And we shall know no fear!
After a few weeks of nail biting due to some oddity that delayed the final product from shipping, it is finally here. The whole set sits snugly in a nice cardboard sleeve with art from the movie decorating it. Contents are the prequel comic book and the movie, which comes in a nice tin casing with the Aquila on one side and the Ultramarines logo on the other. Inside you will find two discs: the first with the movie and the second with the making of, extras and whatever else you may find on a second disc these days.
Visuals and audio:
Visually the movie looks good, better than the promos and trailers we have seen thus far. While it is nowhere near as perfect as say, Pixar or the Dawn of War intros, it does look good and does the job well enough. Best of all, the developers have taken the time to make things look like they come from the 40k universe. Power armour looks like that little guy on your desk, only slightly modified for more human proportions. That Thunderhawk really looks and feels like one. And yes, that statue they are clambering over is the one from the GW HQ in Nottingham! wink Little bits and bobs aplenty in my opinion that makes for a nice Easter Egg hunt if you're up to it.
The voice performances are top notch and spot on, in some cases hamming it up nicely as we've come to expect from Space Marines really. The rest of the audio is great as well, good sound effects and don't jump up from your seat the first time a bolter fires, they are loud and do honour to these mighty weapons. All in all, if you have a Dolby Surround system, use it! This movie deserves no less.
Story:
The story, penned by Dan Abnett, takes a while to get started. By that I mean it sadly takes until almost the last act for it to really kick in and start explaining everything to us. Without giving away any spoilers, basically the movie follows the first mission of the reformed squad Ultima, which is made up of nine Scouts who have been given their Black Carapace and are put under the command of the newly promoted sergeant Crastor. In overall command of the operation is Captain Severus of the Second Company, who is aided by his old comrade and friend Pythol, Second Company Apothecary. Most of the squad members are nothing but place holders really, with the most important two protagonist members being Battle Brothers Proteus and Verenor, who have something of a rivalry going on between one another. Anyway, these dozen Astartes are called upon to investigate a distress signal coming from the world Mithron for reasons unknown..
Violence:
As with the story, the action doesn't really happen until late in the movie, but when the action starts, it is cranked up to 11 and stays there until after the credits have rolled by. Any fear of GW growing soft can be swept aside in one fell swoop as the movie goes all out: blood spattering everywhere, bodies being mutilated, limbs hacked off. Anything you find in the background or the novels you can see it happen here.
Now there are some bad things, minor to some, big stumbling blocks to others.
* The plot really is non-existent until the last act really, which is a shame as it makes a good part of the story a bit slow and vapid.
* The animation style and quality is great, but could do better. Some animations are a bit awkward and the faces are perhaps a bit too detailed up close, especially when looking at the older Astartes. At other times the faces look rather plain or a bit creepy. Then again, this whole project is self funded and made with a budget nowhere near as big as say, the budget for the Dawn of War intros.
* The included comic book that gives a bit of back story isn't all that great. Just bright pictures, words and some moments where people scream while shooting. A standard comic book really, not my thing really, something this set could have gone without.
Final verdict:
This movie is not for everybody, that much is true. This is a movie for the fans that doesn't dumb things down or goes out of its way to explain who the Emperor is or why there are daemons running around in a science fiction setting. I was doubtful at first when the GW big shots were so positive and endorsing about the final product, but these guys are like us, big time hobby fans, who are super-stoked to see someone finally getting it right and doing the universe as a whole credit.
A must see for the fans of the 40k universe and sci-fi fans in general!
Score:
,5 out of five honoured battle brothers. 
