The Hulk Movie Review:


Raging inside Dr Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is a monster waiting to be unleashed. Anyone familiar with the comic book or the TV series that starred the late Bill Bixby will be familiar with the setup of “Hulk” the new film version of the classic tale by acclaimed director Ang Lee of “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” fame.

For those of you unfamiliar with the tale, when Dr. Banner is exposed to an overdose of Gamma radiation, his body chemistry is altered in such a way that he transforms into a large, green, and destructive creature when he is angered. Naturally, this puts him at odds with the authrorities and the military and Banner is forced to live a vagabond existence while he searches for a way to contain his inner rage. In the new version, much of the established background of the characters are removed in favor of a new background that basis the origins of the creature on work begun by Banners father before he was born. It seems that the senior Banner was working for a government lab when he decided to experiment on himself with his new regeneration serums which in turn, caused him to pass on his altered genes to his son Bruce. Flash forward to the present where Bruce is now going by the name Krensler as he is under the impression that his family is dead. He works closely with old-flame Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly), who still cares for him despite Bruce being very distant emotionally.

While prepping for an important presentation, Bruce is exposed to an overdose of Gamma radiation that sets the stage for the emergence of the creature as it activates the alterations that were present in his system based on his father’s tamperings.

It is at this point that the film takes several bad turns that drag the film down. When the creature finally emerges 45 minutes into the 2 hr and 20 minute film, it is underwhelming. While the creature looks interesting, I had the impression that I was watching a computer game, as at no time, did the creature seem to fit into the background and was very clearly superimposed. While the facial and skin textures and reactions of the creature were good, the action sequences were far too few and in between and very underwhelming. Once the creature emerges, it does not take long for Betty’s father General Ross (Sam Elliott), to actively begin plans to destroy or contain the creature as his genes contain the key to vast fortunes for a government contractor and his presence reminds Ross of the threat Banner’s father represented thirty years earlier which Bruce has repressed all of these years.

I am going to avoid going into too many details of what happens to whom and when but suffice it to say soon the creature is on the loose with the military in hot pursuit fearing the rage of the creature unleashed in a populated area. What I will say however, is that while I was a fan of the series and comic, I was very unhappy with the film version, especially with the huge array of talent that was brought into the film. Connelly and Bana look like they are sleepwalking through the film as the dialogue is so bad and bland that it makes the Star Wars Prequel banter look Shakespearian in comparison. The actors rarely show any emotion at all, and seem to be uninspired by the material. Only Nick Nolte playing the senior Banner puts any emotion into his role, but he is reduced to chewing scenery and spouting lines that elicited groans from many of my colleagues in the press section. The action of the film was very unspectacular as the trailers have shown the majority of the major FX and the few battle scenes unfold in a very ho-hum manner with no pacing, tension, or excitement. I found myself caring little for the characters as they were so emotionless and uninspiring that their fates were of no major consequence other then returning for possible sequels.

I really wanted to like this film, but I found myself unable to find anything about it to recommend or like. The long gaps when the creature were not on the screen dragged by, and when the creature did appear, it was little payoff. Worse yet, I found myself wanting to leave the film before it was over and I stayed mainly out of professionalism and that is saying a lot as I have willingly sat through many a stinker in my film career.

With so much talent in the film, and the fantastic FX people at ILM, it is sad to see that something so promising went so wrong. I had hoped that with Lee helming the film, there would be many emotional segments of the struggle to contain the inner beast we all have, or an emotional tug of war blended with gripping action. Sadly there was neither, and as a result, "Hulk" is little more than a bloated production that is soulless and empty.

2 stars out of 5

Gareth Von Kallenbach

Based on the popular comic book, Ang Lee's The Hulk strives to be groundbreaking, but fails on nearly every intended level.

Being created in 1962 by Stan Lee, the comic book character of "The Incredible Hulk" became and is still one of the most embraced comic book characters of all time. The character is actually Dr. Bruce Banner's transformational alter ego, which is a big green giant that arrives when Banner gets angry. The Hulk/Banner character is sort of like a "Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde" type, in which Banner begins turning into the Hulk after exposure to radiation in one of his experiments.

After the riding success of the comic-based blockbuster trend (X-Men and Spider-Man), Universal decided to enlist A-list director Ang Lee to bring the big green character to the screen.

Speculation and hype quickly surrounded the project as to who would play the Hulk, but the studio announced that the character would be completely computer generated. Body builder Lou Ferrigno played the character along with the late Bill Bixby as Banner in the successful television series of the comic, which ran from 1978-1982. Ferrigno makes a cameo appearance early in this film with Hulk creator Stan Lee; this is one of the film's better moments.

Lee's longtime screenwriting collaborator James Schamus and two other writers (John Turman and Michael France) penned the screenplay. The writers surround the Hulk with a story and elements that are different from the comics. Lee insisted that he wanted a dark and psychological film. The script and his vision follow this pattern. Dr. David Banner (Nick Nolte) is a brilliant militaristic scientist that is also very questionable with his methods. He has in fact done experiments with DNA on himself that is actually passed onto to his son, Bruce. Flash-forward many years later, where Bruce (Black Hawk Down's Eric Bana) has also become a great scientist like his father. Bruce works closely with his beautiful ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) and it is believed that his father is actually dead. He is in fact not dead, posing as a janitor at Bruce's lab so he can keep a closer eye on his son. Betty's father is the hard-nosed General Ross (Elliott), who actually questioned the David Banner's methods and has trouble maintaining a relationship with his daughter. After a freak accident with gamma radiation, Bruce discovers that he is feeling different, and his father notices what he work so long to create is finally unleashed as the Hulk.

The whole father-son "Frankenstein" elements that Schamus instilled into the story was never a part of the comic book, he did this to make the characters more full. The additions to the story are neither great, nor significant in what the film becomes. Lee is a very talented filmmaker, his work with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was breathtaking. He was given a lot of freedom with The Hulk, I do not believe that he will be given that freedom again. The actual CGI Hulk just looks really bad, especially in long shots. The close-up facial expressions and muscle flexes look radiant, but overall he looks like a something from a playstation game. Lee also has Hulk doing many to say the least "cheesy" things, such as jumping 10 miles at a time to where he is actually flying. This Hulk can also heal himself, like Wolverine, and his muscles are so strong that bullets just bounce off his biceps. Sure. The last half of the film pretty much has Hulk destroying a lot of things and flying everywhere. Instead of being more like the Hulk from the comic book, it seemed Lee instills the spirit King Kong, Tremors and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon into this character. The film is also dragged out way too much, where of course there is a setup for a sequel or follow-up.

Lee embraces many split screens and shot within shot moments to express the scene's look like a comic strip. This concept is fresh, but becomes a little winded by the end of the film.

The CGI in this film is expensive and promised to be groundbreaking, but it is more phony than anything. The liberties that Lee was given with this project were understandable for a director of his talent, but The Hulk is a ghastly disaster.

Eric Bana plays the Hulk's other half, Dr. Bruce Banner. Bana is a versatile actor that made a splash with his performance in Black Hawk Down. Bana does what he can with being angry and shaking a lot, but his overall performance is modest. Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly plays Betty Ross with instant emotions and delivers the best performance in the film. Nick Nolte sports wild hair and a beard to play the obsessive father Dr. David Banner. Nolte is a lot better than what he delivers; though he has fun with his over the top performance. Another veteran actor Sam Elliott plays General Ross with a fury that makes his perfect mustache twitch and upcoming actor Josh Lucas overplays his role as the militaristic scientist Glenn Talbot.

The Hulk is a big lackluster with a big character that is completely computer generated. If Lee and the film's producers had cast a bodybuilder or a muscularly fit actor as the Hulk, the character would have been more effective. This is a dismal film that is a dire comic book adaptation.

Grade: D

06/20/03

Joseph C. Tucker

The rage-filled green-skinned goliath looms read to tear down your local multiplex. But how is Hollywood’s latest superhero themed film? Is there room at the top of the box-office for a 12-foot angry hulk?

The Hulk opens with a young Bruce Banner being afflicted by an obsession eating away at his father. His father is a scientist hell bent on conquering regeneration. Eventually the film flashes forward to the present day where a now grown Bruce (Eric Bana) is experimenting himself with gamma radiation and its proposed healing attributes. Bruce’s friend and colleague Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) aids Banner at every turn.

One fateful day, an experiment breaks down causing an accident that leaves Bruce irradiated with the full force of the gamma rays themselves. Bruce ends up in a hospital where he is visited by his now overtly-deranged father (Nick Nolte). Some hidden secrets are unleashed in Bruce’s fractured mind and Bruce finds that he may have to pay dearly for the “sins of his father”. Coupled with that fractured revelation, Bruce unknowingly unlocks the anger within which manifests into a creature of impeccable power. Can Bruce contain his emotions long enough to find out all the secrets his father holds? Can Bruce avoid being subjected by the wrath of the military? What is Betty’s father (Sam Elliot) role in this struggle?

To understand the Hulk you have always had to understand who Bruce Banner was as the man. In the comics, Bruce is a tormented man who wants to cure himself. Eventually Bruce accepts who he is. In the 1970s TV series, Bill Bixby played Banner and constantly tried to heal himself from his plague without trying to release the creature inside. The comic dynamic was locked in this version and the dynamic of Bruce remained. In the new film, Banner loses control and says he likes it. The dynamic is lost. Where is the tormented man? The film needed Bruce to want to help himself. How can we relate or like the guy if that isn’t there. We needed the mindset of Bruce intact for this film to be a success.

What the film does is bring in his father and screw up the Bruce dynamic. I do like some of what the father brings. I liked the fact that it wasn’t only the gamma rays that make him the Hulk. I liked how he was woven into the fabric of the origin. But for the most part it was hard to decipher if the film benefited from this character. This whole thing was way to Greek.

Eric Bana really has little to work with when he plays this version of Banner. His acting muscles aren’t really pushed and he seems too laid back than the tortured man he should be. Connelly plays Betty Ross with some passion but it seems to be lost on Bana. Their chemistry is flat at best.

The key acting ingredients and showcases of the film are Nolte and Elliot. Nolte is twisted, dark and spooky as Banner’s twisted father. I found him very effective until he seemed to go way over the top in the role. My favorite performance was by Sam Elliot. His General Thunderbolt Ross is amazingly effective and ripped right from the comic books. Elliot is such an underused actor and in this role you can see him relish being back on the big screen.

I really loved Ang Lee’s vision of the CGI version of the Hulk. Some of the best scenes in the film involve the Hulk reacting to his surroundings. I have always said that volumes can be said in the quiet moments in film. These scenes for me reminded me a lot of the quiet moments in films like the original “King Kong”, “Mighty Joe Young” and “Frankenstein”. Those films showed an innocence and confusion in the lovable monster. Why should Hulk be any different? The Hulk quiet moments really enthralled me. In some way I found more solus in those scenes than in any scene with Bana.

The two battle sequences in the center of the film are amazing. My favorite was the infamous “Hulk-dogs” scene because it felt so much like the comic the film is trying to pay homage to. I just really enjoyed Ang Lee’s CGI Hulk. He was so much fun when the film let him do what Hulk does best.

I also really enjoyed the comic-multi-faceted editing that Ang Lee delivers in a lot of the key scenes. These are a great way to pay homage to the subject material and bring a new unique way of telling this story.

I was bored for the first 30 minutes and frustrated with the film’s final 30 minutes but when the film dropped the cerebral mumbo-jumbo and “hulked” out, I really enjoyed it.

(3.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

Upcoming genetic scientists Bruce Krensler (Bana) and Betty Ross (Connelly) are working on the regeneration of issue via gamma radiation. When their experiment malfunctions and Bruce tries to fix it, he is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation but remarkably he doesn’t succumb to the poisoning, in fact he has never felt better in his life. This all changes when he gets angry and a terrible transformation occurs, Bruce becomes a creature, out of control and fuelled by rage. He struggles to understand why this is happening, until a man claiming to be his father (Nolte) tells him that he is in fact, Bruce Banner and his alteration is due to genetic experiments of his design.

After the comic book, numerous cartoon series and a very famous TV show, The Hulk finally makes it onto the big screen in one of the best comic book adaptations to date.

Ang Lee, the director of the Oscar winning “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, has captured the true essence of a comic book and transferred it onto the big screen. He ingeniously uses split screens, as if the screen was a reflection of the frames within a comic book page. Energetic screen wipes, freeze frames and numerous other techniques are utilised to give the picture a very unique but familiar comic book look. Even down to the writing on the opening credits, the attention to detail is superb and unmatched in this genre.

The performances are also strong. Eric Bana is a very believable Bruce Banner. While of course he is not the Hulk himself, the character development and sense of being are all down to his performance in the origin sequence that occupies the first forty minutes of the movie. Besides from being one of the most beautiful women working in movies today, Jennifer Connelly is also an extremely good actress. In a slightly underwritten role, Betty Ross could have been just another screaming damsel but Connelly brings dignity and grace to the role with a look that could stop any rampaging creature in its tracks.

While the two leads are very good, Nick Nolte and Sam Elliot steal the film away from them. Nolte as the savage looking mad scientist, riddled by guilt but driven by the quest for knowledge is electrifies the screen every time he graces it. The very underrated Sam Elliot brings General “Thunderbolt” Ross to life. He has a superb heir of authority as he throws everything the military has got at the rampaging Hulk while making the decisions that could save lives but also lose him his daughter and the life of Bruce Banner.

The talking point of the movie however is the Hulk himself. The completely computer generated rampaging green menace is abit of a mixed bag. There are moments where it is exceptional, most noticeably the forest fight and the escape from the military but sometimes, especially in the close-ups, the Hulk has that shiny, CG look that plagues all characters of this type. It is the eyes that really give it away, as they are just too shiny and glazed. Ang Lee copes with these limitations well however, by keeping the mean green moving and interacting with the environment as much as possible to enhance the believability. You can’t help smiling when the creature lets loose and a trial of destruction is left in its wake.

The best thing about the movie has to be that it has a story. Ang Lee and the writers haven’t been afraid to fill significant amounts of the film with character building and extended dialogue scenes at the expense of just jumping into the action. This pushes the movie away from the no-brainer action flick to a more intelligent insight into coping with anger and the monster within.

The Hulk is another example of a Marvel comic book adaptation that has been approached with the care and respect it deserves. Ang Lee and producer/head of Marvel Pictures Avi Arad have to be commended for their attention to detail and sheer passion for the project. Even thought it is slightly overlong and the end battle is an anti-climax, they have done creators Stan Lee (look out for his and original TV Hulk Lou Ferrigno on-screen cameos) and Jack Kirby proud.
Hulk Smash!

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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