THE HULK MOVIE REVIEW

[Joel Phillips]

<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/movies/hulk_poster.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/movies/hulk_postert.jpg" align=left alt="Hulk movie poster"></a>Reviewer: Joel Phillips, old_ky_shark@hotmail.com
Quick Rating: Great!

Hulk Smash Big Screen!

Directed by: Ang Lee
Scrrenplay by: John Turman, Michael France, and James Schamus
Story by: James Schamus
Starring: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte

WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers.

Marvel’s gamma-powered goliath made his way to the big screen last Friday in the latest in the long line of Mighty Marvel Movies.

Like previous film adaptations of comic book heroes, The Hulk makes no attempt at perfectly recreating its comic book roots. Personally, I think that’s a good thing: too many things that work in a comic book would never translate to the silver screen, and I’d rather sacrifice consistency between mediums for the sake of quality.

The most noticeable change pertains to the Hulk’s origin. In the film, the Hulk is the product not only of that old standby, gamma radiation, but also of genetic experimentation performed by Bruce’s father, David Banner. The change, though slight, gives added depth to the father/son conflict, which is a prevalent theme in the film. It also answers, if only in a pseudo-scientific way, the previously unanswered question of how someone survives being bombarded with deadly radiation.

The Hulk’s famous catchphrase notwithstanding, this is less of an action movie than it is an examination of a psychologically damaged individual. Though there is a fair amount of smashing being done, the real star of the film is not the super-strong Hulk but the vulnerable Bruce. From the moment we first lay eyes on him (as an adult), it’s obvious Bruce is a repressed human being. Eric Bana’s performance has a quiet sense of something just beneath the surface, which is absolutely crucial to the character. It’s the quiet aspect of that, however, that truly makes it work: at no point during the film did this facet of the character leap out and draw attention to itself. The strength of the performance is its subtlety.

Strong performances abound in the film. Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross and Sam Elliott as her father are both particularly effective supporting players. Nick Nolte’s David Banner, though slightly more over-the-top than is necessary at times, does have an eerie menace about him through the majority of the film, and manages to seem concerned for the wellbeing of his experiment, if not his son.

But the performance that got the most attention prior to the film’s release was the computer generated Hulk itself. Despite all the criticism, the big green machine looks infinitely better in the context of the film than it did in the few clips and stills we saw in the months preceding the film’s release. Though not perfect by any means, the creation has a look of both strength and anger, precisely as it should. That said the transformation from Banner to Hulk did leave something to be desired, particularly as regards the color change.

In fact, of all the computer effects in the film, the Hulk himself was the best of the bunch. Hulk fights some gamma-powered dogs at one point that look, well… about as goofy as you would expect a gamma-powered poodle to look. And another character’s eventual transformation, towards the end of the film, was equally disappointing.

But the computer effects are really not the point. This film is not the street smashing, tank tossing slugfest many of the trailers make it out to be. It is a quieter film, where Banner gets at least twice as much screen time as the Hulk, as the focus is on the damaged childhood that created the psychological fuel the Hulk relies on to spring to the surface. Sure, Hulk still smashes some things. But the film is far more concerned with why he smashes things than with protracted scenes of senseless destruction.

Director Ang Lee does an excellent job through the majority of the movie, particularly in subtly orchestrating the shift in mood between Banner’s quiet self-isolation and the overt violence of his alter ego. Lee, in homage to the character’s comic book roots, even adds a series of shifting comic book-like panels into many of his sequences, breaking up the screen into sections and moving the panels in and out of the shot to direct the viewer’s attentions. Though an effective device in places, Lee played it a few too many times, and it ultimately became more of a distraction than a productive way of guiding the viewer through the scene.

The difficulty in the Hulk’s story, as laid out by Lee, is how to end it, and it’s here that the film falters a bit. The final conflict suffers from a combination of excessive darkness, poor computer effects and a fundamental confusion about what, exactly, is happening. The end result is a less than satisfying conclusion, one which left a bit of a sour aftertaste and hurts the film significantly because of it.

This film is not a high-paced action film, and anyone going into this with those expectations is going to leave disappointed. But if you go into the theater with an open mind, you’ll find a smarter kind of comic book film, one more concerned with the character’s problems than their powers, and one that is an enjoyable cinematic experience of a different kind.


OVERALL:
http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/hulkfull.jpg http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/hulkfull.jpg http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/hulkfull.jpg http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/hulkfull.jpg http://www.x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/reviews/hulknone.jpg
Visit X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=69&cat=INCREDIBLE+HULK)

[Michael Fisch]

Just saw it tonight and thought it was OK but not great...the split screen comic effect wasn't bad but the Hulk dogs and the final fight were cheesy to the utmost. Overall not bad, but should have been better.

[Mad Titan]

Sure, Hulk TRIED to be a thinking man's movie and TRIED to make us concerned with the characters problems...but it failed miserably. Slow pacing...bad dialogue...ho-hum action scenes..annoying cuts and split screens. I'll let the professionals speak...

"Incredibly long, incredibly tedious, incredibly turgid."
-- A.O. Scott, NEW YORK TIMES

"A thinking person's movie with precious little for anyone to think about, except for a green giant smashing things."
-- Mick LaSalle, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Hulk was by far the worst of the new super hero films..and probably one of the worst films of the year.
Can't blame anyone for enjoying something though..to each their own.

[Dragon]

I haven't seen it YET, will see it tommorow. I know it will be good no matter the critics says

[Zachary J. Morrison]

Great review, Joel. I saw the movie on opening day and after seeing it, it was a great movie flick, but it didn't take me away as X2 did. But it was worth seeing. As for reading the book, I might pick up the book, but we'll see.

[JustBlaze03]

The reviewer was right don't go into the hulk thinking it's all out action(The quiet scenes and characterization make the action scenes seem even more potent).Although the last hour or so has some pretty good action scenes.A lot more action than any other comic book movie ever had, and on a bigger scale.Spider-man had nice scenery and some nice action,X2had many special effects and some good surprise with phoenix, but When it comes to true comic book style action, as well as a beat-em up fighting scene Hulks got it all.What other comic-book movie has you fighting jets in the air & pounding tanks. Don't look at it as movie magic look at it as comic book action that got us into reading, when we were children. Sure the hulk is in a class of his own power wise,and spider-man and X2, even blade had some good scenes, but HUlk took it too a level in this movie action wise that only one like him can..... And I Haven't even started reading Hulk untill last month so I'm not even an avid Hulk fan.To be honest I'm a huge X-Men fan. I hope that when X3 comes out if they go with the phoenix story(Which I hope is as fantastic as the comics)They take a cue from Hulks action scenes and make them on a bigger scale like Hulks.... :hulk: :excited:

[Cbenioff]

There is a lot of hatred for this movie out there and it seems to be getting the full brunt of the rising anti-comic-book-movie crowd. This is really unfortunate because if this movie weren't under such tight scrutiny then maybe people would realize its not half bad... in fact its pretty entartaining and original.

People say its boring and I could see how a certain, unfortunately large, element of our society could get bored with it, but I can think of tons of more boring movies that have received much more critical and media acclaim. I wasn't a fan of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for instance. I thought it was boring, but it was new and different so people flocked to it making it seem better than it actually was. It was hip to like that movie. It was the "thing to do."

This movie as similarly slow paced with a certain aspect of unbelievable fantasy. But frankly I think Hulk has a lot more to offer and the action scenes were just amazingly fun to watch... Theraputic too for those of us who like smashing! Its just too bad that it became cool to bad mouth CGI and comic books in the last few months. I have always been a harsh critic of non cartoon CGI and I was able to totally beleive the Hulk except maybe his shorts, but there isn't much to do about that. He is probably the greatest CGI creation if you exclude Gollum from consideration because nothing even gets close to matching him. How people can tolerate the CGI and boring action in Matrix 2 but bad mouth Hulk is beyond me. Hulk looked 10 times better and the action was 10 times more intense. Problem is... Matrix is cool, Hulk is not... simple as that. Its fads and preconceptions. Its cool to bad mouth the Star Wars Prequels too. There is no reason behind it... its just bandwagon jumping. You see jokes on late night TV about Hulk or Star Wars... talking about how stupid they are or how they failed and its just misinformation. Meanwhile everything in the media is telling us how awesome Keanu Reeves is when we all know he sucks.

Do yourself a favor and go see all these movies with an open mind and don't be afraid to disagree with the newspaper or your friends... Most likely they are all puppets anyways.

[steve2275]

DAMN THOSE DOGS WERE TUFF

[crozack]

Originally posted by Cbenioff
There is a lot of hatred for this movie out there and it seems to be getting the full brunt of the rising anti-comic-book-movie crowd. This is really unfortunate because if this movie weren't under such tight scrutiny then maybe people would realize its not half bad... in fact its pretty entartaining and original.

People say its boring and I could see how a certain, unfortunately large, element of our society could get bored with it, but I can think of tons of more boring movies that have received much more critical and media acclaim. I wasn't a fan of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for instance. I thought it was boring, but it was new and different so people flocked to it making it seem better than it actually was. It was hip to like that movie. It was the &quot;thing to do.&quot;


You're right in your first paragraph and wrong in your second.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a good movie. It was the flavor of the month, I'll give you that and it's sad to see it was only famous because it was different but it was clearly one of the best movies I've ever seen.

As for Hulk, people wanted to see more action because of the previews and the toys and the CGI. They went in thinking ACTION. And what they got was an actual movie. Every post I've read so far has been about people not liking it and they honestly think they gave the movie a fair chance. They haven't. All of you are an MTV society thinking action and that's what you wanted. Wah-wah.

Have you all ever read a Hulk comic? Or watched the old, famous and timeless Hulk television show? It's not about action in either. It's clearly a drama with a sci-fi edge. I'm sorry people have gotten the wrong impression of the Hulk simply because you have forced expectations.

[Anthony Cordova]

Amen, Crozack! And Joel, I agree with you 100%. I went into the theater expecting this movie to be crap, but was pleasantly surprised. I could have done without the french poodle, but oddly enough that fight between Hulk and the dogs was amazing. Very, very vicious. It's too bad the ending scenes didn't make much sense, but I don't care about that. Oh, and the split screen comic type scenes were good, but there were three or four instances in which they didn't work and were simply overused. Overall, I say this is a 7/10.

[Stormy]

Originally posted by Joel Phillips
Though an effective device in places, Lee played it a few too many times, and it ultimately became more of a distraction than a productive way of guiding the viewer through the scene.


Totally agree! Agree with most of the review except the rating, actually. Great performances and direction. The ending was pretty bizarre, and I couldn't really take it seriously.

I do think it was too slow ... as much as I appreciated the focus on the psychological, the first hour could really have been edited down. The gratuitous shots of scientific experiments went on too long, and there was just a whole lot of setup -- not even in terms of character-building moments.

If you look at Hulk as an action movie, it falls short because that wasn't its focus. But a thoughtful/character movie doesn't necessarily need to be as ponderous and leisurely paced as this was.

[xstormfan]

it was great , i loved it!!!!

[Michael Fisch]

Originally posted by crozack


You're right in your first paragraph and wrong in your second.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a good movie. It was the flavor of the month, I'll give you that and it's sad to see it was only famous because it was different but it was clearly one of the best movies I've ever seen.

As for Hulk, people wanted to see more action because of the previews and the toys and the CGI. They went in thinking ACTION. And what they got was an actual movie. Every post I've read so far has been about people not liking it and they honestly think they gave the movie a fair chance. They haven't. All of you are an MTV society thinking action and that's what you wanted. Wah-wah.

Have you all ever read a Hulk comic? Or watched the old, famous and timeless Hulk television show? It's not about action in either. It's clearly a drama with a sci-fi edge. I'm sorry people have gotten the wrong impression of the Hulk simply because you have forced expectations.

I take some exception with your argument. I did not go in expecting all out action...in fact, I was hoping for more of Bruce Banner's inner conflict. If we had seen more of Burce trying to actually deal with the monster within...which is the essence of the appeal of the Hulk anyway, since everyone can relate to that feeling....then there would be a more emotional response to the movie. Instead, we got a few throwaway lines and what looks like a struggle durning his transformations. There were attempts at exploring Bruce's psyche, but they were too few and too short without any good resolution. The scene where Talbot was trying to intice his anger had a good setup but it was dropped too quickly. There were good parts...Hulk's "Puny Human" line to Banner was classic, and anytime the Hulk showed some of the human within (quiet scene in the desert, whenever Betty was with him, saving the Golden Gate Bridge), those were my favorite parts.

The heart of the story was the father/child relationship, which is a fine concept, but that also isn't fully realized. You never get a full reason for Betty and Gen. Ross's disfunctional relationship, nor do you get a satisfying resolution to it. And Bruce/David's relationship was a little more fleshed out but was so over the top it was impossible to feel for either of the characters in any way. It was a nice effort, but ultimately it didn't live up to it's potential. I could go on, but I won't right now. In the end, I did like it, but felt it had a rather weak script that the good acting and directing just couldn't overcome.

So don't assume that people are jumping on some bandwagon just because they don't have anything but positive things to say about it. Give people more credit than that. One poster said "I'll see it tomorrow and I know it'll be good no matter what the critics say." How do you know that? This person's going into the film with a preconcieved determination to like the film without actually seeing it. That is jumping on the bandwagon, not someone who actually formulates an opinion on their own. Sure there are some out there that will dislike a movie out of principle, but there are just as many people out there that will love a film just because it's a comic book story.

[Kevin Sutton]

Originally posted by crozack
Every post I've read so far has been about people not liking it and they honestly think they gave the movie a fair chance. They haven't. All of you are an MTV society thinking action and that's what you wanted. Wah-wah.

Interesting perspective. Do you really believe that people didn't like it only because it didn't have gobs of action? I'm going to have to disagree.

I found the screenplay to be lacking flow or a real purpose. The ending was confusing and the movie reached its dramatic peak about half an hour earlier than when the film actually ended. I found the action to be good and the emotional scenes to be good, but the story lacked an underlying sense of purpose to it. Maybe its because it was about a superhero without being an adventure story, maybe because its a monster story without being a disaster flick. It didn't seem to 'jive' right.

[Anthony Cordova]

You're right about the ending, SuperMutant. It almost seemed as though they had Hulk and Absorbing Man fight just as an afterthought. "Hey, this is a superhero flick, he has to fight the supervillain!" so they threw in that last fight scene. It kind of explains why the ending isn't as coherent as the rest of the movie. Oh, and what parts of the movie did you think did not flow? I thought it was all pretty good, except for an extra ten minutes in the beginning that I would have left on the cutting room floor. I'm interested.

[netenyahoo]

I didn't like the movie much. It was just a bad story. It was too slow at the beginning too. I gave this movie a chance, I really did, but I didn't like it. Some the acting and the cinematography was laughable. When Talbot (I think that was his name) died and on the screen he was outlined in white and the screen paused I just had to laugh. Sure it was similar to a comic book, but that doesn't work well for a movie. I didn't like the characters much and didn't care about them. Maybe they can learn from the problems in the first one and make a better sequel.

[Maestor]

I thought the movie was actually quite good. NOt the action fest people were expecting but it should also be noted that not everyone knows the origin of the Hulk and therefore a background needs to be set. It was paced a bit slower than I would have liked but that's okay.

My only real problem with the movie were those annoying but scenes. I know it was done to make it feel like a comic but either the timing was off or I don't know what it was just real annoying to me.

The movie is getting a lot of bad press and it does not deserve it. I went in expecting something subpar and left with a good feeling about the movie. It does have some problems like the last scene being so dark but it is nowhere near the waste of time people are making it out to be.

If I remember correctly the critics loved "The Royal Tannenbaums" (I think that's the spelling) but I found it to be an atrociously long and dull movie about unlikable characters. But hey that's me. You make up your own mind!

[Tom 2TUM Toner]

i am yet to see The Hulk. It wasn't one of my must see comic films like Daredevil and X2 or the soone to come LoEG (then again, it does have Sean Connery in it and i'll watch anything that man makes :LOL: ). But i will watch The Hulk because i'm a comic fan and i'll try to watch any comic movie that comes out.

[TurdFerguson]

My only expectations going into this movie were a good story, some good acting, and a couple decent fight scenes. The only thing that delivered was Jennifer Connely, as the rest of the actors (except Stan Lee) blew, the story was a joke, and I almost fell asleep during the first hour. I mean, they made a movie, and kept the titular character out for more than half the movie. Some of the errors made in creating this film were almost comical.

[SmashedPumpkin]

I liked it.... :)

[Benjamin Ong]

Joel, since you reviewed the movie, did you read the movie adaptation, which got a 'Below Average' rating by Al (http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19014&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) :? If you did, what did you think of the movie adaptation :?

[Joel Phillips]

Originally posted by Benjamin Ong
Joel, since you reviewed the movie, did you read the movie adaptation, which got a 'Below Average' rating by Al (http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?s=&amp;threadid=19014&amp;perpage=15&amp;pagenumber=1) :? If you did, what did you think of the movie adaptation :?

I didn't read it. I never read movie adaptations, especially if I'm gonna actually go see the movie.

I also don't intend to read it now. A) if Al disliked it that much I trust he did so with good reason, and B) the story isn't what I liked best about the film anyway. It's the performances and the direction, I feel, that make the movie. And you can't capture that in the book.

[Wolverine]

Great movie. Great review

[Benjamin Ong]

Originally posted by Joel Phillips


I didn't read it. I never read movie adaptations, especially if I'm gonna actually go see the movie.

I also don't intend to read it now. A) if Al disliked it that much I trust he did so with good reason, and B) the story isn't what I liked best about the film anyway. It's the performances and the direction, I feel, that make the movie. And you can't capture that in the book.

Well, one of the local reviewers here also disliked the movie adaptation but enjoyed the movie. He mentioned about certain stuff being left out of the adaptation but turned out so good in the movie, such as the Hulk-Dogs. I remember Chris Claremont mentioned that what he got when he did the X2 novelisation was just an earlier draft before it went many more rounds before and even during the making of the movie and he couldn't really adapt the movie as close to the finished product.

[frank]

Originally posted by Cbenioff

Do yourself a favor and go see all these movies with an open mind and don't be afraid to disagree with the newspaper or your friends... Most likely they are all puppets anyways.
:rolleyes:
Spoken like a true puppet.....

The movie was the biggest waste of time ever....ranking right behind the JLA pilot, Howard the Duck, The original Punisher, and the Fantastic Four....Hell Masters of the Universe was more entertaining....

I sat in a packed theater for 2 plus hours, with hundreds of people....normally you hear at leasrt on positive thing said about whatever movie you've come from, however I heard not on person say one good thing about the hulk....Not one....

If there were never another comic book movie made due to this movie, I couldn't even be upset....this thing stank to high heaven.....what makes it worse is that Ang's the man....however "absorbing" man was as good a villian as the Computer in Superman 3.....

Batman and Robin is no longer the nail in the coffin.....

Rob

[ahlhelm]

I'm confused by the people that were mad about the lack of the Hulk. Is the Hulk comic or TV series really about the Hulk? No, it's about Bruce Banner. This movie was a study of Banner's relationship with his father and his emotions. It did this very well. Yes, some of the comic-screen cuts were over-used, but all and all it pretty much delivered. The only scene I really disliked was Talbot's death. Otherwise, the Hulk was a solid movie.

And the CGI was so much better than digital Spidey web-spinning around the fake city.

Only X2 has been a better superhero movie.

[JustBlaze03]

The tension between bruce and his father was thick and had to come to a boiling point sooner or later.It may seem to happen all to quick,but u gotta realize that David BAnner isn't a sane person, so his actions are somewhat understandable in that last fight scene. Also, why the brother always needlassly gotta die.That security guard was just doin' his job, yet the producers had to up and kill him in one of the most f'ed up ways.
.....:( makes you wanna cry about society and it's flagrant racisim don't it. Or get even:mad:

[crozack]

Originally posted by SuperMutant


Interesting perspective. Do you really believe that people didn't like it only because it didn't have gobs of action? I'm going to have to disagree.

I found the screenplay to be lacking flow or a real purpose. The ending was confusing and the movie reached its dramatic peak about half an hour earlier than when the film actually ended. I found the action to be good and the emotional scenes to be good, but the story lacked an underlying sense of purpose to it. Maybe its because it was about a superhero without being an adventure story, maybe because its a monster story without being a disaster flick. It didn't seem to 'jive' right.

Again, no, it's not a superhero flick. It's not a monster flick. It's about Banner. What's happening in his inner psyche. It's basically a character study of Banner. We're not supposed to relate to him. We're supposed to understand what's going on with him.

And I don't understand the problem with the ending. I understood what was going on perfectly. Okay, well, it was rather dark and I couldn't make out the action well, I'll give you that one.

One more thing, the critical analysis of the special effects. I've looked back on most of the Marvel movies we've gotten and, actually, they've all had pretty unrealistic special effects. Like when Peter gets his mask blown off in Spider Man? Or when Mystique shape-shifts in X-Men? Or Logan's healing? Or Spidey's perspective when trying to catch the falling carts at the climax of his movie? This is about as good as special effects are these days folks.

And lockheed, you mentioned there was no resolution to the Bruce/David thread...yeah, there was. The ending, where we finally get to see just how nuts David really is.

Then you mention the trips into Banner's psyche. Well, the whole movie isn't going to be in his head. There were scenes with the Hulk and Banner walking around his old town. There were scenes where he tries to remember the repressed memory of his mother. Banner finally realizes what happened when he's in the tank with Talbot. I thought the psychological trauma was pretty much well explained right there.

In order to completely take in the movie and appreciate the atmosphere and the studies that film makes, the movie must be as long as it was. Even then, it felt to me like they were rushing through some scenes and left some out.

You all criticized me for my "MTV Nation" rant on the first page. Well, it still holds true. People ultimately get bored with something like Hulk if there isn't action at a certain point in a movie. It's what we've been trained to do. Just read "frank"s post above me for all that I'm talking about. That's why everyone is trying to find a fault in the movie, whether it's a "weak" script or "tepid" acting. People just got bored because their minds are intent on action.

[Michael Fisch]

Originally posted by crozack


Again, no, it's not a superhero flick. It's not a monster flick. It's about Banner. What's happening in his inner psyche. It's basically a character study of Banner. We're not supposed to relate to him. We're supposed to understand what's going on with him.

Actually, it is a superheor and monster flick...and it's about Banner. That's the nature of the Hulk...you can't have one without the other. But I basically agree with you on this point, except about relating to Banner. The thing that makes Banner and the Hulk appealing is that people can relate to Banner, and the struggle to keep your emotions and temper in check. The Hulk is the fundamental essence of rage in all humans gone out of control. It's also the first rule of writing...audiences that can relate to a character will care about the character. Despite what I belived to be a good effort from Eric Bana, we didn't get that in the film.

One more thing, the critical analysis of the special effects. I've looked back on most of the Marvel movies we've gotten and, actually, they've all had pretty unrealistic special effects. Like when Peter gets his mask blown off in Spider Man? Or when Mystique shape-shifts in X-Men? Or Logan's healing? Or Spidey's perspective when trying to catch the falling carts at the climax of his movie? This is about as good as special effects are these days folks.

Besides a couple of scenes that were too dark, I didn't mind the CGI that much except that many scenes the Hulk looked like PS2 graphics at best. The Hulk dogs, on the other hand....they had their place in The Mask perhaps, but this and the final fight looked tacked on to appease the "MTV fans" as you put it. They didn't fit in the film.

And lockheed, you mentioned there was no resolution to the Bruce/David thread...yeah, there was. The ending, where we finally get to see just how nuts David really is.

Actually, if you reread my post you'll see I mentioned the lack of resolution in Betty Ross and General Ross' relationship. They finished pretty much where they started, and you never found out how they got there in the first place. I mentioned that David/Bruce's relationship was so far fetched and convoluted that it was impossible to relate to at all, and therefore not easy to react to in one way or another. But sorry if I miswrote what I meant.

You all criticized me for my &quot;MTV Nation&quot; rant on the first page. Well, it still holds true. People ultimately get bored with something like Hulk if there isn't action at a certain point in a movie. It's what we've been trained to do. Just read &quot;frank&quot;s post above me for all that I'm talking about. That's why everyone is trying to find a fault in the movie, whether it's a &quot;weak&quot; script or &quot;tepid&quot; acting. People just got bored because their minds are intent on action.

My issue was with you're lumping everyone who had something negative to say about the film into one group and basically saying that they couldn't formulate an opinion of their own. I did say that there are certainly some people out there like that just as there are people who refuse to see the flaws in the film. If you're going to cirticize someone because they didn't like certain aspcets of the film by claiming their opinions aren't valid, then you're guilty of the exact thing you're complaining about. It was be no means a perfect film, nor was it the pile of trash that some are making it out to be. It was an okay movie that dropped the ball at certain points that could--and should--have been better.

[Booyah9]

I agree completely lockheed.

[Erwin Rafael]

the only better Marvel movie than this one is X-Men 2. the Hulk is an amazing character piece, and Ang Lee should be commended for experimenting with the format. i respect people who did not like The Hulk, but it all has something to do with expectations. personally, i don't want to see the stereotypical superhero flicks anymore. i prefer to see flicks like this.

[crozack]

Originally posted by lockheed

Actually, it is a superheor and monster flick...and it's about Banner. That's the nature of the Hulk...you can't have one without the other. But I basically agree with you on this point, except about relating to Banner. The thing that makes Banner and the Hulk appealing is that people can relate to Banner, and the struggle to keep your emotions and temper in check. The Hulk is the fundamental essence of rage in all humans gone out of control. It's also the first rule of writing...audiences that can relate to a character will care about the character. Despite what I belived to be a good effort from Eric Bana, we didn't get that in the film.

Again, I don't think so. It was more of trying to make us understand Banner (and actually, if you reread my post, I did say it was about Banner as well). He was psychologically scarred. That, people can't relate to. This movie wasn't about "I hope I can keep my emotions under control". It was about "What is causing the rage inside Banner?". That's what it was about. People couldn't relate to him but by the end of the movie, we liked him and understood him.

And I know the cardinal rule of writing, I am a writer myself. But there are ways around it and to still make enjoyable. It's been done before.

Besides a couple of scenes that were too dark, I didn't mind the CGI that much except that many scenes the Hulk looked like PS2 graphics at best. The Hulk dogs, on the other hand....they had their place in The Mask perhaps, but this and the final fight looked tacked on to appease the &quot;MTV fans&quot; as you put it. They didn't fit in the film.

Well, the fights were mostly too dark, except the desert scenes. But I don't understand about the last one. The last fight scene was the confrontation between Banner and his dad. It had to be there. If anything, the dogs fight was for the "MTV" viewers.

Actually, if you reread my post you'll see I mentioned the lack of resolution in Betty Ross and General Ross' relationship. They finished pretty much where they started, and you never found out how they got there in the first place. I mentioned that David/Bruce's relationship was so far fetched and convoluted that it was impossible to relate to at all, and therefore not easy to react to in one way or another. But sorry if I miswrote what I meant.

The reason you couldn't relate to the Bruce/David relationship was because you aren't supposed to. Like I said, it's about understanding Banner, not relating to him. I didn't find it convoluted at all either. Rather, I actually enjoyed putting together the pieces and hints we're given at Banner's psyche and why David was locked up and watching David slip further into insanity and Bruce trying to not follow in his footsteps.

As for Betty and Thunderbolt, eh, yeah, that was one of the problems I found as well. We never really got an official explanation of why Betty didn't like her dad or a resolution to it. I figured we were supposed to assume it was a control thing with her father as evidenced by Ross threatening Banner and Betty being so attracted to Bruce, who was revealed to have father issues also. At the end, Betty's phone call with Ross seems to make it as though she doesn't care what he thinks ("No, I wouldn't tell you if Bruce came to see me." Or she says something like that). But, that's just me.

My issue was with you're lumping everyone who had something negative to say about the film into one group and basically saying that they couldn't formulate an opinion of their own. I did say that there are certainly some people out there like that just as there are people who refuse to see the flaws in the film. If you're going to cirticize someone because they didn't like certain aspcets of the film by claiming their opinions aren't valid, then you're guilty of the exact thing you're complaining about. It was be no means a perfect film, nor was it the pile of trash that some are making it out to be. It was an okay movie that dropped the ball at certain points that could--and should--have been better.

Hmm, I didn't once say that anybody's opinion wasn't valid. I said that they're opinions were based on expectations that were rooted in their minds, regardless of what they thought they wanted to see. Even if I did lump them into the same group, why would that make me exactly what I'm complaining about? I'd be walking into a movie with unnecessary expectations? Hmm... I might have been negative but I don't know about that.

[NicholasRogue]

Just saw the Hulk today. MAN that was a LONG MOVIE! It wasn't bad, I just was like okay when's it gonna be over. I loved Jennifer Connely in it though, she could cry at the snap of your fingers. Eric Bana did a really good job in my opinion. The Hulk itself was great! The face was very good in showing his emotions. I didn't really like the whole Absorbing Man thing, I mean it was okay, I take it he died at the end, because at first I wasn't sure. Other than that a good movie, but a bit long, the kids in the theatre talked the whole time, it was annoying I don't recommend taking 7 year olds to this movie, they won't pay attention at all. I don't think it was as great as Daredevil, Spiderman, X-Men, and definitely not X2, but a good marvel movie on the whole lol.