Rating: Summary: It's big, it's green, it's not very good Review: For a couple of decades, I was a big comic book fan, and among the supeheroes I followed was the Incredible Hulk. Over the years, there have actually been a variety of Hulks: the animalistic, growling Hulk (also seen in the TV show), the "Hulk smash" Hulk, the pragmatic Gray Hulk and the genius-like Banner/Hulk combination. This has given the comic an erratic quality over the years, and the movie is likewise erratic in quality.At first, I thought the worst part of the movie would be the cheesy looking CGI Hulk, but despite the unrealistic look, it wasn't actually that bothersome. Unfortunately, there were enough truly bad aspects to this movie to overshadow the bad effects. The action sequences are often hard to follow, with many held in the dark. The acting is subpar, with Nick Nolte acts like he's half-asleep and Eric Bana showing no screen presence at all; Jennifer Connelly looks nice, but doesn't do that much with her reprise of her role as the lover of a strange guy (like in A Beautiful Mind). The writing itself is problematic, with a conclusion where everything really falls apart. Other than the writing, acting and effects, there isn't that much wrong with this movie, except maybe the direction. Ang Lee may be great with art-house flicks, but his interpretation of a comic book leaves a lot to be desired. His division of the screen into "panels" is clever but overdone and calls too much attention to itself. Despite everything, however, Lee does make it interesting enough to merit a two star rating. The shame of it all is that this could have been a decent movie if there was just better writing (they probably should have recruited Peter David, who has more experience in Hulk-writing than almost anyone) and better casting (Bana is not good at all). In an era of good comic adaptations (in particular, X-Men and Spiderman), this movie only stands out in its lack of quality.
Rating: Summary: No Hulking Out Here Review: The Hulk can be a complex character, so I'm all for making a movie more about his alter ego, Bruce Banner's dark, twisted soul at the expense of on-screen Hulk time. But, if you're going to take away the action-lime light of the film's star in favor of a "deep" film, it'd be nice if Lee actually developed a plot worthy of being "deep". This movie did not move me in the slightest. Banner's angst wasn't developed from any source worthy enough to waste 2 hours exploring it. When the Hulk is finally unleashed, unlike every other media incarnation, I didn't feel that pleasure of power, of unleashing one's anger, to take on your bullies. David Banner's green eyes from the hokey television show did more for me in this regard than the movie's CGI monster which, while well done physically, didn't seem to have any personality. The fact that he was mute to the extreme didn't help matters, either. He didn't even growl most of the time. In sum, the movie had a lot of potential, was hyped to make us believe it would live up to said potential, but then fell flat in all aspects. But otherwise it was fine.
Rating: Summary: Not a good movie. Review: This movie was not good at all. The way the movie would show three different things happening at one or three different views of one thing happening was very distracting to me. I did not like the movie at all and I personally think that it was a waste of my time and money to go see it. Not a good movie to buy.
Rating: Summary: Not Sure What Went Wrong!!! Review: I actually thought that this movie would be good. The previews showed that it had great special effects. Again I was disappointed and realized yet again that special effects do not make a movie. At one point in the movie the Hulk is fighting a mutant poodle which might I add is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of. The problem I see with this film is the same problem I see with the other Marvel Comics movies being released recently. The story does not have a steady flow. The movie stops and goes and by the end I feel like I have movie whiplash. I don't recommend this film.
Rating: Summary: I Liked It--But I Could Easily See Why Others Don't! Review: Being a comic book fan, I try to get to see a number of the comic-to-film adaptations that get made and was some concerned about The Hulk. The Superbowl ad didn't inspire confidence with its "first glimpse" of the Jolly Green Giant's cranky little brother. Of course, the effects weren't done yet, and when I finally got to see the movie in question I was greatly pleased, much moreso than the highly disappointing Daredevil. That said, a warning. The Hulk is not your typical action movie. Director Ang Lee is very interested in giving his characters soul and personality moreso than thrills and explosions. There are those, but the movie has a slow, quiet pace that it works along with. Character is more important for Lee than fight scenes. And his characters are, by and large, emotionally stunted. Scientist Bruce Banner bottles everything up. It's only the Hulk in him that can express emotions, and does so to an extreme level. His father, David, is a raving lunatic. Girlfriend Betty lets overbearing men cower her at times and her father can't see past his career for dealing with anybody. Lee's sense of scope is at times beautiful. The natural scenes of the desert add texture. These are the wide expanses that a creature like the Hulk could easily roam. Also, Lee's attempts at stimulating comic book panels for the most part works for me, with one noteworthy exception (and if you see the movie, you'll know which one I mean). My only complaint, besides the bad panel stimulation involving the death of a major character and the occassional gaps in logic, was the kid gloves approach to violence that sometimes is employed. While the Hulk is seen breaking all sorts of equipment and military vehicles, hardly anyone on hand seems to get seriously hurt. Granted, the Hulk is the "good guy" and the soldiers on duty aren't evil, but given what the monster is (a creature of rage and low intelligence) and what he's doing (breaking anything he can get his hands on), it seems odd that no one seems to be getting seriously hurt for the most part, if not killed. Just remember if you sit down for this: it's not just a superhero action film. The Hulk is trying for something more.
Rating: Summary: Never been dissapointed by a film like this before. Review: I was honestly looking for a good time with a complex story about a man torn apart going through struggles but thats not what I got from the Hulk. All there really was was a string of tedious conversations with weak dialouge. All Betty (Jenifer) did was cry in each scene and the movie expects people to feel drama on cue. I'm not that touched easily. Weak story, a bit of an overkill too. Was not at all neccesary to go on mindless rambles just to explain Banner's father was abusive and his love interest is the daughter of an army general. I got the point and the movie just stretched and kept on riding on those facts throughout the film to look more "epic". It was a big filibuster, so much unemotional talking that it became pointless to even show comapsion for any of the characters. No, I'm not one of those airhead action movie junkies, if that's an impression you get from any one that dislikes the Hulk. People infered I was just dissapointed with the film because of the lack of action but that is not the case with me. I even hate action movies because they're so pointless and all they do is have dumb big explosions that only impress elemtary school kids. I love dramatic emotional stories with complex characters as long as they are done right and is enlightening. I believe movies that are to be taken seriously should teach you something instead of just dwelling on emotion because what is the point of indulging in sadness?...nothing of course. I'm a fan of the early Bruce Jones Hulk run because of the sophisticated story as well, too bad the sophistication became a drag on screen with the Hulk. I don't mind the origin changes either, even if it was too drastic of a change how the Hulk came to be in the movie. The origin tried to create so many subplots that it became a hassle for the film to explain them all and the subplots were nothing at all interesting to begin with, typical bad science fiction mumbo jumbo. Maybe the origin could have been a lot more tasteful if it was closer to the comic because that was a trademark of who the Hulk was, a product of a bomb explosion. Characters in this film didn't have any depth, they just talked and talked, no change or progression in expression, they were so bland. Filibuster is the word that pops in my head whenever I think of this movie. I wasn't at all impressed either with the fancy comic panel editing, they had better use of comic panel editing in the Setpehn King and George Romero classic, Creepshow, I don't buy into how Ang Lee is all of a sudden a break through director just by making bad use of something you don't see too often in mainstream films. Marvel sure has a big loser here, they thought they'd see the success they saw with Spider-Man again. There were so many products carrying the name Hulk and had his big green clown face but now all those products are in the clearance section rotting. Nick Nolte is a good actor, the same year this movie was out, he had another one that went poorly unnoticed, Northfork. I hear some people praising Hulk as a drama but where are these people when they should be praising Northfork, a movie that is actually a drama done right. But that's just me, I know some enjoyed it.
Rating: Summary: dumb Review: this movie made no sense, I am a huge fan of the comic, and this movie to me just seems like a big advertising ploy. And the cgi isn't very good, the hulk looks incredibley fake. I don't understand how the people who do the cgi could think that the hulk looked even remotely realistic. He looks like a big slab of clay.
Rating: Summary: WORST MOVIE EVER Review: This is the worst movie i've ever seen, I expected so much, something like Spider-man, which was a good movie, or something somewhat better, but the quality, the movie itself sucks tremendously, I mean it is so stupid and boring and SLOW, Hulk appears late and then theres these momentes where everything is dull, I regreted paying for that movie, it was a evry very bad movie. Esta pelicula esta hasta el culo, nunca he visto una peliucula tan fea. Je' n'aime pas le Hulk, et horrible, mais ce nul. Je deteste le movie.
Rating: Summary: Monster Mash Review: There was plenty of criticism about this film. However I thoroughly was entertained by it. I thought it did drag until the Hulk's first appearance which isn't until about 45 minutes into the film. After that it is very good in my opinion. The dog fight scene was tremendous...watching the hulk jump from mountains to bridges to canyons was very cool...although the animation wasn't given great reviews I thought they did a tremendous job making the Hulk seem lifelike. Isn't it great to see a giant Hulk breaking the front of a tank in half.:) The ending was kind of wierd and definitly leaves room for a sequel but nevertheless I think the effects will keep you wanting to watch this movie more then the story.
Rating: Summary: An "Incredible" Attempt Review: . The "Hulk" is a most unusual film. Although not normal Ang Lee material, Ang Lee himself is the bases for the Hulk's physical movements. It's entertaining if you don't take it too seriously. Scientist, David Banner, located in a desert military base uses himself in a regeneration experiment not designed for human testing. In the process he genetically passes on his altered DNA to his son Bruce. As an adult Bruce is exposed to gamma rays which set off his already mutilated genes. A complicated life is revealed piece by piece to Bruce (Eric Bana) as he struggles to understand what is happening to him. As the Hulk, Bruce Banner's strength increases with his anger. He can reach the heights of 9, 12 and 15 feet tall; he can lift 100 tons, run 300 miles per hour, and jump 3 or 4 miles in a single leap. In addition, he has the ability to regenerate and repair himself from any sort of physical trauma. He's the perfect weapon everyone wants to possess. There are some animal testing scenes that may not go over well. Some scenes may be a little "nightmarish" for small children. I still smell a sequel.
|