The Hulk

[Usivius]

OK, I did a search using that tool up there and found no topic for this movie.

I know it was controversial, with respect to how faithful it was or not to the idea of the comic.
As a non-fan of Hulk, overall I liked this movie.
I loved the direction and editing of this. Very intriguing idea how they set up his origin (or two origins) of his power. I like it better than the simple gamma explosion he saves Betty from in the comic.

Overall I give it 7 out of 10.

Any thoughts?

[wayfriend]

(as I said in the other Hulk thread) I thought it was a very good movie but it failed at being a good comic book movie. Too introspective and melancholy; not enough fun; not enough smash. In many ways it would have been a great third of three movie.

I really liked Nick Nolte's character in this movie; not as the absorbing man, but as the maniacal controlling father.

I also particulary enjoyed the way that the Hulk got out of his predicament at the end. I really love it when something totally unexpected happens in a movie, when it is plausible and the clues were laid out nicely.

I loved the scene with the Hulk hiding behind the tree. That's cinematography!

BTW, I super-love the new title-only search. Thanks, Jay!

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9875&highlight=hulk

Lots of movie discussion therein.

[Usivius]

I loved the scene with the Hulk hiding behind the tree. That's cinematography!

Absolutely. That was a really great moment. Some of the CGI was really good! The light and movements. The only place where CGI Hulk (and CGI in general) always goes wrong is in defiting realistic gravity ... how objects move when running, jumping, falling, tumbling.... never looks good.
When Hulk is walking, doing some smashing, etc, it looks great!

(and I tried that search function and didn't find a Hulk topic .... sorry for the duplicaiton...)

[wayfriend]

Your threads dedicated to the movie, so it's not duplication.

Anyway, I thought there was a lot of good stuff. But it was the wrong venue for it. It wasn't what comic book fans wanted. In some ways, they want to stay dumbed down.

[dANdeLION]

OK, I did a search using that tool up there and found no topic for this movie.

I know it was controversial, with respect to how faithful it was or not to the idea of the comic.
As a non-fan of Hulk, overall I liked this movie.
I loved the direction and editing of this. Very intriguing idea how they set up his origin (or two origins) of his power. I like it better than the simple gamma explosion he saves Betty from in the comic.

Overall I give it 7 out of 10.

Any thoughts?

Oh, I have plenty of thoughts....first off, Bruce saved Rick Jones from the explosion, NOT Betty Ross.

Second, the movie tried to be too many things; an extention of the 70's tv show, and an extension of the Stan Lee, Peter David AND Bruce Jones written comic (David expanded on some Lee themes, while Jones went in a completely different direction), which had little to do with the tv show. I think a telling microcosm of the Movie's attempt to be all things is Banner's father, who is at least 3 different comic charecters in the movie; his abusive dad, Hulk enemy Crusher Creel (A.K.A. the Absorbing Man), and another Hulk enemy, Zzzaxx.

Third, Glen Talbot was completely miscast, and the movie character had almost nothing to do with the comic character, who was an honorable man, and Betty's other love interest (and 1st husband) in the comic. In the movie, he played a role so far removed from the Major Talbot I grew up with that I'm not sure who he was supposed to be.

Fourth, having a Hulk movie without Rick Jones is like having a Superman movie without Jimmy Olsen. or Spiderman without Harry Osborne.

Finally, where's the Leader? The Abomination? These are the Hulk's major nemeses; how can you have a movie without them? You can't in my opinion.

On the other hand, I think Eric Bana did a good job being Bruce Banner, Jennifer Connelly did a great job being Betty, and whoever played Thunderbold Ross was also great. Nick Nolte was okay, but I don't think he was given much to work with. Or maybe too much.

It wasn't what comic book fans wanted. In some ways, they want to stay dumbed down.

No, we didn't want it 'dumbed down'. We wanted consistancy, and we didn't get it. We wanted to see the characters we grew up with on the big screen, and we only partially got that. Peter David's run on the Hulk is about 100 times as intelligent as Ang Lee's movie; I think most Hulk fans would have absolutely loved a movie based on that run, and fans of the 70's tv show would have marvelled at the psychosis behind Marvel's Jeckell & Hyde.

[aTOMiC2]

Well dANdeLION I don't think its possible for me to agree with you more. Every comment you made is 100% correct. I understand that the new Hulk film will be a departure from the original. So much so that I've read in some articles that its pretty much a full restart for the series. Hopefully this new Hulk will be more fan friendly than Ang's approach. Something far more true to the established story elements.

No Rick Jones? Yeah what the heck was that? That poor goof that Banner saves in the gamma chamber the only nod to Rick ever having existed.

[Usivius]

heheh, well my comments were from a Marvel reader who never really got in to the Hulk. I liked it as a movie. The same could not be said for my opinion of Daredevil.

HULK SMASH PUNY HUMANS!

[wayfriend]

It wasn't what comic book fans wanted. In some ways, they want to stay dumbed down.

No, we didn't want it 'dumbed down'. We wanted consistancy, and we didn't get it. We wanted to see the characters we grew up with on the big screen, and we only partially got that.

I don't think our comments are exactly at odds, as we're really talking about two different things. Or so, at least, I think. You're talking about being true to the source material. I'm talking about trying to change the movie's tone (and maybe even genre) away from action/adventure into some deep exploration of the human psyche.

Course, that don't mean we don't disagree, either.

[dlbpharmd]

Personally, I hated that the movie turned into a psycho drama. Overall I liked the CGI but there were some scenes that were so dark that it was difficult to see the Hulk's movements/actions.

[matrixman]

There's another Hulk movie coming?

I had avoided Ang Lee's film mainly because of negative reaction from Hulk fans. I do like the Hulk, but had never followed the comics, so I was relying on the judgment of fans.

[dANdeLION]

There's another Hulk movie coming?

www.mania.com/40833.html

[wayfriend]

There's another Hulk movie coming?

I had avoided Ang Lee's film mainly because of negative reaction from Hulk fans. I do like the Hulk, but had never followed the comics, so I was relying on the judgment of fans.

You should probably watch it on DVD, you'd like it. I liked it. It's actually a fairly good movie. (It is Ang Lee, don't forget.) There's some breathtaking scenes, and the story is good, and the plot is tight. The fact that it isn't faithful to the comics won't bother you. And you are forewarned that it is not a light-hearted movie.

You might say that The Hulk movie is to superhero movies as Unforgiven is to westerns.

[dANdeLION]

I think the Hulk is to comic movies as The Quick And The Dead is to westerns....You won't like it, and Ang Lee should stick to doing commercials. Seriously, if you want to compare The Unforgiven to something, I'd say it's to westerns as Private Ryan is to WW II movies. Unforgiven is a serious movie that forces you to reconsider every romanticised notion you had concerning westerns based on the films you grew up watching. The Hulk is a pathetic joke compared to that. Hell, if it's dark you want, Batman '88 is way better than Hulk.

[wayfriend]

Is not.

[CovenantJr]

Hulk was better than I expected, but it did lack a certain darkness I had hoped for. Not being a comic fan, I likely have different expectations than some, but I find the psychological aspects potentially more interesting than high action.

[wayfriend]

Have They Cast The New HULK?!

I like the comment in the talkback: Would [his] Hulk actually grow to match his nose?

[dANdeLION]

Great. They can title it "The Physicist" and have everybody cry at the end of it.

[aTOMiC2]

Adrien Brody as Bruce Banner? Huh? A different take on the subject from Mania.com

www.mania.com/53614.html

[dANdeLION]

Heh, what's with all the B's?

Bannor
Bixby
Bana
Brody


Something strange is going on here......

[wayfriend]

Tim Roth’s Abomination To Smash INCREDIBLE HULK!!

Tim Roth will play the Hulk-ish Abomination opposite Ed Norton’s Bruce Banner and Liv Tyler's Betty Ross. [link]