Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-ray Movie Review

Big and dumb, clunky and clanky. Pick your team-up posion...

Before going any further, let me take a moment and share the only review of Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United that, frankly, matters one bit: that of a young third grader who's still angry at his dear old dad for not enjoying Marvel's first CG-animated feature. In the least. My take? It's awful. His take? "It... was... awesome!" Almost everything I loathed, he loved. (I griped, "Hulk talks way too much." He countered, "that's what makes him funny!") Every complaint I had after the credits rolled was met with a swift rebuttal. (Me: "They could have picked a better villain." Him: "I'm glad they picked someone different. He was like Electro crossed with Abomination!" Me: "Abomination was already in the movie." Him: "Yeah, but he didn't have electricity!") I yawned at fight scenes, he was perched on the edge of his seat. And every time I winced at the wooden, long outdated animation, he beamed. (I quipped, "It looks like a videogame." He cheered, "It looks like a videogame!") Suffice it to say, kids will eat up every second of Heroes United. But the more seasoned fanboys among us? Prepare yourselves. It's a rough, unremarkable tumble down a steep, jagged cliff that's as disappointing as its trailers suggest.

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As technical encodes go, Iron Man & Hulk's 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 presentation is a proficient one. It doesn't help the film's animation, though, which is littered with dusty black levels, inconsistent clarity, aliasing, banding and other micro-budget woes. Perpetual smoke and fog also make contrast appear a touch dim, despite the fact that it's actually quite steady and strong. In other words, each eyesore traces back to the source, meaning this is as good as it possibly gets. Fortunately, colors pack Hulk-sized punch, primaries are crackling with energy, detail is about as revealing as can be expected, and debilitating issues -- compression artifacts, errant noise and the like -- aren't at play. Heroes United may not look pretty, but Disney's presentation is faithful to a fault.

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track fires up its repulsors and smashes its fists on the ground; whatever it takes to amp up the Saturday morning action as it erupts on screen. Voices are clean and clear, albeit a touch too weightless, and prioritization is decidedly decent, without anything in the way of diluted dialogue. LFE output is suitably explosive, with heavy thooms, devastating power slams and enough weight and oomph to help ground the heroes' floaty fights with Zzzax, Wendigo and Abomination a bit more. The rear speakers are fairly aggressive as well, with fun directionality and commendable pans. Like the film's animation, the sound design isn't anything to write home about, but Disney's lossless track works relative wonders.

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Marvel Mash-Ups (HD/SD, 8 minutes): Available from the main menu or viewed by pausing the film (a la Disney Intermission), Marvel's Mash-Ups are clips from vintage Iron Man and Hulk cartoons dubbed with tongue-in-cheek dialogue. Barely funny, they're good for a smirk or two at most.
• Marvel Team-Up with Ryan Penagos and Joe Q (HD, 12 minutes): Marvel Comics CCO Joe Quesada joins AgentM, Ryan Penagos, for a spirited discussion about various Marvel heroes, team-ups and rivalries. Good stuff, if only there were more.

Iron Man & Hulk: Heroes United Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Marvel could teach DC a thing or two about big screen feature film adaptations, but its DC that could teach Marvel a few things about direct-to-video animation. Marvel's latest ranks near the bottom of the list, with a Shellhead and Green Behemoth that are more Superhero Squad than Joss Whedon's Avengers. Everything from the stilted script to the shoddy animation to the dead-on-arrival slapstick comedy is a mess, and no one shows up to save Heroes United from its greatest enemy: itself. Disney's Blu-ray release is much better, with an AV presentation that's faithful to the animated source. The disc is light on supplements, but if you dig the movie, chances are a little thing like limited special features won't be much of a deal breaker.