Lee's Movie Info - Visitor Ratings For Hulk

I wanted to like "Hulk," really, I did. Ang Lee has become one of my favorite directors. ?Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? remains my favorite movie from 2000 and his other films have never failed to impress me. Until now.

As most know, "Hulk" is based on the Marvel comic book of the same name. The movie follows the life of Dr. Bruce Krensler (Eric Bana), a well-respected scientist. When we first meet the good doctor, he is as far from his green counterpart as he could be. Mild-mannered and emotionally distant, Bruce's personality and his ability to hide his true feelings shows strongly in the first scene between he and his recently ex-girlfriend Betty (Jennifer Connolly), a fellow scientist. The anger and confusion over the breakup of their relationship can be seen, lying just below the surface in his every word and every facial expression, but only faintly.

We learn through flashbacks about their relationship and more about Bruce's past. We learn he is adopted and that he has no desire to know about his real parents whom he has been told are dead. We learn about (and see) the nightmares that plague him in his sleep. Dreams of rage, dreams of the past, dreams so real he begins to wonder if they could.

Despite the breakup, Bruce and Betty continue to work together on a project to enhance human regenerative powers using gamma radiation. The project, however, is in danger of losing its funding. Desperate to find a success to use to their advantage, the two continue their research finding only failure.

One fateful night, Bruce and Betty are preparing further study when their assistant becomes trapped in the gamma chamber. Bruce rushes to his aid only to find himself, also, trapped. With the gamma rays set to go off, Bruce nobly acts as a shield to protect him and takes the full brunt of the radiation himself. Radiation that has killed every animal specimen they have used in the past.

Bruce, however, survives this terrible accident, but is not totally unscathed. The radiation has set off a chain reaction of changes inside of him. Despite Betty's constant reminders that he should be, in fact, quite dead, Bruce feels better physically. His bad knee has healed and he feels better overall than he ever has. Nevertheless, his sleep disturbances worsen and become more violent. That night, in his recovery room in the lab, Bruce is confronted by a strange man, David Banner (Nick Nolte). The new late shift janitor, David reveals himself to Bruce as his real father. David approaches Bruce to explain his dreams. Explain the empty questions that have filled his consciousness for so long, yet remain unanswered. David has already been introduced to us, however. Opening flashbacks show the senior Banner, a scientist just like Bruce, who has also worked on regeneration. David's work, though, took on a much darker turn when, against the orders of his military superior, Betty?s father simply referred to as Ross (Sam Elliott); David subjects himself and his newborn son -- Bruce -- to experimentation. It is this experimentation that caused Bruce to survive the accident. It is the reason Bruce has something deep inside him just waiting to come out.

Those who remember "Hulk" the comic book may have a hard time swallowing this cinematic version. There is little doubt that "Hulk" is an impressive film to look at. Technically, the film is well made. Lee's direction is as innovative as ever. The CGI Hulk is an acceptable, if not perfect rendering of the comic classic. Some of the technical tricks up Lee's sleeve act as a distraction, though. The stylistic editing does little to enhance the story or further the plot, instead distracting the eyes away from where they should be, on the characters and involved in the story. In addition, the usually reliable Danny Elfman has produced a score that echoes his score for last year's "Spider-Man" a little too much. While there are those who will say John Williams does the same, Williams' scores have never sounded like Mrs. Edwards? fifth grade music class playing out of key as Elfman's score does here.

The acting in the film is mostly first rate, but its weakest link is Bana. His uneven performance makes it hard to take an interest in Bruce at all, something that was not the case in the comic book. Connolly's job is to look pretty and sound smart, and she succeeds in both. As her father, Elliott gives one of his best performances. He does not play Ross as either a stock military villain or a rampaging lunatic. He instead injects sympathy into the character and makes it much easier to believe he is doing what he does out of concern for his country?s and his daughter?s safety. It is Nolte, however, who gives the best performance in the film. Playing with his patented bubbling under the surface rage, he gives Banner more layers than was required. He is the most interesting character in the movie.

Those good things aside, "Hulk" is uneven at best, boring and plodding at worst. Even with all of its technical prowess, the movie has the feel of an empty hull. Too much time is spent trying to turn the film into a character study of a father and son at the expense of giving the film a soul. Lee and his screenwriting partner James Schamus spend far too much time breathing psychological upheaval into the lives of their characters, ultimately ignoring the fact they are making a movie about a man who turns into a living, breathing, king-sized green temper tantrum. Comic book movies are supposed to be fun and "Hulk" is the first film I have ever seen that is completely devoid of humor. It becomes quite apparent after the first hour that Lee has opted to take the subject matter far too seriously, searching for dramatic leanings, which simply are not there.

Like a lost soul, Ang Lee's vision of "Hulk" searches for meaning, searches for a purpose but just as most lost souls, never succeeds in its quest.

** / ****
Grade: D

Review By cross catastroph [ A ] (1 Users Found This Well Written, 1 Did Not)

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Review By Holinyx [ D ]

Review By wet24 [ A ] (0 Users Found This Well Written, 1 Did Not)

Review By Hillbilly_punker [ A ] (0 Users Found This Well Written, 1 Did Not)

Review By piglips [ A ] (0 Users Found This Well Written, 1 Did Not)

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