lethal gas and turning into the Hulk - his "death" is a surprisingly moving moment which is a little undermined by the Hulk's appearance later.
And of course, there's new Avenger the Black Panther - king of the fictional country of Wakanda since his father has been murdered by Kleiser who appears to have been hiding in Africa for sixty years just waiting to launch an attack on Wakanda to get a massive meteorite that is buried beneath the main city, or something to that effect. The plot of this movie was a lot looser than the original and I'd hate to suggest that was because it wasn't based on one of the comics, but it is certainly a lot more convuluted than the original.
The movie is essentially on par with its predecessor, with the same kind of character interaction and a surprise at the end (though not one that was particularly noteworthy - indeed it was almost a relief), and as such I'm giving it the same rating, but I'd suggest that they go back to the comics if they want to do a third.
"B+"
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