The Hulk Review
by Richard A. Zwelling (razwee AT yahoo DOT com)July 8th, 2003
HULK
*** (out of ****)
a film review by
Richard A. Zwelling
So the big green guy has finally arrived. Don't expect a story similar to the cartoon and comic books, however, because the newest film from director Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) takes a decidedly different and more tragic direction. In style, however, I must say that this is the closest I've ever seen a movie adaptation come to approximating the dynamic, visual flair, and ambience of a comic book.
The recent entries into the Marvel Comics movie adaptations (Spiderman, Daredevil, the X-Men films) and even the older ones (the Superman and Batman films) have all been given alternate treatments that make them more palatable for the screen. Dialogue was much more cinematic or theatrical in quality. Shot selection, even when it wasn't pedestrian, did not have the unique, frenetic dynamic of the pages of a comic book.
Hulk represents a startling aberration. Frames appear within frames. They also slide over the screen and disappear through horizontal or vertical motion. The dialogue is glib and stilted in nature and is interrupted by sudden cuts to alternate angles of the subject speaking the lines. And as should be the case, the cinematography is sometimes overtly energetic. Some may see this as over-the-top, but in my opinion, it is a worthy cinematic interpretation.
The film tells the story of Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), a geneticist who we find out has a troubled family history. His ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly), works in the same lab and knows as much about Bruce as anybody, despite the fact that she cannot get him to divulge many details about the past. One man, however, who knows more about Bruce's past than even Bruce himself might care to know is his father (Nick Nolte) whose motivations are always dubious.
As anyone who knows the basic elements of the original story can guess, circumstances arise that result in Bruce's transformation into the gargantuan, green behemoth of uncontrollable rage and destructive force. In the case of this film, however, intensive character development and tragic heroism are added to the expected (and, it should be noted, extremely well-executed) action sequences and flashy computer pyrotechnics.
Banner is painted as the victim of excruciating circumstances, misunderstood by the external world and smothered by the warped affections of his father. In the role of Betsy Ross, Connelly is not merely a damsel-in-distress, as might be expected in this type of role. She is an important compliment to Banner and an oasis that draws him away from his destructive tendencies. She is his redemption and is herself the victim of the misplaced affections of her father (played with a marvelously overt harshness by Sam Elliott).
Nolte's performance as Banner's mad-scientist father often takes on the excessive and hysterical, but in context of the unique dynamic of the film as a whole, his antics fit right into place. It took me a little while to stop thinking of the film as a movie and to start viewing it as a comic book, but once I did, I appreciated it more.
Differing opinions have come forth regarding the CGI. I personally found them incredibly enthralling and realistic. Both the larger-scale sequences, such as fights, and the more intimate moments, such as those that require attention to the minutiae of the Hulk's physical characteristics, are done with considerable success.
In terms of both raw physicality and tragic conflict, Hulk has resounding echoes from stories such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the 1933 film King Kong. I'll leave the film to explain this, and I will also say that there are several shots in the film that seem lifted straight out of King Kong itself. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a subtle homage, but the parallels are striking.
Altogether, this represents a wonderful departure from the traditional method of comic-to-film adaptation, and the characters are as genuine and well-developed as the best of the Marvel movies. Like X2 and Spiderman, but unlike the lackluster Daredevil, Ang Lee's Hulk is a good enough film to warrant my interest in a sequel.
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.
