| Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie | |
|---|---|
DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Martyn Pick |
| Produced by | Bob Thompson David Kerney |
| Written by | Dan Abnett |
| Starring | Terence Stamp Sean Pertwee John Hurt Donald Sumpter |
| Music by | Adam Harvey |
| Cinematography | Darren Lovell |
| Editing by | David Lewis Smith |
| Release date(s) | December 13, 2010[1] |
| Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie is a science fiction thriller CGI film set in Games Workshop's fictional Warhammer 40,000 universe and based around the Ultramarines Chapter of the Space Marines. The screenplay was written by Black Library author Dan Abnett.
Terence Stamp, Sean Pertwee, and John Hurt head the cast of voice actors.[2]
Contents |
The first scene opens showing a group of Imperial Fists under attack. A space marine by the name of Nidon is told to protect "the Codex" at that moment, a fireball engulfs the marines.
Brother Proteus and Captain Severus in close combat while being watched by the other members of Ultima squad. Proteus manages to pin Severus and demands him to yield but Severus escapes Proteus's grasp and in turn defeats him. Afterwards the members of Ultima squad are shown a sacred weapon of the Ultramarines, a Thunder Hammer that lies in their ship's reclusium. The Captain and the Apothecary lead Ultima in a swearing-in ceremony in which they they are sworn in on the Thunder Hammer. When the ceremony is finished, Severus tells Ultima Squad their mission's purpose.
Captain Severus[3] of the Ultramarines Chapter receives a distress signal on the planet of Mithron. The only site of importance is a shrine guarded by a full company of the Imperial Fists, implying that if they are calling for help, matters are truly dire. Leaving the bulk of his company on Algol to continue an ongoing campaign, Severus sets off for Mithron with only the ten-man Ultima Squad for support. Accompanying is Apothecary Pythol, a veteran of many battles and Severus's de facto advisor. In the squad itself, Battle Brothers Proteus and Verenor are the most eager to prove themselves in battle. On the tough and unforgiving surface of Mithron, Ultima Squad discovers that a terrible battle has taken place. The planet's Imperial shrine has been desecrated, the Imperial Fists detachment has been annihilated and vile evils unleashed. As unseen dangers close in around them, the recruits have to mount a tense and deadly insertion to find any surviving Imperial Fists, and the reason behind the distress beacon.
While investigating the ruins of the shrine, the Ultramarines are ambushed by Chaos Space Marines from the Black Legion. Three Ultramarines, including Sergeant Crastor, are killed but the ambush is thwarted. The squad continues on but they are again ambushed, this time by a Daemon Prince. The Daemon kills another Ultramarine and engages in combat with Captain Severus, and both combatants tumble over a cliff. With Severus gone and Sergeant Crastor dead, command of the squad falls to Proteus. While the rest of Ultima Squad wants to return to their strike cruiser and wait for reinforcements, Proteus decides to continue on to the distress beacon. At the reliquary at the shrine's summit, they find Chaplain Carnak and Brother Nidon, the sole surviving Imperial Fists. They reveal they have been protecting the Liber Mithrus, an ancient tome given to the Imperial Fists at their founding by the Emperor himself, and a sacred relic to them. Ultima Squad agrees to help Carnak and Nidon take the book to safety, but Verenor and Proteus are suspicious about how just the two of them have managed to survive for so long.
As Ultima Squad[4] retreats to the extraction point, they are attacked by a massive force of Black Legion Marines. During the fight, Ultima Squad kills many of the attackers but suffer heavy casualties as well, being reduced down to four Ultramarines, Apothecary Pythol, Chaplain Carnak, and Brother Nidon. Just as Ultima Squad are about to be overwhelmed, Severus suddenly reappears and with his help, the remains of Ultima Squad, Carnak, and Nidon manage to escape back to the strike cruiser. Upon their return, Proteus confides to Severus about his suspicions of Carnak and Nidon believing that they may have been tainted by Chaos. Proteus and Severus along with Brother Hypax confront the Imperial Fists, with Severus taking the book and discovering that it is empty. When Hypax enters, the Ultramarines standard begins to burn, indicating the presence of Chaos. Declaring that Carnak is tainted by Chaos (Carnak heavily objects to this, even revealing that Severus is the traitor), Severus shoots and kills him. Nidon attacks Severus but is easily thrown off and knocked unconscious. Hypax questions why the standard continued to burn with the daemon Carnak dead. However, Proteus figures out that Severus was possessed by the Daemon that he fought. The possessed Severus knocks out Proteus and engages Hypax in close combat. Hypax is last seen shutting the armory door to protect Proteus. When Proteus and Nidon return to consciousness, they find Verenor standing over Hypax's dead body who had been slain by the very standard he had been entrusted with protecting. Under Verenor's leadership the three marines follow Daemon Severus discovering that it had killed the remaining member of Ultima Squad and had heavily injured Pythol. Proteus, Verenor, and Nidon chase Severus and confront him in the ship's reclusium. Severus knocks out Verenor and Nidon and pins down Proteus. He reveals that he plans to possess Proteus, and while disguised as him, stow away on the strike cruiser to reach the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge, whereupon he will use the Imperial Fists' tome to open a warp gate, allowing a horde of daemons to descend upon and destroy Macragge. However, Pythol arrives and intervenes, saving Proteus, but Daemon Severus kills him. However, Pythol's sacrifice allows Proteus to escape Severus' grip and grab one of the Ultramarines' sacred weapons, a Thunder Hammer while Verenor awakens and distracts Daemon Severus. Proteus uses the Thunder Hammer to kill Severus and banish the Daemon possessing him.
Afterwards, it is shown that Proteus is eventually promoted to Sergeant with Verenor as his second in command, and both Marines are preparing to lead their own Ultramarine squad into battle. The final scene mirrors the opening one, showing the new Ultramarine recruits swearing on the same hammer that Ultima Squad had sworn on and that Proteus had used to slay Daemon Severus.
Production of Ultramarines[5] was announced at the 2009 Games Day at the Birmingham NEC.
Ultramarines was made by UK-based production company Codex Pictures under licence from Games Workshop, working in association with Good Story Productions Ltd and Montreal based POP6 Studios.
Ultramarines[6] used Image Metrics animated facial capture techniques. Image Metrics' previous credits include Grand Theft Auto IV, Assassin's Creed II, NBA 2K10, The Black Eyed Peas’ video "Boom Boom Pow" and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In 2006, The New York Times heralded Image Metrics' techniques as "technology that captures the soul".[7]A short teaser sequence showcasing the detail and treatment likely to be employed in the final film was released on Saturday 29 May 2010, on the official film website and simultaneously at the MCM Expo at ExCeL London.[8] The second trailer for Ultramarines was premiered at UK Games Day at the NEC, Birmingham Sunday September 26, 2010.[9]
The Special Edition DVD accompanied by a 32 page hardback graphic novel, Hard Choices 'What happened on Algol?',[10] written by Dan Abnett with art by renowned comic book artist David Roach, was to be released worldwide on 29 November 2010.[11]However, the release of the DVD was delayed due to a production problem, as reported by Codex Pictures on the 29th November 2010.[12] The exact details of the problem have not been released, however Codex Pictures reported that the issue was not with the DVD, but with one of the other components of the collector's edition DVD.[13]
Codex Pictures had then announced that the shipping of the film will begin in the week of Monday 6 December, and that they intend to prioritise the dispatch of the film, to their customers, according to the date they received the order, with the last dispatch taking place by the end of the week. This however was not the final resolution of the situation as there are still many people who have pre-ordered as far back as October and not received their package as of January 27, 2011. This matter is confused further by Codex Pictures's own site still offering the DVD for sale, and not offering clear warning that there remains an issue regarding supply of said media.[14]
Advanced preview screenings of Ultramarines: The Movie received generally favourable responses from a pool of selected viewers. The film itself has received mixed reviews, however, with the CGI and animations considered sub par by some. The CGI makes the Ultramarines seem "tall" and "thin", whilst much of the "set" of the film is conveniently shrouded in dust; the largest gripe has to be that given the detail and creativity put into Warhammer artwork, the film looks and feels cheap, rushed, and simple.[15][16][17]
After release the film received mixed reviews. Some critics praised the story, saying that it is short but well paced and with good character interaction while others said the story was simplistic, slow to get to the action, and lacked a sense of mystery and importance.[18] The music has been seen as a positive aspect of the film, with one reviewer saying that the score was "ominous and awe-inspiring by turn; never over-powering but lending a real atmosphere to the film". The film's attention to visual detail was also noted, with every piece of stained glass in the background telling a story.[17]
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