Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-20 21:51:08

A daily comment from Midget Emma: Hulk (2003)

A very slow movie. The Hulk is not what i expected. It was slow and theHulk leaps around like he is off Crouching Tiger, hidden dragon but ithad great acting and a strong story.The Hulk was very impressive. He looked so real. Much more real then helooked in the 2008 version. The story focuses so much on the Hulk. Weget a very detailed back story and by the end of the movie it feelslike we know him.Eric Bana was good as Bruce Banner. But enough about him lets get tothe real star of the show. Nick Nolte was excellent. He out shinedeveryone involved.I recommend it if you like the Hulk or comic book movies. It was asolid but boring movie.5/10

2012-05-20 12:35:41

A ride through heaven

Allow me to start by saying that I did have my doubts entering the theater to see The Hulk. Suffice to say, all of those doubts were not only erased, but replaced by visions of grandeur and magnificence like I was in heaven or something. For starters, the CGI effects of having a cartoon hulk proved to be a veritable stroke of genius, if you will. As The Hulk gracefully lept through the desert 500 ft. into the air and crushed missiles, tanks, and helicopters with his bare hands as he was chased by the evil bad guys, I spilled my extra large buttered(if it is in fact butter) popcorn(the 3 gallon tub that you can refill if you run out, you know what I'm sayin?) onto a senior citizen old lady chick in front of me. She cursed me under her breath and left, but I'm sure she understood that I was just caught up in the moment of great acting and technology combined as they formed one harmonious synergistic whole. I'd be remiss not to mention the undeniable fact that Eric Bana's performance approaches the realms of the sublime. One word: WOW!!!(capital letters intended for emphasis people)

Special-K88 2012-05-20 09:28:34

nothing to truly marvel at in this disappointing comic book saga

Bland comic book adaptation has a good setup but is done in by poorexecution. Bana is a promising scientist with an ambiguous and troubledpast that he can't recollect. He's blissfully ignorant of the fact thathis unstable genetics and all of his pent up rage and aggression cantransform him into a fierce green monster with a fast temper and anappetite for destruction. An unconventional approach to comic bookmaterial to be sure, long on destructive action scenes and convolutedscience the film is certainly well-crafted, but fails to overcome itsobvious flaws: Bana is miscast—not for his acting but more for hisphysical appearance—the special effects are unremarkable, the story isnever fully fleshed out, and after a while Lee's innovative directionbecomes a gimmick—not to mention a distraction. Nolte however, doesmanage to make the most of his role as Bana's shadowy father. **

bcorse 2012-05-20 09:12:01

The Hulk as he was meant to be!

I agree with those who say this movie is not for everyone, but not due toany fault in the movie itself. Ang Lee has presented a brilliant,undistilled version of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's original vision, and it isbreathtaking to watch.Unlike other Marvel characters, the Hulk was conceived as a tragiccharacter, almost gothic in his original incarnation which dates all the wayback to 1962. The 70's TV show was good in its own way, but oftensubstituted melodrama for real pathos. IMHO no director but Ang Lee couldhave rendered this vision so accurately or so vividly, yet remain true tothe essence of the characters and the story. And yes, Sam Elliott isperfect as "Thunderbolt" Ross, and Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly nailtheir parts as well.Parents beware: this is NOT a kid's movie! It is very intense, and somescenes are truly frightening, so leave the little ones athome.

aussieintn 2012-05-16 20:10:46

HULK want sequel NOW!

While other people might have most enjoyed seeing the HULK leaping about,Ireally liked the first part of the movie - the part that sets up thestoryand contains no HULK scenes at all. It's quite a drama, not a kids' movieora cartoon. Don't take your toddlers; it's rated PG-13 (in the USA) for areason! It rewards those who pay careful attention, so I wouldn'trecommendit for those who prefer the typical twenty-two minute TV episode, either.The soundtrack is crafty. This movie never creeps into MTV territory likesome movies I've seen, but the music relatively unobtrusively adds to themood.Eric Bana's acting is very different to his characterizations in"Chopper"and his other earlier work, which impressed me. He showed another side tohis acting ability, something that people who have seen him only in thismovie might not appreciate. Nick Nolte's and Sam Elliott's characterswere abit overblown - or maybe it's set in a world where men becomeincreasinglyunstable as they age! To me, Jennifer Connelly's character is more of thecookie-cutter Hollywood romantic interest. Overall, I guess to somepeoplethat makes it a "guy flick"... oh, yeah, and there's that giant greenmonster, too.I also appreciated the ending. It's not the typical Hollywood ending, allsweetly tied up with a pink bow or a wedding or whatever. Instead, itprovides an interesting point for launching into a sequel....

Alex 2012-05-16 18:08:19

Where did it all go wrong?

Where did it all go wrong?Warning: SpoilersIt had to happen. We got so much pleasure out of excellent comic bookmovieslike X-Men, Spider-Man and Daredevil we had to be punished. And whobetterto give us our punishment than Ang Lee, the worst (and most overrated)director in Hollywood who directed the lacklustre Crouching Tiger, HiddenDragon and the snoozefest The Ice Storm. He has completely messed thegoodreputation Marvel movies have been making for themselves. The film has somany problems I don't know where to begin.First has to be the script. I'll admit it's nice to see that writers aretrying to add intelligence to action movies but the writers here havecompletely forgotten that it needs to make sense as well. They try tomakethings like being injected with serum and being hit with a bomb (was noonesuspicous as to why Bruce Banner didn't just die) a common thing. Plusthebizarre ending just goes completely out of control and just ends up beingconfusing. And the dialogue could not be more flat. Oh, and the attemptsofdrama they have put in are embarrassing.Then there's the casting. Eric Bana is awful in the lead role. He makesthecharacter dull and humourless so it's impossible to sympathise with him.Healso looks more constipated when he starts to 'Hulk' up. Equally awful isSam Elliot who has no fun as the General and just seems bored. JenniferConnelly makes a stupid move to follow up her deserved Oscar winning roleinA Beautiful Mind with a character that shows off none of her talent. Shetries her best the role is just flat. Nick Nolte fairs a bit better butonlyputs in half the effort as Banner's father. Only a times going nuts he,likeElliot, seems bored most of the time. In fact the movie is stolen fromtheleast likely of sources and that is Josh Lucas as a smarmy villain who isunderused but at least seems to be enjoying himself. Plus the littlechemistry Bana and Connelly have is wasted on boring and tepid romanticscenes.But the main problem is Director Lee. He can't pace a film to save hislifeso the film feels very, very, very, very, very, very slow. It takes threequarters of an hour before anything happens. Also he tries to make thefilmarty by using devices like split screen. Art and Hulk. Doesn't really gotogether, does it Ang? He is also void of any sense of humour and takesthefilm way too seriously. No comic book references and no one liners. Themildly funny ('You found me.' 'You not that hard to find.') is crippledbysentiment when Bana says 'Yes I was'. Get your bucket out!!!Any other director could have made this a fast paced action movie thatgetsyou on the edge of your seat but Lee makes the film an hour too long andonly fills about 50 minutes of his 138 minute running time with what wecameto see. The Hulk!!!!!And what about the Hulk himself? Well, the CG Hulk is as good as you mayexpect as are the special effects but they're nothing impressive really.In fact the only saving grace of this film is half an hour of solidactionwhen the hulk goes out of control and starts smashing everything in sightbut it's hard to appreciate it when thats what we paid for in the firstplace instead of this dull, fun-free, miscast rubbish. No sequel please.2/10.

mack3175 2012-05-12 22:12:34

The HULK has arrived.

You would'nt like when Bruce Banner is angry. Cause after an experiment goneawry, now when he grows angry or outraged, he transforms into a hulkinggreen monster. Stan Lee was a genius when he created this character back inthe 60's. And the 1978 show starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno is what Iconsider to be a classic. Now the hulk has come to the big screen. Eric Banais now in the title role has Dr. Banner. Although not has good has BillBixby was, Eric Bana gives a somewhat effective performance, Although heseems to overact a little. Jennifer Connelly gives a perfect performanceBetty Ross. So does Sam Elliot has General Ross(Betty's Father). But NickNolte gives oscar performance has David Banner(Bruce's father) Ang Lee didan awesome job has director. I hope he directs the sequel. The specialeffects seem to be overdone, but quite effective.

tomimt 2012-05-12 10:11:25

Not the best superhero film.

It must be hard to write decent movie about probably the stupidestcomic book hero ever created. Let's face it: Hulk ain't the mostintelligent creature to have long, meaningful dialog with.So, what they dried to do, was to bring out the internal suffering ofBruce Banner (Eric Bana), as he tries to struggle against the monsterwithin. Other actors? Well, everyone was just so typical. Hard to pickanyone specific from there. Nick Nolte had nice role. Probably the bestin whole movie as Bruce's father, who was responsible of Bruce's doubleidentity. Jennifer Connoly was pretty in her role as Betty Ross,Bruce's, and Hulk's, object of desire.I must confess, I've never been a fan of Hulk comics. I didn't hatethem either, I just didn't care about the character. Green, muscularidiots rarely appeal to me. SO I didn't wait much from this movieeither. And usually, when you approach something from that point ofview you wont be disappointed badly. But in this case it's really hardto think much to say of this film.Well first, Ang Lee tried, I mean he really tried to make a comic bookmovie. I mean literally. He used divided screen all the time. Action ofthe movie was very comic book like. I felt I was watching animatedcomic instead of a movie. That made it real hard to take this flickseriously, even tough it did try. But it failed, tough in some placesit was very fitting. Maybe it would been better, if they'd just madethis a animation film. Dunno.And second, the special effects. Well, they worked in some places, butsadly it was far too obvious, that Hulk was fully computer generatedcharacter. He just looked so fake and out of placed in many scenes.I'd say it was worth 5 out of 10.

Danny Johnson 2012-05-06 15:49:58

"Citizen Kane" of Superhero films!

Amazing... utterly amazing. The best superhero film ever! Better than theSuperman films, better than the Batman films, better than Spider-man,betterthan the X-men films and easily better than Daredevil, Ang Lee hascreated afilm that should rank high on everybody's list as best comic book filmever!Can't wait for Hulk II!

jack-crow 2012-05-06 13:11:52

hard to get in, tasty in the the middle, slimy at the end.

The movie starts out rather long-winded in the beginning. Some people mayget bored about that or nearly fall to sleep. Once Bruce Banner morphsintothe Hulk for the first time it's a lot of fun to watch.The story isn't great, but it's pretty good for a movie made from a comic.For some viewers the end (of which I won't give away any spoilers here)might seem a bit overdone, disproportionate and disappointing, but Ang Lee(director) therefore grants us a great time in between - meaning inbetweenthe beginning and the end.

wootwootandwoot 2012-05-05 00:21:38

Enjoyable but confusing character development

I give this film a 7. It's generally entertaining and gripping in somemoments. Let's first dispense with the usuals. The CG is nice. Hulk'sskin is a little too smooth, but the animation is nice, especially wherehekicks the sh!t out of some M1s and Comanches. Definitely sweeeet.Actingis also ok, as the actors hit all their cues. Bana is suitably morose,Nolte is insane, and Jenny Connelly is every grad student's wet dream.There's also the right proportion of smash and mayhem to flashbacks andangst to plot development.So what's wrong with the film? Well, it's confusing. Not the plot(well,the ending was a little weird), but its characters. We never quiteunderstand who they are and what drives them. Bana's character is so"emotionally distant" that we never learn what his fears and hopes are,justa pastiche of flashbacks which don't add up to actual motivation. Nolteisalso confusing, mostly due to lack of exposition. Is he just a madscientist. Who was he trying to better, himself, his son, mankind, orjusthis ego? And how did he change in the 30 years he was locked up? Youmayask why these questions matter. It's because by not answering them, thefilm ended up being episodic and disconnected. The action seems insipid,without an underlying impulse or logic. It's more cartoon than comicbook,if you make such a distinction.That said, this film still has more "intelligence" (read "bite") comicbookmovie fluff and beat'em ups. Unlike, say, Spiderman or (barf) Daredevil,itmakes you want to know more about Banner and his dad, even if the filmdoesn't quite provide the answers.BTW, this film could've been 9 if Lee developed the characters more. Itwasquite enjoyable.

tiff_strauss 2012-05-04 17:48:42

Overrated bag of crap

Upon seeing this movie the first time, I noticed that it was not only anunorganized pile of BS, but also that much time was wasted on trying tomakethis one-dimensional flick into a fully fledged classic(which it did notachieve mind you). I also took note of the fact that the trendy comicbookstyle transitions not only didnt fit in in dramatic scenes, but alsodetracted from the overall quality of this mediocre "action"film.Upon seeing it a second time, I noticed that not only did this film amountto nothing more than around five poorly staged action "setpieces" andapproximately 6,000,000,000 overacted "dramatic" scenes(i.e. such as thefather/son scene at the end where Bana and Nolte are chit-chatting in thefor some odd reason electrically charged room and both then proceed toscream for no reason whatsoever at one another. For no reason other thantomake the scene dramatic that is. Which it was not). The movie, to add toits many faults, was also not understandable at all. Such indescribablescenes include: The scene where Nolte is bombarded with gamma rays andthen,for a completely unexplained reason, proceeds to turn into everything thathe touches; Another scene that made the movie blah, blah, blah, blah, and,well, blah.Let me just give it to you plain out, when this ball of crap rolls intostores disguised as a DVD, don't even consider watching it, because itwillmake you even more stupid than you were for renting or buying it in thefirst place.

rixrex 2012-05-02 16:38:49

"Puny Humans!"

That famous Hulk comic book line of dialog is the main reason why thisgiant blockbuster of green (in dollars that is) ended up busted.The credit goes to not one, but all "puny human" majors involved, thesemajors being Ang (Angst) Lee, Eric (Banal) Bana, Jennifer (one-noteacting) Connelly, Nick (over-the-top) Nolte looking as good as his DUImugshot, and the whole notion of everything must be left in because itcost so much.It's a pleasant distraction, and nearly as good as the silly Fantastic4 movies, but hundreds of fathoms below the really good Marvel comicmovies, meaning Spiderman, X-men and Iron Man.

saraphman 2012-05-02 01:47:08

Pure Masterpiece

Reviewer s-kubrick has it right-on. Speaking on behalf of most hardcoreaction junkie, I was looking for some senseless fx/action flick. Myfirst impression after watching this movie was that they should havefocused less on the drama. They second time I watched it, I was quiteimpressed by the creativity behind the Hulk and action sequences. Itleft me wanting for more. And that feeling put's you in a bad mood. Thethird time around, I notice the masterpiece behind the drama, the firstclass acting, and breath taking cinematography. Mr Ang Lee's Hulkshould have gotten an award for best picture to say the least. PapaHulk is so mesmerizing. There are some many things to love about thismovie. This is truly a complete movie. Among the finest ever made.Thank you to all the people behind it's creation.

tangendental 2012-04-29 01:32:49

much hyped, overall disappointment

While the cinematography and animation was beautifully done, I came awaydisappointed. The story left much to be desired and the actors didn'tseemto be in synch with each other. Eric Bana was flat, even for Bruce Banner;Sam Elliott & Nick Nolte were caricatures; Jennifer Connelly didn't belongin the movie. I felt as if I was watching a comic book. While that mighthave been the desire, other adaptations of comic books have not felt thatway, even though they retained the kitschy-ness of comicbooks.

SolidSnake86XX 2012-04-28 19:14:35

Ang Lee's American Masterpiece

First off, I'd like to say that superhero movies get a lot a of bad hype.They're not bad movies, it's just sometimes telling origins gets in thewayor the director/producer doesn't take enough of a creative license withit.Ang Lee did an excellent job with Hulk. Of all the superhero movies I'veever seen (which is nearly all of them), this one remains the pinnacle ofunderlying philosophical substance (excepting possibly Raimi'sSpider-Man).Hulk deals with how sorrow, anger, and all the other related emotions canbuild up within a man and can manifest physically. Admittedly, no onewillbecome big and green, but that's more symbolic of the kind of monsterspeople can become. Hitler, for instance, was hardly an eyesore, but whenit's all said and done, he remains one of the most atrocious monsters inthehistory of mankind.Hulk's plot was a rather interesting spin on Bruce's life and hisrelationship with Betty. Again, I enjoyed the creative license they tookwith the property, and I even enjoyed the little twist at the end betweenBruce and his father. When I saw this movie, I was on the edge of myseat.I could feel every bone-crunching hit between Hulk and the mutatedcanines.I felt all kinds of emotions during Hulk's battles, including the jetscene.I felt so much in the movie I could almost smell Ross's breath during hisclose-ups. I loved this movie, more so than even Spider-Man who happenstobe my favorite American superhero. And to be honest, I was never really aHulk person. On a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give it a solid9.

ramirezfm 2012-04-28 13:59:33

hulk is baaad

oooh man. this is the most horrible movie i've seen in months (and i'veseenballistic). everything in the movie is bad starting from bad actors andbadscreenplay to bad special effects and horrible photography. the big greenmeany has about 10 minutes in this movie, and the movie is more than 2hours! maybe it's better this way 'cuz special fx are just THAT bad. thehulk looks like made by some amatour 3d graphics beginner. the action partof the movie pretty much sucks. and the often used split screen mode,whichprobably seemed cool to the director, makes the action even lessenjoyable.the whole movie is boring, boring and more boooring. the hulk movie workslike sleep pills, but i believe that pills are cheaper. and if the poor,blade-ripped ending means there'll be a sequel, i never want to go thecinema again.

HugeNerd 2012-04-27 23:57:45

CGI champion paired with a difficult sell for movie go-ers

In the first 10 minutes of movie I thought a few things:- Ang Lee wanted a very adult setting for the Hulk- "When do I get to see the freaking Hulk?" :^)Basically, Lee had a tough job. He took several accomplished actors andputthem into a bubble gum flick with mixed results. The CGI rocked. A littleoverdone at times...but what a pleasure to see the true Hulk "in theflesh".I couldn't get enough of him.Lee had to somehow make the show interesting knowing that we couldn't seethe Hulk the whole movie. And that's not easy. Especially with a youngeraudience. My kids and I were fascinated during the smash scenes, andbarelyhanging on during the rest.I guess I'm making excuses for Lee, but the bottom line is that it's toughto incorporate a monster (unlike "normal" mutants) at just the rightlevel.Too much and you've got a lot of cheese, too little and you've got a dramawith flashes of excitement. I'd say this movie is the latter. Still a goodmovie. Still worth the watch.If I could re-do it, I would mix in a mutant villian early on to keepthingsinteresting (I know..that's not original) and I would have had morelaughs.A 30-foot green dude could provide a lot of material given the chance.Banaisn't the charmer that MacGuire (for example) is, either. In the end, youget two types of movies (fantasy, drama) that aren't mixed for the bestresult. I still give it a 7.5 for the Incredible effects and JenniferConnelly. Man, she's just sweet.

flapdoodle64 2012-04-25 10:52:20

The Political Hulk

This is a fine and moody adaptation of the Marvel's Incredible Hulkcomics, combining elements from the early Hulk stories with more recentinterpretations and retcon versions of the character. In terms ofvisuals, acting, emotion and story, this is far more interesting thanmost of the comic book movies made, yet this film is exiled to relativeobscurity due to underperformance at the box office.Personally, I think this film was about 2 years ahead of its time...2years after Hulk's release the positively morose and glacially slow'Batman Begins' was a huge hit(though 'Batman Begins' did takeadvantage of Time/Warner's planet-size media clout for marketingpurposes).Also, 'Hulk' portrays the American military as being reactionary,treacherous, aggressive, duplicitous, and even sadistic.. all of whichqualities are faithful to the original Marvel comics of the 1960's, yetare facts the gingoistic 'Mission Accomplished' media and public didnot want to face in 2003.Had this movie been released after the photos of American soldierstorturing prisoners, or after the reports of US troops using phosphorusagainst civilians in Fallujah had emerged, the public might haveaccepted this film more readily. Or not, seeing as American media, 7years later, refuse to discuss these or any other substantive issues ofnational morality.Regardless, this is a well-produced and well-directed film, with fineperformances from Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly. Ms. Connelly inparticular should be singled out for being vastly superior to Liv Tylerwho replaced her for the inferior 2008 'The Incredible Hulk' film.

nwo2001uk 2012-04-24 20:56:52

Close but no cigar

As much as I tried to like this film (the first 40 minutes were verygood),the longer it went the more I got tired with it. The action sequences arefew and far between, and not that impressive. I was more interested in thestory behind Banner. In all, not as good as X Men 2, but a definiteimprovement on Daredevil.Shame, cos this was the film I wanted to see all year.