Hulk

[bix171]

Ang Lee attempt to create a brooding melodrama while trying to stay true to the live-action comic genre generally works but, typical of Lee’s endeavors, there’s a lack of depth that renders everything static and half-formed. It tries to be soulful but ends up humorless and blurry. On the upside, Lee is probably more successful than anyone has been in actually recreating the kinetic rush and intensity of comic-book art: he moves a number of multi-panels of shifting sizes on and off the screen; he freezes various shots, giving them a drawn look; and he effectively uses depth of vision in the action scenes (often to humorous effect: a tank thrown like a discus crashes with a poof in the background). On the downside, Lee and longtime collaborator, writer James Shamus, aren’t sure how they perceive their subject. They position Hulk as the rage-filled opposite of mild-mannered hero Bruce Banner (Eric Bana, the Australian actor whose obvious attempts to hide his accent actually adds to his intensity), who claims to enjoy the mass destruction; yet he becomes the monster only as an act of self-defense and only seeks to protect himself. They also take their own sweet time on developing the relationship between Banner and his scientist father (Nick Nolte, delivering a lazy, shapeless performance) with too much of it told in flashback; it ends up indistinct and unresolved. (Lee and Schamus also try, late in the film, to make a supervillian out of Nolte but they jettison that idea almost as quickly as they introduce it.) Still, though there could have been more of the effective computer effects designed to highlight the various emotions displayed on Hulk’s face, it’s pretty well made, an attempt to provide an adult perspective that goes beyond the usual sophisticated production design and yet provide reasonable entertainment value—it may not be the righteous effort Lee is striving for but it’s not without its pleasures.

[Johann]

I guess it's time to fire some missives about HULK .

"Kinetic" is a great word to describe the film. I was totally enthralled from open to close. It's the most serious treatment the character could get in Hollywood. How could anybody do it better?

I'm not a Marvel fan but this film made me a convert to The Incredible Hulk. Cinematic and comic-bookish at the same time, the scenes are so well crafted I was just soaking it all up. This is by far my favorite Ang Lee film-one I'll watch a lot on DVD. People complained there wasn't enough Hulk. Well, pardon my french, but fuck 'em.

This was one of the best explorations of emotion I've ever seen. "Repressed memories", anger, love, compassion, betrayal, jealousy, FEAR- it's all here kids.

Add the wicked sfx redering of a bohemoth (it suspended my belief) smashing tanks and helicopters, & you've got a certified blockbuster that should be recognized as more.

I pray to the cinema gods that Ang will make a sequel- a sequel that will really allow the HULK to run amok & smash more "PUNY HUMANS".



BTW, the scenes in the desert of Hulk vs. the tanks were absolutely awesome.-when he throws the tank into the far off dune I was gripping my armrests, not laughing.

[HorseradishTree]

Ang Lee really hasn't done much, has he? Let me think: The Ice Storm, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; that's all I can think of off hand. I don't think I've seen enough of his stuff to really judge his direction. While I loved CTHD, I very much disliked Hulk, but I still can't really tell if this is Lee's fault. Oh well...

Oh and by the way Johann, I must once again recommend you see Daredevil. I just bought the DVD and there are some fascinating interviews with some current and past writers/artists like Brian Michael Bendis and Frank Miller.

[tabuno]

Your commentary on this movie is as good as the movie itself. You hit all the relevant and pertinent points that really make this Comic Book genre movie one of the best of its kind. Ang Lee took a serious approach to the source material.