Though the story isn't bad, when you headline two human heroes like Black Widow and Punisher, it would be nice if they had human frailties and vulnerabilities. These two can dodge bullets, move with incredible speed, beat an army of super soldiers, take an amazing amount of punishment without a scratch, etc. I like how the movies portray Black widow. She is a human surrounded by superheroes and cannot really stand toe to toe with any of them unlike in this movie. And why does the Punisher try to shoot Black Widow when he first sees her? Why not just fight her hand to hand? Like I said, good story, but they make humans superhuman, which they often do in cartoons. So 5 out of 10. Also would've been nice to see other Avengers heavy hitters sooner.

Didn't really love this movie! But it was somehow interesting!

**Although every effort was made to be objective, this review is not flattering. If you are a die-hard fan of Marvel animation, regardless of quality or execution, what follows may elevate your blood pressure and cause mild discomfort**

First thing you have to know, I love Marvel, grew up on Marvel in the 60s, the guy at the local drug store actually set aside the issues for me as they came in. So it would be pretty hard to develop a full-length Marvel animation feature that really ticked me off. But, amazingly, the producers of this bizarre production succeeded. Second thing you need to know, Marvel has essentially been taken over by a bunch of suits who think more like Bill Gates than Stan Lee. While the 'sweet money' is chasing the major breakout franchises -- and doing goofy things like remaking "Spiderman origins" FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN TO KEEP THEIR PRE-EXISTING DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS ALIVE -- the real effort is being put into "monetizing" the lost and forgotten properties deep inside the archive that have been collecting dust. Not making this up, Google it!, you will find lots of corporate-speak explaining what they are really up to. Some of this makes sense. For example, digging Captain America out of the ice was a good thing. He is a fun guy. We missed him. But some of the other salvage operations -- Shazam comes to mind -- are stretching the envelope, and not in a good way. Which brings us full circle to this product. (Because that is what it is, a product, not a film, not entertainment). The point here is clearly to rehabilitate Punisher and, to a lesser degree, Black Widow. As the mainstream reviewers have already noted, the other Avengers don't show up here until the very end of the tale and, even then, have very limited screen time. Do I have anything against Punisher? Not really. He is highly derivative of the Mack Bolan Executioner character which popped up some 5 years earlier than his own 'origins', and his live action film attempt was hardly memorable. Otherwise, I was ready to be impressed. And as for Black Widow, Scarlett Johansson has done such a great job with this character in live action that I was simply anticipating getting to know her better. Disappointed on both counts. First the anime. Japanese studios can do bright and sunny (at which they excel) or they can do dark and gloomy, but they seldom blend the two. This production is so gray that you will think something is wrong with your DVD drive or your screen has gone bad. Seriously. As for the action -- what action?? Taking a page from the Avengers live action film -- or at least TRYING TO -- the writers spent most of the first hour in (what they thought was) dramatic banter, and saved the "action" for the last 15 minutes. Which kinda defeats the purpose of animation in the first place, since animation makes it possible to have continuous bangups and beatdowns without blowing the SFX budget -- over at DC animation, for example, they have already figured this out. Marvel however is still struggling with the concept. The end result? -- well, if you factor in the soporific dialog that seems more written BY children than FOR them; the gray sheen and washed out backgrounds; the failed attempt to "breakout" these characters from the Marvel sub-sub-basement -- and a really sloppy "unrequited love" story arc which, in the real world, wouldn't make it to an afternoon TV soap opera -- you end up with one of the most disappointing animation features of all time. Alternate recommendations? Watch instead (literally) ANY episode of the old X-Men TV series, more fun than a barrel of hammers; or Ultimate Spidey, same deal; or, check out DC's full length The Flashpoint Paradox. Unlike this film, that one actually works.