Hulk (2003)

Overall: C+
Cast: B+
Plot: C
Special Effects/Stunts: B-
Similarity to Comic: B+
Director: Ang Lee
Comic Company: Marvel
Stars: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliot
Rating: PG-13
See the IMDB page
See the Rotten Tomatoes page

If X-Men and Spider-Man were huge steps forward for the comic book industries move to the big screen, the Hulk was, well, not such a big step.  It's not a bad movie, but there have been much better movies since.

The Good: I really liked Eric Bana as Bruce Banner.  I like how he was toned down and less emotional than Edward Norton, he also made the character seem more intelligent than Norton did.  Jennifer Connelly did well and Sam Elliot was good too.  Josh Lucas was a perfect bully character and the best actor in the movie was Nick Nolte who played Bruce's father.  Other than that there weren't very many characters, I like how these Hulk movies keep the casts simple and good.

There were several things I liked about the plot.  First of all, I liked how this movie really went into the creation of the Hulk, his story.  The other Hulk movie doesn't really get into it, and that's probably my one big beef with that film.  One of the nice surprises is that in this movie they show the real top of the line aircraft our military has to offer.  Most movies just show Apache helicopters and F-14, 16, or 18's which are indeed very deadly aircraft but nothing compared to the Comanche helicopters and F-22 Raptors they show chasing the Hulk in this movie.   This movie seemed fairly lighthearted compared to most Superhero movies, and everything about it was made to look like a comic book; the plot, the cinematography, the transitions, the action sequences, and even the acting.  I really liked that style and I wish more movies were set up that way.

The Bad: This movie was way too long.  It's my firm belief that a Superhero movie needs to be between 100 and 115 minutes, this one was 138.  Along with being too long, this movie was plagued with a fundamental problem; it had some great action sequences but in-between them were some prolonged periods of absolutely nothing.  A good movie keeps your attention, this one did not and several times I found myself wondering how much longer they were going to drag it out.

The special effects were interesting.  They weren't really that bad, just a little too smooth to look real, and the only thing consistently CGI in this movie was the Hulk.  So throughout the movie he looked kind of fake.  I think there either needed to be more CGI in this movie, or more attention paid to the CGI of the main character.  I also think this movie needed a more focused plot.  I understand they were trying to make it complicated by using multiple antagonists but in my opinion the best Superhero movies have one or two main villains with clear cut evil goals.  This movie had his father with whatever power he was supposed to have, it had the military, and it had Talbot with whatever it was he was doing to stop the Hulk.  In the end it all kind of blended together and made for two or three points where the movie felt like it should have ended.

The Interesting: This movie only had three or four small continuity errors, which is incredible really.  What is also incredible is how well Marvel did a reboot of this movie.  'The Incredible Hulk' had a completely different cast, a very different plot, better effects, and was made only five years later.  These two movies should be used as perfect examples of how to reboot a series, especially one that needs to be rebooted quickly.

One thing I didn't understand was the one time the Hulk transformed in front of Talbot, then he steps outside and transforms again into an even bigger Hulk?  I didn't know he has the power to keep bulking up until he's invincible, that he can just get as big as he needs to be.  If there's one thing that really turns me off about certain heroes is when they have seemingly unlimited powers, like Superman.

Conclusion: This movie had it's good parts and certainly a good style, but overall it was kind of a dud.  It was a drag to have to sit through this whole movie, but I guess it could have been a lot worse too.