Ultramarines: Movie Report

And They Shall Know No Fear!

Yes, I saw Ultramarines - the way an Ork Freeboota would, but mainly because I wasn't so sure about what to expect. Obviously, my expectations were low. Everyone kept on saying that the graphics were bad, that they were outdated and flimsy, but I think it's because people are so used to Pixar's beauty or the 2 minute CGI trailers/cut scenes that are in every game nowadays.. 

But I liked it. Yes, I still dislike the Ultramarines as a whole, but the movie made them cool if even for an hour and 10 minutes. I think whatever concept the team behind this project tried to portray it succeeded. Was the movie grimdark? It was. Were Space Marines portrayed as overpowered, invincible munchkins? No, they were not. Ultramarines argued, doubted each other, died and became corrupt, which was what I liked about this movie. It felt... realistic?
People always seem to bitch and moan about how easy Space Marines are to kill in Warhammer 40,000, how they are supposed to be godlike with nigh-invincible armor and how bolt guns should be able to completely annihilate anything they touch. But the same people seem to forget that the Adeptus Astartes are just humanity's best. Out there lurk horrors, xenos and Chaos beings that will always make a mockery of them. Just take a look at any of the Horus Heresy books. Space Marines die in droves. Sure, in the end they win... but it really doesn't take a whole lot to kill them. Megarachnids, Laer, Plaguebearers, Interex = they all rend through power armor like it's made of paper, and those are just some of the enemies that the various Adeptus Astartes encounter..

But in Ultramarines death was everywhere. I could feel how hard it was for the squad of Marines to see their brethren die, could feel their pain as they watched the Apothecary harvest the gene-seed in front of them..

Only in death does ugliness end.

Dan Abnett's writing really captured the essence of the Ultramarines - their pride, their thirst for glory, the need to be the best, the teamwork.. The plot was not super original, but I'll assume that it was Abnett's first attempt to write for a movie and that he wanted something simple that not only the Warhammer 40,000 fans would get and enjoy. It's a double-edged chainsword but it only makes sense..

The move is very suspenseful and it feels more like a horror than an action movie. That I liked a lot.

So that's why Marneus is so ugly..

I heard a lot of complaints about the Space Marine's faces. What? They were amazing... mostly. There were scenes where the emotions were portrayed perfectly and the supreme vox (lol) actors were matched with some pretty convincing lip synchronization. In the books, the Adeptus Astartes are often portrayed as weird looking. A lot of them are handsome, but many are described as having strange features, with too much space between their facial features, etc. Imagine an Ultramarine fighting on different fronts - different gravity, atmosphere, radiation, sunlight. Add to that the fact that they are practically mutants and some of the weirder-looking faces will make sense. The years of service on different planets throughout the galaxy would make even the Emperor's chosen to look like shit. ;P

In general, the movie was alright. Amazing voice acting, okay plot, okay CGI. Hopefully enough people bought the DVD and I'm really hoping to see another one. At least we get to see some of the cool parts of the 40k fluff. Like, it was awesome to see how a Land Speeder moved.. Or the destructive power of a Chaplain's Crozius Arcanum.. :-D

7/10

Over and out.