Warhammer 40,000 has launched a full-scale assault on every entertainment medium. The miniature wargame was once seen as a peak of pop-culture esoterica, something that would mark a fan as a nerd above nerds. Much like comic books, video games, or Dungeons & Dragons, 40K has broken from its initial form and spread to a broad audience. It will soon reach a higher peak, but they've already released their first official Warhammer film.
One of the benefits of the Warhammer 40,000 universe is that it can be impressively varied. There are several Marvel Cinematic Universes worth of lore behind these little tanks and aliens. Unfortunately, the franchise tends to focus entirely on the most iconic element of its eternal conflict. Fans might hope future outings can explore more unique corners of the lore.
What is Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie about?
Ultramarines opens with a brief unpacking of life in the 42nd millennium. Humanity is devoted to the singular doomed cause of fighting dangerous aliens and demons. The tip of the spear is the Imperium of Man's Space Marines. They wear powered armor and zealously eliminate all enemies of the Emperor. Their lives and deaths are pointless, but they persist regardless. The film focuses on a small team of upstart Ultramarines. Brother Proteus and his peers are initiated into the brutal chapter under Captain Serverus and senior soldier Apothecary Pythol. Dubbed the Ultima Squad, they're tasked with supporting another group of Marines after a violent encounter. They quickly discover that they face the Black Legion. Proteus quickly becomes the leader of Ultima Squad. It's up to him and his remaining men to defend an ancient artifact from the forces of Chaos and keep the dim light of humanity alive for another day.
Does Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie hold up 13 years later?
Ultramarines came out in 2010. It was released the same year as Halo: Legends, Megamind, and How to Train Your Dragon. The film had a much lower budget, but its visual quality was not up to snuff then, and it certainly isn't pleasant to look at now. Some of that is intentional. California animation company Image Metrics provided facial motion capture work for the film. They were known for similar jobs on projects like Assassin's Creed II and Grand Theft Auto IV. Characters' faces are expressive, even if they're rarely asked to emote, but they're hard to look at. The visuals aren't impressive, but they're hard to denigrate too harshly. Shows are dropping on Netflix now of lower quality than this 2010 film.
Narratively, Ultramarines resembles nothing so much as a pilot for a prospective Warhammer 40,000 TV series. It's the most generic story one could expect from the franchise. With that in mind, it would serve as a decent introduction for a newcomer. However, there's so much more to the universe that the film doesn't touch. Most 40K stories are grim war tales about soldiers sacrificing themselves or winning temporary victories against impossible odds. Look at the novels. The Gaunt's Ghosts series remains one of the most celebrated narratives in the franchise. Those books deliver the only two critical components of a successful Space Marine story. They nail masterfully written action scenes and moving emotional character beats. Ultramarines understands the importance of those elements but can't live up to the standards of First and Only. It's a decent experience for fans and a fine primer for newcomers, but there's a lot of room for improvement.
What can Henry Cavil's Warhammer franchise learn from Ultramarines?
As everyone knows, Henry Cavil is a massive 40K fan who has moved heaven and Earth to get the rights to his favorite franchise. He will star in and produce the first adaptation for Amazon Prime Video. He's almost certainly seen Ultramarines, and given his fondness for lore accuracy, he'll probably show it to everyone he works with. Ultramarines offers an excellent blueprint to create something better. It has the building blocks to create a satisfying Space Marine movie without the execution to pull it off. Dial up the action and create engaging characters. Fans will tolerate a generic story as an entryway into something bigger. Establishing the Imperium of Man and the Space Marines is a necessary first step that can lead to a journey into the universe that 40K offers.
Ultramarines is available to watch free on YouTube currently. Newcomers who joined the fanbase with Darktide or Necromunda may never have heard of the film. It's a bit generic and visually offputting, but it's a decent animated sci-fi action film set in a universe that didn't have as much exposure back in 2010. Future adaptations of the franchise could perfect the elements Ultramarines set up. For now, enjoy the first official Warhammer 40,000 film as the celebration of the game it was meant to be. It's a dark, grim party that everyone's invited to.