"Hulk" Talkback (Spoilers)

[GL2k2]

Going into this movie I was ready to ask for my money back. But they delivered a pretty good comic book film. I also was kinda wanting Lee to stay away from the comic, which he did a little too much. He obviously paid his homage to the t.v. series with the split screens which I must say he did an excellent job of. Everything thing from the photograph flashback to the blacking out seen at the cabin was excellent. The Hulk Dogs was a little much. Especially a poodle?! The CGI didn't look good on them at all either. But the fight scene was great. In fact all of the HULK's scenes were great. I think they took pain-staking viewing to make sure Hulk did not look too fake, they watched the lighting and everything. But the one thing that made the Hulk more real was it emotional pull. No, not it's facial expressions and stuff, but how we felt about him. Lee took advantage of the audience knowing by this time we know that baby will eventually be the Hulk. It, to me is the old E.T. trick. All in all it wasn't half bad, but much like Spider-Man it left room for improvement.

Also, I'm not sure if they wanted Bruce's father to be Absorbing Man or Zzazxx.

 

[The Clown Prince]

Kick ass. It quite simply was very good. Waaay back in January when we all got our first glimpse of him at the Superbowl, I was in the majority that wasn't too excited about it. Even with all the ads over the last couple of months with "better" looking CGI. So of course I go into this with low expectations and I come out blown away.

With big movies like this that rely on CGI, you just have to put it in the back of your head and just enjoy it for what it is.... a movie. And that's what I did. The CGI was actually quite good and surprised me. ILM has done it again.

To keep this post short, I'll list the two things that stood out that I didn't like. While I understand what Lee was doing, Talbot's death scene with the comic book background did not look good at all. It really stood out and looked pretty bad.

While Nick Nolte was really great, sporting the hair that was in his mug shot shown all around the country, I didn't think he really needed to become the Absorbing Man. Some of that really came off looking like the T-1000's scenes that were initially cut in T2's theatrical release, but later restored in the director's cut.

I don't know, even though I fully understand what kind of movie this is, the "superhero" fight at the end was really kind of corny. To me it was the thing that stood out the most and didn't really belong after everything that we had seen with the Hulk, and all the character interaction with everyone else.

Dog fight scene, GREAT! Desert attack sequence, REALLY GREAT!

The Clown Prince

 

[Palin Dromos]

Let me first say that I went in really and truly wanting to like this movie.

And I'm still open to explainations and interpretations that may open my eyes to something I missed.

I'll start with
CONS:
-The comic books style frame spliting and panelling didn't work for me. It was overused as were all the wipes and morphs and zooms and swishes that they cobbled together to create the films first act. I was pleased that this techniques frequency was reduced once the Hulk appearded. It constantly reminded me that I was watching a movie, and not only a movie but a comic book movie. I didn't need to be reminded of this every 5 seconds. If I want panels I'll read the comic. There were a few times it worked, but only a few...

-I agree that the Absorbing Man super-villain was NOT needed and cheapened the emotional potentcy of the Father-Son conflict that had been set up. Their final battle was also, in my opinion, a bit to cerebral for a character who thrives on the tangiable.

-Maybe the paneling was just making me ill, but the film's opening really is a wee bit drawn out. I too would have preferred that more of that be peppered throughout the film in flashback.

PROS:
-I didn't have a problem with the HULK CGI.
-The acting worked for me, Sam Elliot was excellent.
-All the desert fight scenes and leaping were incredible.


I'll stop there. A lot of the pro reviews seemed to be blown away with an emotional depth they gleaned from the film. If someone wants to help clarify that I'd be appreciative, I think I missed something that they saw.

In terms of where this rates-I still liked Daredevil better, but then again I understand that character more.

Palin

 

[GL2k2]

Let me first say that I went in really and truly wanting to like this movie.

And I'm still open to explainations and interpretations that may open my eyes to something I missed.

I'll start with
CONS:
-The comic books style frame spliting and panelling didn't work for me. It was overused as were all the wipes and morphs and zooms and swishes that they cobbled together to create the films first act. I was pleased that this techniques frequency was reduced once the Hulk appearded. It constantly reminded me that I was watching a movie, and not only a movie but a comic book movie. I didn't need to be reminded of this every 5 seconds. If I want panels I'll read the comic. There were a few times it worked, but only a few...

-I agree that the Absorbing Man super-villain was NOT needed and cheapened the emotional potentcy of the Father-Son conflict that had been set up. Their final battle was also, in my opinion, a bit to cerebral for a character who thrives on the tangiable.

-Maybe the paneling was just making me ill, but the film's opening really is a wee bit drawn out. I too would have preferred that more of that be peppered throughout the film in flashback.

PROS:
-I didn't have a problem with the HULK CGI.
-The acting worked for me, Sam Elliot was excellent.
-All the desert fight scenes and leaping were incredible.


I'll stop there. A lot of the pro reviews seemed to be blown away with an emotional depth they gleaned from the film. If someone wants to help clarify that I'd be appreciative, I think I missed something that they saw.

In terms of where this rates-I still liked Daredevil better, but then again I understand that character more.

Palin

I'll take a stab at helping you see what we see good in some of the plot elements. Although, reading your reveiw just made me realize that screen splits were based on comic panels and not the seventies style films of the era and opening of the original incredible hulk tv series has me thinking of this in a bad way.

I will say that the emotional goings-on between Bruce and his father were not deeply explored as they should have. I believe in the later comics they found Bruce was abused by his Dad. I thought the movie was going to go that route, but no such luck. Bana's acting was very in tune to the character of a man being pushed over the edge, and not in the way Bill Bixby got pushed around by some bikers as a short order cook or something. This was pressure. A man with something to lose (His job or girlfriend in Betty). A man with a history that is unknown. The pyschology is simple, and some people who actually have repressed memories like that (believing parents are dead or not) end up like that. Look at the dicotohmy between Bruce and Peter Parker. Both lost parents, but one choose a lighter direction the other had a darker one. It's no mistake that Hulk is Marvel's Batman, only there is no rogues gallery, but he is a very pychological character. Everything from the grunts Hulk made while fighting the Hulk Dogs expressed emotion.

Hope you see it now, Palin Dromos.

 

[sKorpia]

Without Absorbing Man, what are the alternatives in showcasing David Banner's blatant selfishness and utter abuse of his son? Having that power means that he has absolutely no justification for his actions. You can't forgive him for wanting to use his son as only a source of genetic stability because there is no noble cause behind it, aside from his own desire for self-advancement (which I can't consider noble when thinking about his means and subsequent disregard for those around him). I'm drawing a blank as to how else this horror could have been effectively portrayed . . . He could've acted like Talbot but we already had Talbot acting like Talbot. I dunno, the father-son fight seemed to me to be more a reflection upon father than upon son . . . But if anyone can come up with plot alternatives that still fit the movie plotline, I'm willing to listen. I just honestly can't think of what other device could have been used . . .

*all ears*

 

[Infinity Blade]

Y'know... for some reason, I honestly felt that every bit of the beginning up until Bruce became the Hulk was necessary for the overall feel of the story. I don't think things like the later flashback, with Bruce fully remembering how his mother died, would have been as effective if we hadn't seen the lead-up to it at the very beginning. Then establishing Bruce and Betty's relationship, the project they were working on, Talbot, Betty and her father's relationship, and all of that... That they were able to make a movie about more than "HULK SMASH!" really impressed me, and all of the stuff in the beginning felt as if it was needed for the payoff we get by the end. To see complaints about how long it takes to "get going" (ie, for Bruce's first transformation) is kind of disappointing, as it kind of feels like the point is being missed.

No offense to anyone, of course. Just my opinion. ^^;

 

[shogunthethird]

I don't know about a "comic book" movie this one feels more like a "graphic novel" film I mean for a a guy whose main power is strength and massive property damage it was a pretty cerebral movie, and what is it with Ang Lee and tree fights? as for the mutant poodle, I actually have a dog like that, only she's red, non-mutated and affectionate like you wouldn't believe, when she isn't sprawled out on the couch/bed/rug sleeping but enough about my dog I loved this movie, I laughed, I cried, I smashed, only thing missing was that "gamma clap" he does

 

[Matthew Williams]

Overall: The movie was incredible. I gave it 4 stars for some minor quibbles, but it is a very good film. Going in no order here, not even a pro/conm order... Things I like will have + marks, things I didn't like have - marks, and stuff that I kinda liked but kinda didn't have / marks.

Also, keep in mind that I am a big Hulk fan. So my comments reflect this.

+ First, I'll get this out of the way. The CG Hulk. Hella good, actually. It's obvious, but that's because I don't see a point where you can animate a character of that magnitude and not make it look fake. But at some points, it did interact well with the setting and looked as real as you can get it. (And before you tell me "Gollum was better", remember that Gollum was a dark character used primarily in darkness whose big scene was a slow expositional scene without too much movement. This is a 15 foot creature who is throwing tanks. Big difference.)

+Acting performances. Nick Nolte demonstrates that in some situations, overacting works; that final scene where we truly see the depths of his madness is great. Eric Bana makes Bruce Banner truly seem like an awkward, emotionally repressed scientist... he did a better job than I was expecting from the trailers. Connelly also nails Betty Ross, the loving but devoted woman who tries to help Bruce. But there is one performance I have to give special mention to, because I was captivated by it.

+ SAM ELLIOTT AS GENERAL ROSS. Holy freakin' crap, he nails Ross. NAILS every bit of his character... the overdevotion to his service, the thundering personality, everything... he NAILS the character. I cannot think of anyone else who would be more suited to play the character, and I have to give a rousing dose of applause to him.

- Glen Talbot. Is it me, or did they really screw his part up? I appreciate not making him the "mini Ross" he was in the comics and doing something different with his character, but they really didn't give him much explanation, they really didn't give his company any explanation, what his relationship to Betty and Bruce was, and why we should hate him. He was just there and was a major misfire of the film.

- <Comic Book Guy> Worst. Movie. Death. EVER. (If you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about)

/ OK, the comic book aspects of it. It's a unique style, and it's a little hard getting used to. It was jarring at the beginning, but I got used to it... exactly when they cut it down a bit when the movie got going. But at parts, it seriously disrupted the movie... see above. I also know that this is the one movie that they CAN'T pan and scan.

+ OK, Banner's dad subplot. The finale battle was a little too much, I'll admit that. But everything before that was handled 200% better than I was expecting. I was honestly afraid that they would physically have his dad experiment on Bruce... which thankfully didn't happen. Making Bruce more like a "mutant" in a way really worked because it establishes the "monster inside" that Ang Lee wanted to go for, but in more of an indirect fashion. Yet he still gets a crucial scene in the repressing of memories and rage in, something that I was worried that they wouldn't do... but in fact, they nailed it. It's different from the comic book version of Bruce's dad but both actually work. This is the one thing I was worried about for the movie and they nailed it so much, I was giving it silent applause.

+ Hulk dogs. Another thing a lot of people were worried about (not me, exactly, because Paul Jenkins did that in the comics). It was the showpiece action segment of the film, truly stunning. Very nicely handled.

+ Hulk saying "puny human". Granted, the segment where he says it was awkwardly placed, and it would have been even cooler had he said "puny BANNER", but come on.... I was geeking out in my seat right then and there.

/ The pacing. Yeah, it was kinda long, and I'd tighten it up. At the end. The final fight didn't do anything for me, really. But the beginning actually was good. Long, yes, but they did an admirable job of introducing the characters, setting up the relationships and everything, and blowing it straight to hell. In a movie like this - where you have two hours to develop the cast, and a lot of it is spent with a protagonist with an anger problem that turns him into a weapon of mass destruction... well, you have to spend a lot of time setting it up. Plus, the "macguffin" that turned him into the Hulk was a LOT more complicated than "Doc Bruce Banner, belted by gamma rays..." so they needed that time. I had no problems with the intro even though I did get restless waiting for the Hulk after a point.

That's about it. It's a very good movie, although I'd probably rank it 3rd in the Marvel films I've seen, behind X1/X2, which are tied for first because I see both films as equally great and X2 as more of a continuation of X1... but that's just me. See this movie, you won't regret it.

 

[Damien]

Incredible. Outstanding. Much better than expected. There I was thinking the climax was the desert battle. Heh.

The only thing I didn't really like was the final battle. A villain like that would be cool for a sequel, but not for the first one, and definately not his father. I don't know. The end was just a little too comic bookish.
Plus, his whole origin..his father killing his mother...is that accurate?

But all dissappointment is overshadowed by my awe at the battle with the dogs, and the desert battle, and just The Hulk himself. Danny Eflman's score, as expected, was also very cool.

Bonuses: T3 and Peter Pan trailers and The Punisher teaser

 

[JusticeLeagueLegion]

I saw this the first day it was out and it was excelent...although the theatre we went to was crappy...it was a small town theatre...I'd have went to one of the theatres in the big city I live in but then my cousin wouldn't have been able to come...I didn't think that the movie would've looked this bad...the movie was real dark in some spots and I couldn't tell what was going on...so I think I'll go see it at the Warren tonight. Or some time. Anyway...it was a great movie...my dad apparently didn't like it that much since it didn't pick up where "The Death Of The Incredible Hulk" left off. I don't know why he thought it would do that...but oh well...also, Bruce's dad being named David confused my dad...since on the old series the Hulk's name was David...so he didn't know why he was a bad guy. I explained to him that in the comics...Hulk is Bruce Banner, and the reason that the people who made the television show called Hulk "David Banner" was because they thought the name "Bruce" represented homosexuality for some stupid reason. But anyway...they probably shouldn't have called his father David Banner...too many people that only watched the old show would get confused...and I have to admit, I would have been confused if I was my dad. But anyway...that alone if probably what took away his enjoyment from the movie...at the end he made the comment: "That was a little redicilous." He was expecting it to be like the series, but I bet if I would have told him before he would have not been so confused about it. Oh well...I liked it...but I think "Hulk II" will be better. They could bring in Leader and Gargoyle and the boys. The reason I think the second one would be better is because the first one was a little drawn out...it took a long time for the story to progress...but I loved the ending. The fight scenes were great too...but on some scenes...was it just me, or did Hulk look a little more than 10 feet tall? The Gamma-Radiated Dogs were pretty cool...but at the theatre the screen was dark so I could barely see them half the time. I'm gonna half to rewatch this at the Warren Theatre.

 

[JLApe]

Incredible. Outstanding. Much better than expected. Plus, his whole origin..his father killing his mother...is that accurate?

Yep, his dad killed his mom. The difference is that the comic book version of Bruce's dad is an abusive drunken monster who abused and finally killed Bruce's mother while she was trying to escape with Bruce.

 

[Enrique]

ho hum ho hum. i'll be straight to the point and get the cons first.

cons:
- the cgi hulk, while awesomely rendered and composited, still looked cartoonish, proportion-wise. halfway thru the film i kinda ruined the cgi hulk for myself when i realized his eyeballs were about the size of grapefruits.

- the transitions and the "gamma ray blasts"... god DAMN. very distracting. it was as if whoever cut the movie had just learned premiere and just HAD to use every transition there is. it's even worse than star wars, which uses every wipe there is. and the gamma rays... worst. photoshop. ever.

- comic-style shots. very distracting. the multi-panel shots were totally useless half the time since all the panels were DIFFERENT ANGLES OF THE SAME SHOT.

- there was one part at the beginning, a flashback, but it cuts back and forth in time 3 or 4 times. when it was over, i was completely lost for a few seconds as to where i was in time.

- some montages, mainly where we're supposed to be looking at things at an "atomic" level... very distracting and confusing. sometimes i was thinking, "ok, this is blood... wait, no it's not... wait, yes it is... uhh..."

- THE HULK DOES NOT FLY!!!

- the night shots... either the cinematographer doesn't know how to light night scenes, or they made it dark on purpose to make up for the shortcomings of the cg.

frankly, this movie for me was a mishmash. it went really slow then fast then really slow then fast, all the distracting elements both confused me and cheapened the few moments of real acting, real emotion. while the cg hulk wasn't totally realistic, they did sell me on it's emotions.

either way, i'm giving the movie a 2nd chance as i'll see it again next week. i saw the potential for a great story, and the glimpses of emotion, but i'll need a 2nd viewing to make sense of the rest of the gibberish surrounding the good parts.

 

[JustJack]

There comes a time in the life of a geek, where you've got to sit down and question..."what is the worst-movie-ever"? Well...Hulk sure did suck hard enough. And yes...after much thought on the subject...

The Hulk was the worst experience I have ever had in a movie theater.

It could have worked. It really could have. The overall movie was way too dead-on-serious, that the cool comic-style editing technique was all wrong, and ended up corn-ball and crappy looking. BTW, the comic-style editing, while cool in some places, was utterly terrible to watch in some sequences. Like when the blonde jerk blows himself up...the whole "paper cut out" effect had my bile duct reaching it's peak. Bruce Banner wasn't Bruce Banner. David Banner wasn't used to the best of his capablity. The final fight sequence...sucked. I'm still wondering how the HELL a creature who ABSORBS EVERYTHING...EVERY FRICKIN' THING AROUND HIM....how the hell is he destroyed by a nuke? what the...??

...oh my god...my head is in so much pain from that god-awful movie. The theater was packed when I went in...but I swear, it was near empty by time it was over. I believe everyone got up and left about the same time we saw the hulk-poodle.

And the touchy-feely crap that surged thru every second of the film....horrible. 3 minutes of Hulk Smash...30 minutes of emotions and girl talk. Sweet Jesus.

Overall, this was the most boring, stupid, mixed-bag of crappy idea's, wrongfully used concepts, and generally dumb looking scene's and dialog I have ever seen in a movie. I loathed this film. I wish I could get those few hours of my life back. Hell...I wish I could erase the very memory of that movie from my brain.

It was that bad.

And I have NEVER...NEVER been more bored during an "action" sequence. I sure wish Hulk WOULD smash...instead, he breaks a few things, and what's done is done.

Pure infinite suck. That's the Hulk....pure, infinite...suck.

 

[Infinity Blade]

- THE HULK DOES NOT FLY!!!

...you DID see him taking running leaps, hitting the ground, jumping again, and so on, didn't you?

 

[The Guard]

I expected more. A fairly weak story, odd editing and horrible dialogue kept HULK from being one of the better comic book movies we've seen.

The credits were just bad. Bad. Instead of some kind of simple green and black, we get a psychadelic trip with some starfish, and various microbes and such. It was all right seeing all the scientific notes and stuff, but the lettering was atrociously corny.

Whoever did the editing for the first half hour of the film wasn't quite right for the job. Bruce Banner's origin sequence took what...3 seconds? We don't get to see what the gamma does to him, or anyone else's reaction to it, he just sort of lights up, and the screen goes silent and black. HUH? Worst origin sequence ever.

The Absorbing Man was too big. Too unbelievable. In a movie where the filmmakers explain everything to the best of their abilities with science, The Absorbing Man was too darn paranormal for my taste. He got too big and too powerful, and who knows how Hulk defeated him? I guess he absorbed Bruce's mind as well as his Hulk power, and that...made him into a giant bubble with flashbacks inside of it...

All complaints aside, HULK got most of it right. The CGI Hulk was pretty incredible and fun to watch, as his muscles rippled, his facial expressions changed, and sweat dripped down him. His interaction with his surroundings was very well done, and it really captured the force behind The Hulk, his savage strength, his rage. That first sequence in the labs, where he's just tearing them apart...wow. He looked great in the dark, and pretty darn good in the light. To the people whining about The Hulk looking fake: I'm wondering what the heck you expect. He's a big green monster, he's not supposed to have normal proportions, and he's doing things no one could possibly do. The Hulk looked about as real as it's possible to look, even in real life. I can't envision anything much more real than what we got. It was nice to see Hulk doing a little "heroing", like when he saved the plane from crashing into the bridge, and guarding those people at the end of the movie from the mercenaries.

Good acting is what saved HULK. Eric Bana was nothing special for me as Bruce Banner, but when he got mad, or depressed, or scared, or upset, wow, was his emoting good. His pre-transformation acting was wonderful to watch.

Jennifer Connelly was her usual solid self, but was more eye-candy than anything else. She didn't have very many good lines, and most of the ones she did have were cliche-ridden. But she did a wonderful job with what she was given.

Nick Nolte was fantastic. He was born to play this role. He stole the show every time The Hulk himself wasn't onscreen. He did have a particularly bad delivery of "My...Bruce", but that can be forgiven, because he was just an oddball.

STORY

Someone turned in a hell of a script. Someone turned in crap. I think three screenwriters was too much for HULK, and it showed, as the story's pacing was odd, and went from dark and depressing to dripping with that artificial sweetness and "let's cry some more" moments. Some of the dialogue and it's placement in the script was just...bad. Awful, in fact. Then, the entire thing fell apart in the end.

ACTION

I haven't seen much more exciting action in a while. It was wonderful to watch Hulk bouncing around rock walls, running, leaping, going hog wild with the top of a tank, and of course smashing. Whoever said the Hulk can't fly, no, he can't, but Hulk has ALWAYS been able to leap incredible distances, and that's what he did. He launched himself into the air, and you do that, you can't exactly control how far up you go and when you come down, or where.

SCORE

Danny Elfman's recurring Hulk theme was interesting. Very scientific, with less superhero fanfare than you might expect from him. The rest of his score was pretty forgettable, and sounded like he tried for something like SPY GAME or GLADIATOR and fell just short. Perhaps it sounds better without all the other noise, but I don't know.

Overall, I want to see HULK again. As a story and a film, it trounced DAREDEVIL, but didn't come close to X2 or SPIDER-MAN, and gets 3 stars out of 5 from me.

 

[B.W.H.]

Saw it this at the matinee and all I can say is...WOW!! The story was great the fight that young Bruce had with his father at the beginning with the Stuffed-Animals was some great foreshadowing for the events to happen later in the film. The action was great,especially the end fight. I felt kinda sad at the end to see David kiss Bruce good night in a flashback. Other then that I felt happy at the end.11/5

 

[Jin Kazama]

I really, really wanted to like this movie. In my mind, I'm still trying to focus on the good, as I always do for some reason. But, to be honest with myself, this movie was a very big dissapointment.

I had no problems with the CGI Hulk. That is, until he first meets Betty. I can understand Hulk being big, but when he picked up Betty like a doll, there was a problem. When he stood next to her, she was the equivelent of his leg. That's bad. Should he be big? Yes. But at most her head should reach his stomach. Not his crotch. Other than that, no problems.

Then there was the comic-ish transitions. I really, really didn't like them. The movie was intended to be serious, from all I saw at least. And all they did was add cheesyness to it. Expecially when the explosion happened when Hulk was foamed to the wall. An outline around the guy in mid-air? Come on, now. That was just corney.

Finally (yes, I'll end this now), the Absorbing-Man situation. Make him his father? I could care less. But it wasn't needed. The gigantic, massive fight with the military leading all the way to San Fransisco should have been the end. It was huge, had massive build-up, and the ending with Betty returning him to Banner would have been the perfect ending. The fight with his father just seemed tacked on. They could have added it to a sequel and it would have been fine. Heck, lead that as a precursor to the military fight and I would have been happy. But it shouldn't have been the ending.

But, whatever. It was good, deep, and aside from those three points, a very watchable movie.

 

[Captin "Hank" Murphy]

The only thing I didn't really like was the final battle. A villain like that would be cool for a sequel, but not for the first one, and definately not his father. I don't know. The end was just a little too comic bookish.

Well I think they made that ending so they can have a reason to have Banner as a driffter at the end. I mean would you liked it if it ended at the scene of Betty hugging Banner in LA with the swat around him, making you wonder if he somehow got away, ended up back at the secret base in the holding cell, or even terminated by the army.

I didn't like the very end, where Banner was a raggy Bearded medical-doctor in a South American Village, I would have prefered something simular to the famous hitch-hiking ending from the old Hulk Tv series(though it was kind of funny, Banner saying the famous line in Spanish).

 

[ElBarto]

Hulk Sucked

worst movie ever
I hated the spilt screen it sucked I mean you don't have to see hulks head in 3 different angles...The only time I thought the spilt screen was ok was when they were on the phone. and some parts didn't make sense like at the end one year later when Betty and her dad were on the phone they would not be talking about it then they would be talking about it like that day or 2 days later. I kinda like the begining.
I thought that the director had a good idea about making it like a comic but I don't think that worked.

in my opinon I wasted 2 and a 1/2 hours watching that movie. but I know some people that liked it and well most of you liked it. Oh and I thought the Hulk looked real so they did a good job on that.

 

[Clayface]

I absolutely loved it! 5 stars from me.

I acn't htink of a single complaint about the movie - I didn't have a problem with the CGI Hulk, or the pacing at all, and was enthralled throughout the entire movie, including during the "boring" beginning that so many people seem to have a problem with. If you didn't understand the point of the ending, you've missed a major theme. Read sKorpia's post above - he hits it dead on.

I'm incredibly pleased with this flick, and I can't wait to see it again. And then, bring on the DVD!