Hulk (and now The Incredible Hulk)

[Che Musashi]

What made it different was they focused on what made the Hulk the Hulk, I think that made it considerably meatier than Xmen 2. If only Halle Berry was Betsy Ross.

Granted not all the CG was perfect but when the Hulk was on screen it was fun and Nick Nolte reprised his role and LAPD mugshot guy for this movie. I thought he was great too.

Oh and Neil whats with the massive avatar?
If we all get them that big, I'm going to need a widescreen computer.

[Ghost]

I have just seen the film tonight and I must say I think this is the best comic book to film I have seen, much better than spiderman and x-men. I personally liked the fact that you did not see the hulk until halfway through the movie because we have more time learning about the characters and how the Hulk became how he is. Also I was blown away when the hulk does come on screen, there are so many stand out moments:

When we first see the hulk smashing the lab, hulk versus the tanks, hulk versus the dogs, hulk escaping the dessert base and being chased through the dessert

And the way Ang Lee has done the film also, it really captures the feel of a comic book. So far I would say this is one of the best films released this year.

A Big thumbs up

[mid]

Personally, I absolutely loved it. But what I loved was the stuff with Bruce and Betty; when he was in Hulk mode I was kind of less bothered. You're right that the ending is a flop - Nolte turns into this giant invincible thing, and they don't really have anywhere interesting to go with it. The real confrontation, as I saw it, was David and Bruce arguing with each other; the big budget "lets settle this mutant to mutant" was kind of for the studio.

But that was more than made up for by the plot and characterisation. This is an Ang Lee film, and there's no escaping that - he's obviously far more interested in telling the story than in smashing stuff.

They really brought the explanation of how he becomes the Hulk up to date, rather than just the "its a gamma ray blast, they do that". We know they don't; you just get cancer and die. This isn't the 60's any more, and nuclear power doesn't have the same aura as it did, so the genetics stuff really enhanced it.

[MR_BEN]

This is possibly the worst superhero film of recent times. It was nothing like the comic, with Rick Jones not even present, and the way The Hulk was created was poor beyond belief. I know its not realistic for a gamma bomb to transform someone into the Hulk, but this is a superhero type film for crying out loud. Realism goes out the window.

The fight with the dogs was just funny, and were pathetic enemies for the Hulk to be fighting, in my opinion. The Abomination should so have been in this film to allow for a good fight scene. Bruce's dad was just boring. He should not have had any special powers at all. In fact, if you've read the comics, Bruce himself is the one who confronts his dad. I wont give away what happens, but suffice it to say, it was far more powerful a confrontation than the one in this daft nonsense of a film.

The end was just nodding a head to the TV series, which is all well and good, but still boring. Having him transform and rip into the small army would have been better, ending with him leaping at the camera or something.

Overrall, I was not impressed at all, and neither were my 2 mates, both fans of The Hulk comic. What a shame.

[bash]

I think for most people the problem is that this is a film not a movie. With Ang Lee at the helm Im surprised so many people were expecting a wham, baam thank you maam type movie. Go check out Ang Lee's other films, he a much more deeper director.

[Ghost]

but this is a superhero type film for crying out loud. Realism goes out the window.

But this is not a superhero film, the hulk is about a man that has to try and keep control of his emotions (and turning green and going into a destructive rampage when he loses his temper) and about a world where he will not be accepted, fighting agains the world and his own feelings. This is a monster film along the lines of frankenstien, not some guy saving the world from an evil villian who is wants world domination.

If people go into this film expecting something like the Mummy or X-men then they are going to be dissapointed.

[gamelife]

had a chance to see the hulk for the first time tonight, glad i did'nt pay to see it - two words, hot trash! its worse than spiderman

[Stuart Smith]

For me, Hulk was an admirable failure, a particularly brave attempt at marrying big-budget action with intense character drama, but one that is ultimately doomed to failure because it throws up so many conflicts of interest.

The decision to focus on family relationships, for example, leaves the film lacking a clear supervillain, leaving the action sequences visually stunning and unquestionably fun, but devoid of any real thrills. The dogs are just uninteresting, the Hulk vs. army fight is too scattershot (why just a few helicopters etc at a time?) and the finale is just too chaotic (looked pretty enough, but just too difficult to follow what was actually going on).

So for all the great visual effects, the action was somewhat underwhelming. Unfortunately, the drama side doesn't fare much better, suffering from a similarly chaotic approach. The whole problem is that there are just too many strands to deal with - Bruce's own turmoil, Bruce and Betty, Talbot, Betty and her father, Bruce and David, Betty and David, David and Betty's father, the past vs. the present, etc etc.

Inevitably, many of the strands end up lacking focus: personally, I never got my head around David or his motivations - is he simply a whackjob? Is he genuinely compassionate to Bruce, or is that a lie? Similarly, Talbot was just another angle that was underdeveloped, coming in as the characteur corporate villain all about the almighty dollar. Betty's father was equally random, lacking clear direction or, again, motivation.

Even the most central relationship of all, Betty and Bruce, felt curiously unexplored. Why did they break up if they're so in love? Why did they get together at all if they're both so shut off? The problem here is that, in addition to the obvious flaws in the script and structure, all of Jennifer Connelly (probably the best actress working today)'s good work was largely undone by a thoroughly mediocre performance from Bana. To say that the film is all about Bruce and his inner turmoil etc, it was remarkably difficult to care what happened to the guy, because Bana was just so unemotional all the way. Yes, Bruce was meant to be emotionally barren, fine, but Bana swung it too far over to boring.

Last but not least, Ang. Solid direction, but seemingly a little overambitious with some of the action sequences (as previously discussed, the finale battle is just difficult to follow). Also, personally, I found the comic-book scene transitions intrusive, but that might be just me.

It probably sounds like I hated Hulk. I didn't. I thought it was too slow and too confused, but overall enjoyable (once it got going) and quite intriguing. As I said earlier, an admirable failure.

[MR_BEN]

Ghost, you dont get what I mean. In the comic, a gamma bomb causes Banner to change into the Hulk. Here, its just some pathetic lab experiment accident?!? Please!

It seems they did this so it would be more believable that Banner would survive, rather than anything else. The pose he does as he puts himself in the way of danger was just silly. I expected him to fart as he did so, it was so comical

I too found the acting wooden by all, except maybe the guy who played General "Thunderbolt" Ross, who actually did a good job, more so than Nolte, who seemed to mumble through more than anything else.

If people go into this film expecting something like the Mummy or X-men then they are going to be dissapointed.

I was expecting The Incredible Hulk, but I just got The Hulk.

I was hoping Hulk would be decent, but, unfortunately it was nowhere near that even. Just a waste of a good Marvel license.

[Che Musashi]

I had a Hulk revelation today. I think The Hulk is the arthouse film of superhero flicks. People might watch it, but they might not get it. Ang Lee didn't screen this for audiences, Universal just put in cans and shipped it out to theaters.

There is no marketing team or anything behind this. It truely is an Ang Lee film. In the end the Hulk arthouse(ness) could help it so at least maybe there can be a sequel. Daredevil didn't have that and lets face it Ben Affleck is lanky dork.

I know he wanted Billy Crudup but Eric Bana was a great Bruce Banner.
Its strange how nobody complains about the matrix being slow. The first hour was a total waste.

[mid]

I think its biggest flaw is that the studio didn't really want what they asked for.

They asked Ang Lee, thinking that would get them some kudos and fancy CTHD fight scenes. Instead, they got a typical Ang Lee character piece, similiar in pace and remarkably similiar in style to Sense & Sensibility (even my wife, who doesn't normally notice these things, commented on how much the framing of the scenery and timing of scenes was like S&S).

In short, I agree that the film is a good 20 minutes too long. The problem is that I'd imagine that Ang would cut the overlong and silly Hulk Dog sequence, and significantly trim the finale, while the studio would much rather the first hour, vital to the actual characterisation and emotional development of the film was cut down to a ten-minute montage or something. In then end, it looks like a stalemate where neither got the trimming it could have done with.

[JibberX]

I think the problem with the Hulk is that it's a crap concept to begin with. Unlike say Xmen, which in principle is cool and a few other comic concepts, Daredevil et al.

[mid]

I think the problem with the Hulk is that it's a crap concept to begin with.

I certainly wouldn't go that far, but I agree that while its an interesting idea from a point of view of looking at the psyche of a man's struggle to control his anger, from an action point of view its rather flawed. Hulk's anger means he's fairly scuppered on the "doing super heroic things" front, as he's too out of control, and his invincibility to bullets and stuff (attempting to hurt him just makes him stronger and more angry) means that its hard to put him in a dangerous fight.

Its like Superman if he wasn't such a nice guy, really. All you can do is continually put Lois/Betty in hostage situations.

[JRMacumber]

Grim, that was a superb review. Nicely done, and well thought out, which we sadly can't say for others.

[Neon Ignition]

All I'm gonna do is place it where I feel it fits amongst its rivals

1-Spiderman
2-Xmen 2
3-Blade 2
4-The Hulk
5-Xmen
6-Blade
7-Daredevil