Hulk

6/21/03 - Review

For all of Bruce Banner’s (Eric Bana) life, there has been something inside him.  Something waiting for the right time to expose itself.  Bruce received special advanced genetic traits from his father the day he was conceived.  His father, David, (Nick Nolte) conducted tests on himself when he worked on a top secret government project, even though he was forbidden to use human subjects.  He then passed those genetic traits to Bruce where they lay dormant for many years. 

It wasn’t until one day that Bruce was doing genetic work in a lab with his co-worker/ex-girlfriend scientist Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) that something brought those traits out.  As another scientist was doing routine work, he caused a small explosion in the lab which set off a lethal dose of gamma radiation.  Bruce saved the man’s life by absorbing the radiation.  Bruce miraculously comes out unscathed though he notices some weird side effects.  Betty knows there is something wrong with him but she can’t put her finger on it. 

Later on, Bruce makes contact with his father whom he thought died years ago.  As soon as they meet, all of the repressed memories of Bruce’s childhood come to life which causes him to mutate into an oversized creature with immense power and immortality, and in essence becoming the Hulk. 

Now that the creature has surfaced in Bruce, everybody wants to get their hands on him for their own reasons.  David cherishes the creature that he has created while Betty’s Army General Father wants to destroy him as he is a threat to National Security.  There are even those who want to make lucrative contracts from the genetic makeup of the creature.  Bruce can normally control The Hulk until memories of his childhood surface and then he loses it.  If there is one thing though that can “calm him down,” is his love for Betty.  Betty knows that she must use her knowledge of Bruce to discover the link between him and the Hulk and what his father is doing in the background.  If she doesn’t, Bruce will most certainly be destroyed by her over powering father who always knows what’s best.

Let me start by discussing what is on everybody’s mind, The Hulk.  Yes, he is fake, and he does look somewhat fake at times, but not more than CGI characters in other types of movies.  At times The Hulk does look a bit rubbery but most of the time he looked pretty good.  I think people had a misunderstanding when they caught the trailers of the movie.  Immediately they bashed the way The Hulk looked by saying he was too big, too green, too fake, or whatever.  Basically, he was compared to the television show with Lou Ferrigno. 

After seeing the movie, I felt that he was a nice fit.  I was waiting for the creature to make another appearance because those were the best parts of the movie.  Every scene that The Hulk appeared in was action packed and he blended in with the environment quite well, especially when he was fighting.  There were some parts that were physically impossible but that is usually seen today in big budget movies anyway.   But overall The Hulk scenes were fun and entertaining.  His fight against the mutated dogs and the tanks were among the best. 

The story was good but it was a little too over done and drawn out.  They explained everything in such detail that it became a bore after a while.  The constant use of flashbacks was cool at first but then it became a little played after while.  The director, Ang Lee, even incorporated a “24ish” style filming as the screen was occasionally broken up into thirds or fourths all showing the same thing in real time from different angles.  Again cool, but a little over used.  I liked the way the scenes flowed together as Lee used some great transitions and special effects to move the story. 

The Hulk had a good ensemble cast of characters participating in this comic book movie.  I really liked the performances by Sam Elliot and Nick Nolte.  Sam Elliot played the hard as nails Army General who is bent on destroying the creature.  Nick Nolte was great as the father of Bruce Banner.  As a madman, he pulls it off convincingly.  A little less facial hair next time though.  Jennifer Connelly was her usual self, and looking hot as well.  Eric Bana was kind of timid as Bruce Banner.  He was kind of quiet and emotionless.    He didn’t really say much as The Hulk.  I think he only said about two words total and that was computer generated.  And it wasn’t him acting. 

The special effects were good especially the way The Hulk interacted with the environment.  It looked like he really was there fighting the Army.  His movements and actions were flawless.  Even the scenes when his dad transformed were good.  I didn’t have a problem with any of the effects, just the story mainly. 

For those of you who are letting the look of the creature deter you from seeing this movie, don’t.  It’s not nearly as bad as the trailers made you believe it was.  You will enjoy every Hulk scene as they are very entertaining and at some points pretty funny.  The slowness and pace of the story is the downside.  More Hulk would have better because the movie picked up steam whenever he appeared.  The story is decent, but not nearly as good as some of the other comic books to make it to the big screen.  To see The Hulk cause destruction to those who make him angry is worth at least a matinee viewing.

Grade

What do you think?