 
|
Movie: The Hulk
Starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connely, Nick Nolte, Sam Shepard
Directed by Ang Lee; Written by James Schamus, John Turman, and Michael France (Universal Films)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Walking out of the movie theater, I felt impressed by the production but I'm having a hard time deciding if I really like The Hulk. Make no mistake, this movie's a hell of a ride, but the fun element that was in other Marvel fare like Spiderman is just not a part of The Hulk. Come to think of it the only thing in the whole movie that made me laugh is the cameo of Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno (TV's Hulk) walking of a building. It's not easy being green, I guess.
The plot is similar to the original Hulk story from 1962, except that gamma radiation is no longer the sole mutating force. The more modern science of gene manipulation has been grafted on to the Hulk's genesis, along with a mad scientist father (Nick Nolte) for Bruce Banner (Eric Bana). What hasn't changed is the control freak General Ross (Sam Shepard), a concerned girlfriend (Jennifer Connely) and a whole lot of Hulk smashing.
On the directorial level, Ang Lee has done a great job. The digital Hulk smashing real sets with live actors is beautifully seamless. The general style of the movie with its reliance on split screen will set a new look for action films much the way Lee's Crouching Tiger added more acrobatics to movies or Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan changed the way color and contrast are done. Here Lee's technique gives a better sense than most movies of many characters' actions converging on a single event. Lee moves the story along and tries to generate an operatic sense of tragedy, but it's bucking some strong currents there; some questions still remain about the plot. Why was the father brought back to see the son at the end? It's just another excuse to make Hulk angry, it seems. And oh yes, let's not forget to be thankful that Bruce Banner always wears stretch pants.
As an origin story this will make a solid foundation for other Hulk movies, but this is the third Marvel movie this year and you know they want to pump out sequels for each. I like comic books but I'm starting to wonder just how many big-budget movies based on comic books Hollywood can make before we get tired of the genre.
The Skinny:
Am I glad I saw the film? Yes
Would I go to see it again? Wouldn't rush out to see it, but will probably see the DVD
© 2003 - Rusty Pipes