The Hulk Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)June 19th, 2003
HULK (2003) 1 star out of 4. Starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas and Nick Nolte. Based on the Marvel comic book character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Story by James Schamus. Screenplay by John Turman and Michael France and James Schamus. Directed by Ang Lee. Rated PG-13.
As Kermit the Frog once said, it's not easy being green. But then Kermit didn't have to sit through Hulk, which could turn anyone green — with envy for those who choose not to see this monstrosity.
On the drive home after the screening I tried to think of a redeeming virtue this Ang Lee-directed behemoth offered, and could not think of one.
Hulk is too long, too tedious and takes itself much to seriously.
And that is its biggest flaw. Instead of adding some playfulness, some comic book zest, Lee has directed an angst-ridden excursion into suppressed emotions, guilt and scientific irresponsibility.
Maybe the director of Sense and Sensibility and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, did not take the time to view Spider-Man or either of the X-Men adaptations. Those films treated their characters with respect, but also added a few sly winks here and there to remind the audience that it was only entertainment.
Hulk provides no such respite. You'd think you were watching Wuthering Heights instead of a live action version of a Marvel comic character.
The movie drags, which is sinful for a film with a running time exceeding two hours. Plus the technique of continually breaking the screen into panels, a la the pages of a comic book grows tiresome after several minutes.
To his credit, though, Lee was trying to make something more than the usual comic book crossover from page to screen. He was aiming for a morality drama, a story of fathers and sons, of discovering one's true self that is buried within.
All well and good if done in a way that entertains. But Hulk lurches painfully.
Even the action sequences lack the astonishment quotient of the X-Men and Spider-Man films.
The CGI Hulk, which grows to various sizes depending on the anger level of hero Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), looks more like a refugee from a computer game than a fully realized creation.
The sequences in which Hulk battles tanks and helicopters are more PlayStation than cinematic magic.
As for the cast, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross has little to do, but cry, tilt her head and look troubled concerning the fate that has befallen her ex-boyfriend.
Sam Elliott as her father, Gen. Ross, is nothing more than a cardboard military man, while Nick Nolte gives the most embarrassing and hammy performance of his long career as Banner's renegade scientist father.
Hulk will disappoint those expecting another Marvel-ous thrill ride along the lines of X-Men or Spider-Man. Even Daredevil offered more panache. Sorry to say but this feature is just a sad hulk of a movie.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
