Review of Hulk

Introduction

Who`d have thunk back in 1995 that the same director who made Emma Thompson`s Jane-Austenfest "Sense and Sensibility" would be making a movie about a certain green bloke with anger management issues in 2003? Of course, he`s made a range of eye-openingly different movies in the interim - The Ice Storm, Crouching Thingy, Hidden Doodah. All proving the man`s no one-trick-pony. His entry in the canon of comic-book-movies is naturally no simplistic zap-pow-thud offering, but still contains enough gleeful mayhem to keep both sophisticate and popcorn audiences entertained.

The movie survived the release on the internet of an incomplete workprint of the picture. It is thanks to this "leak" waking up the members of the MPAA to the piratical opportunities of the internet that the "screener" ban was put in place, and Hollywood has become even more paranoid about the protection of its copyrights. Howls of disappointment came from the "got to see it while the print`s still wet" crowd about the rendering of the Hulk, but the final picture ultimately shows the fanboys` folly.

The Hulk himself is a CG creation. Too CG for many, who claimed to be jarred out of their (hate this phrase) "suspension of disbelief", but let`s face it the things the character does in the script would jar your reality filter whether the Hulk was realised through CG, Muppet or Lou Ferrigno in shamrock-hued pancake. Personally I wasn`t disappointed. I thought the CG team had managed to balance realism and comic-book flavour very well.

There`s more meat to this movie than the usual comic-book movie conversion. In this telling of the story, our hero is not the pioneering scientist irradiated by accident in the style of Bill Bixby`s hero. This time, Bruce (Australian actor Eric Bana) is the estranged son of David Banner, a geneticist involved in secret Army research to develop a breed of self-healing, self-regenerating super-soldier.

Banner`s father (Nick Nolte in a dazzlingly barking performance) is the archetypal mad scientist. Forced to experiment on himself when the military won`t give him some volunteer guinea-pigs, he passes his self-inflicted genetic modifications on to his son. Thus young Bruce has not only looney-tunes military after his jade-hued ass, but his godhood-deluded father as well.

The Hulk epitomises Hollywood`s anxiety that America can`t trust either its military or its leaders. Throughout the movie, the US Army is portrayed as a sinister force of uncontrollable, weapons-happy lunatics who don`t care what the consequences might be as long as their bomb is bigger than anybody else`s.

Worryingly, so as not to be denied the audience the picture is aimed at, the film occupies that same NRA fairyland that "The A-Team" flourished in, where no matter how much ordnance is expended, nobody gets so much as a scratch. Tanks are thrown around like toys and helicopters are downed with only broken rotor blades, where anybody who`s seen Black Hawk Down knows the real thing explodes if you sneeze on it. Yet you see very few people in this picture meeting their maker at the hands of the Hulk. Those that do have in their turn been trying to kill him and more often than not are hoist by their own petard. Now, I find that strange considering Bruce Banner has to go certifiably postal to Hulk-up. I`d have expected him to be going around stomping people who tried to kill him, but I suppose that grating moral attitude that pervades American comic-books (and movies of comic-books) wouldn`t have allowed him that edge. It is also likely that considering many of the potential audience would have relatives in the armed forces facing off against international terrorism, the last thing they would want to see is boys in uniform being squished by the Hulk.

In one of the show-piece set-pieces, Sam Elliot`s barking mad General orders jet and helicopter gunship attacks on our not-so-jolly green giant over Monument Valley, San Francisco and the bay without a second`s thought about collateral damage to either protected national park or major city. In the Bay area, had a fire-fight developed, hundreds more people would have been injured by stray bullets than could be physically injured by the Hulk. Now, I know it`s only a movie but I`d hope a real General would have a little more foresight towards his actions than your average Hollywood depiction would.

In spite of claims of art-housiness against the picture, Ang Lee has made a visually stunning movie with some amazing set-pieces to please the most discerning popcorn addict. In between, the movie has some slow moments and the motives and logic displayed by most of the characters is gnaw-your-knuckles-off exasperating, but hey you can`t please all of the people all of the time. The script tries to be too clever, but Lee`s direction and visual flair frequently makes up for the shortcomings.

Ultimately, the ending of the picture is unsatisfactory because loose ends are left open for sequels - characters don`t get their just desserts and dynamics are set up for the sequels to follow that same turgid "The Fugitive" rip-off styling the tv series had where our hero spends the rest of his days dodging some indefatigable a**hole out to kill/capture/write-a-newspaper-story-about him. If that`s your plan, Marvel, I`d rather see the franchise end here.

Video

This is a top-of-the-range transfer in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. I would have expected the film to have been shot in 2.35:1 given its profile, but the narrower aspect ratio has production benefits. At least the picture FILLS your widescreen television. You can see the pores in the Hulk`s skin. The picture is flawless, colourful and detailed. Ang Lee also puts to dazzling use a number of comic-book conventions such as split screens and frames to make the whole movie look like it has been lifted from the pages of a Marvel magazine.

Audio

The sound mixes come in Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS, and there`s little to differentiate between the two. Both have enormous power, utilising low frequency effects to amazing effect. This could easily be another disc to show off the capabilities of your sound system with.

Danny Elfman has written another score that will bore its catchy way into your subconscious. His accompaniment to the opening titles is so reminiscent of those 1960s scores to science fiction classics, it is obvious he is a keen fan himself.

Features

Along with the movie on disc one are a few extras that most movies would be proud of. Ang Lee himself contributes a director`s yak track that is frequently insightful and which is fully subtitled for the hard of hearing. There is a "follow the white rabbit" option called Hulk Cam which takes the viewer out of the action to a series of fascinating short featurettes about the making of the movie. There are also DVD-ROM features (which unfortunately my set-up wouldn`t play), and a teaser trailer for the upcoming Thunderbirds movie featuring the new design T2 landing by the Houses of Parliament to the tune of "The Boys Are Back In Town".

Disc Two is the icing on the cake. This starts off with a set of featurettes under the umbrella title of "Hulkification". Scenes in the film were illustrated by a group of comic-book artists to give the production team a style to aim for. The resulting artwork is played alongside the final scene as it appeared in the movie. Different viewpoints can be selected.

"Evolution of the Hulk" is a featurette with Hulk creator Stan Lee which gives the creative history of the Hulk, with plenty of illustrations from comic books, cartoons and of course the tv series.

"The Incredible Ang Lee" is a short featurette about the director, who would often don the motion capture suit used by the animators to generate the basic moves of the Hulk.

"The Dog Fight Scene" breaks down in detail the showpiece sequence from the middle of the film where Banner`s father sends his mutated guard dogs after Betty (Jennifer Connelly).

"The Unique Style of Editing The Hulk" details the post-production phase of the movie in a short featurette.

"The Making of The Hulk" is the 23 minute centrepiece featurette documenting the shooting of the movie.

There are also some deleted scenes which would have added little to the final cut but which include the cameo appearance by Lou Ferrigno (the tv Hulk) as a security guard.

There is also an interactive piece by ILM about "Superhero Revealed: The Anatomy of the Hulk".

All in all, a dazzling array of extras for a movie that`s sadly not up to its hype but is a damn sight better than other superhero movies which have sullied our screens in the past five years or so.

Conclusion

Universal spent $120million+ making this movie and believe me, every last cent is up on the screen. From the eye-opening titles to the ride into the stratosphere, this is comic-book style writ large. As with every Marvel franchise there`s that exasperating set of complications about the characters` lifestyle you just don`t get with the DC Comic crowd. If you can overlook that, then this picture is worth an airing if only to see what all the hype was about.

If you`re squeamish, don`t watch the bit with the frog.