Directed by: Ang Lee
Stars
Eric Bana
Jennifer Connelly
Sam Elliot
Nick Nolte
The Hulk film failed at the box office and received a lot of criticism from the public and reviewers alike. Although its not perfect it contained plenty of good points. This is the first in a series of films that will be reviewed on this blog, films that didn't perform well at the time of release but are not as bad as they seem.
The story
The Hulk film loosely followed the premise of the comics; Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) unleashes the Hulk after an experiment goes terribly wrong. In the comics, the Hulk takes over Banner after a gamme bomb explodes however in the films things are a little bit more complicated. Banner senior (Nick Nolte) genetically alters Bruce's DNA which eventually leads us to the Hulk and lots of rampages. I like the story as it is more character driven than some of the other super hero films that have been made. In the 70s TV series physical pain was the trigger that brought forth the Hulk while Ang Lee focused on psychological anguish.
The good points
The Hulk featured quite a well written story and some exciting action sequences, in particular the tank battle in the desert. If you want to see the Hulk in a major strop then check out his tank bashing abilities. Of course the Hulk wouldn't be much without a good reason to prompt his transformations. Bruce is plagued by nightmares but due to a suppressed memory he has no idea why they occur. These nightmares are connected with his father who did something quite nasty when Bruce was just a child. There's quite a lot of emotion in this film which adds to its depth.
The bad points
The Hulk effects could have been better, although they are not as bad as some people make out, and there could have been a bit more action but they are my only gripes.
Conclusion
I enjoyed this film on a few different levels. I appreciated the story and the action and how it was different from other superhero films. If you've never seen the film and you enjoy something with a bit of thought then I'd say it's worth a look.
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