It seems odd that stories derived from comic books have made
such a huge splash in reality based movies over the past few years but not
quite in animated films. The comic book medium seems to be a no brainer when it
comes to crossing into animation. And yet many of the animated movies based on
comics haven't achieved near the same success. That being the case it's still
nice to see some comic book companies still trying to combine the two and make
a successful animated film. Marvel does just that this week with the release of
AVENGERS CONFIDENTIAL: BLACK WIDOW AND PUNISHER.
Background on the two main characters is needed to
understand them before the film starts, some of this on display in the opening
credits sequence. Natasha Romanov aka Black Widow, was raised from childhood in
Russia to be their top assassin. Years later she learned of the reality behind
what they had done to her, switched sides and now works for S.H.I.E.L.D. as one
of their top spies. Frank Castle was an ex-Marine turned policeman whose family
was killed by the mob. Since that time he has taken on the mantle of The
Punisher dressed in black with a skull on his chest intent on wiping out any
and every criminal underworld character he can. While they rarely come into contact
in comics they find themselves thrown together in this film.
Castle is in the midst of taking down a group of criminals
led by Caine when Black Widow shows up and tries to stop him. While most of the
criminals die at Castle's hand, Caine escapes and Castle is captured by Widow
whose objective was to take him before her commander, Nick Fury the head of
S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury informs Castle that he's ruined an operation that's been
going on for months. It seems that Caine was tied into a group called Leviathan,
a terrorist organization made up of ex-Russian military leaders intent on world
domination. Using stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. technology they are developing and
selling arms to the highest bidder.
In Castle's mind he doesn't care. His only objective is to
take down the low life criminals who kills innocent people. Fury's objective is
to follow those players to the source and win the entire war, not just a single
battle. Both want the bad guy but are going at it from different angles. Fury
offers Castle a chance to come on board with the plan and find Leviathan and
put an end to the terror as long as he'll work with Widow. Castle agrees, sort
of, refusing to take orders.
The duo follow track Caine using a bug that Castle planted
on him during the initial fight that opened the film. The secret that it leads
to, jus how developed the plan is that Leviathan has formed and the personal
interests that involved the Black Widow makes for some emotional sequences as
well as a deeper secret than we were led to believe from the information Fury
had. Just how the pair will overcome their differences and put an end to
Leviathan makes up the rest of the film.
Make no mistake about it, this is not comics from the
sixties or earlier. Comics changed during the eighties and nineties taking on a
more adult tone. This was in part because their audience was aging, becoming
older. The adult market makes up a bigger part of their sales now than
children. Not only is the story and themes used here more adult in nature, the
violence is as well. Within seconds of the movie starting we witness Castle cut
the throat of one thug and gun down many more in cold blood. Make note of this
before allowing your children to watch this movie.
That warning aside this film plays out more like James Bond
than Captain America. The combination of spy and vigilante make for an
interesting story that moves along at a quick pace that doesn't allow time for
relaxation. Fans of thrillers that seem to take up book racks everywhere will
enjoy the storyline here as well as the action. Fans of comics will be glad to
see the Avengers on screen once again (even if it does come towards the end of
the film).
On the whole this film is quite enjoyable and will entertain
fans and non-fans alike. While I'm not a big fan of anime style animation, it
didn't affect what is going on here on screen at all. It actually worked well
with what happens here. In the end viewers will get a solid film with adult
themes that take place in a comic book reality. Heroes and villains are not
black and white but shades of gray, sort of like the real world. Comic fans
will add it to their shelves while all others have a chance to escape for 83
minutes.
Click here to order.
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