Hulk
Directed by: Ang Lee
Starring: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas & Nick Nolte
Rated: PG-13
Length: 138 min
Released: June 20, 2003
Trailer
IMDB.com Synopsis:
Bruce Banner, a brilliant scientist with a cloudy past about his family, is involved in an accident in his laboratory causing him to become exposed to gamma radiation and Nanomeds (A tiny life-form that is supposed to heal wounds but has killed everything with which they have made contact). Confused and curious about his survival, Banner discovers that since the accident, whenever he becomes angry he transforms into a giant green monster destroying everything in sight in an act of fury. Bruce’s mysterious past and the answer to why the radiation had this effect becomes revealed to him as his Birth Father David Banner intervenes with hopes to continue experimenting on him.
My Thoughts:
There are so many reasons why this movie just didn’t work at all. The major problem seemed to be Director Ang Lee. This man had no sensitivity to the comic book and fans of this beloved franchise. He had in his head what would make a good movie and just went with it. As long as it was done his way that’s all that mattered.
This is a perfect example of why producers and film companies need to be VERY careful and selective of who they allow to direct a comic book movie. If they don’t know/understand the franchise and the fan base…they screw it up royally. I mean come on! Who watched Sense and Sensibility and then went, Hmmm…that guy should direct a HULK MOVIE!?!? NNNOOOOOO!!!!! BAD IDEA! It had stuff from various parts of the Hulk comics, but they were just put together so poorly. It didn’t work…at all.
It was to artsy fartsy…melodramatic… psychological…mumbo jumbo. Some of the camera transitions were cool and a lot of the action sequences were nice, but the film as a whole just didn’t work. I wanted it to work so bad…but I have to be honest with myself. They tried to make it smart…and it didn’t work. I found the connection between several characters less than believable, and the villain in this movie just sucked! As I said in an earlier post, a good villain helps make a great hero…and that was seriously lacking in this movie.
The one thing you can take away from this movie is that it helps you appreciate The Incredible Hulk movie…which will be coming up tomorrow. It didn’t totally blow because the action had it’s moments and, though it would have worked better in another non-Hulk movie, the cinematic style was cool. I’m giving this one 1.5 stars out of 5.
