You wouldn't like me when I'm Ang Lee (Hulk (DVD))

Member Name: gillyman

Product:	Hulk (DVD)
Date:	23/07/03 (90 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb Computer Graphics, Not an average superhero movie

Disadvantages: Slow to start, lacks a point

I'm a busy man. Balls don't kick themselves around pitches by themselves you know! As a result of my dedication to the beautiful game (I don't claim to be good - just addicted!) I have a paucity of free evenings and therefore don't get out to the cinema as much as I'd like to. Yesterday however, I was at a loose end and so decided to go to see the Hulk with my mate Caddy (who looks a little like the Hulk though not quite as green).

I had read very mixed reviews - including others on Dooyoo. The film had been long awaited by Marvel afficianados, action freaks and anyone who used to watch Lou Ferrigno (who has a cameo as a security guard) ripping things apart clad in little more than body paint and ripped jeans on a Saturday afternoon.

One of Dooyoo's more accomplished (and attractive) young writers recently pointed out the prerequisites to being a super hero in his superb review of Daredevil. As a non-comic buff I get the impression that Stan Lee, the man behind Marvel alighted on a succesul formula and didn't bother to change it.

Just a quick recap then - a superhero must:

1) Be an orphan. If a dastardly villain has killed the parents - all the better.

2) Undergo a traumatic experience in order to receive powers. Choose from getting bitten by a spider, coming from a far away planet, seeing parents being killed, having toxic poison spilt in ones face - anyone familiar?

3) Have a love of tight clothing.

Got all that? Remember to tick these off as we progress.

+++The Prologue+++

Dr. David Banner (Paul Kersey / Nick Nolte) is involved in top secret research which is not to be tested on human beings under any circumstances. Go on - guess what? Well I never! he decides to test his research on himself. We're not really sure of the results at this stage but we quickly learn that he passes wahtever he has done on to his newborn son Bruce, quickly established a
s a wimpy, introverted type (another constant superhero theme - think Clark Kent, Peter Parker etc).

When Dr Banner gets caught with human samples he throws a bit of a wobbly, decides that if he can't play no-one can and sets pushing all the wrong buttons in his top secret research facility and making a bit of a mess. Dashing home to his apple-pie all-American family he takes Mrs Banner aside into the bedroom and there is some sort of confrontation - we're not sure what.......

***Several years later***

Bruce (Eric Bana) is now all grown up and has been adopted or fostered as his parents are dead (tick box). He is following in his father's (of whom he has no recollection) footsteps at University and doing cutting edge research which involves speeding up the healing process. He is still a bit of a nerd but that has not stopped him copping off with his research partner Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) but the relationship is now over (doomed relationships - another superhero theme).

Inevitably (tick box) an accident in the lab leads Bruce being bombarded with Gamma rays and something or other to do with his experiments which surprisingly doesn't kill him but makes him feel much better thank you very much. One night he gets a tad pissed off and transforms into a huge green monster - the Hulk. Clad in paint and tight purple trousers he proceeds to do rather a lot of uncontrolled damage - ruled by sheer rage. Those trousers worried me - all the rest of his clothes ripped in his (frankly very impressive) transformation into a 15 foot beast so why not the trousers as well? And why purple? Sexually frustrated maybe? Could that be why he's so cross - not getting any of the other? I suppose if you're that big and green to boot its a little bit difficult to pull!

***Bad Guys***

The bad guys are a little bit ambiguous here. Firstly there's Banner Sr. who's not really dead, played marvellously by
Nick Nolte. He turns up as the janitor in the lab to reveal his identity and initially its not clear whether he's good or bad - actually quite a refreshing blurring of roles for a superhero movie. Secondly General Ross (Betty's Dad obviously) superbly played by Sam Elliot with a moustache so military it should have its own uniform. Ross was the man who locked up David Banner all those years ago and sent Bruce away. Estranged from his daughter he now feels that he has to protect her.

Now - neither of these bad guys are the sort of camp, despicable types that we are used to. Lines are intentionally and cleverly blurred. Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is not a typical action movie director and this is not a typical action movie. General Ross is particular is a character who we don't really like too much but would probably be hard pressed to explain why we don't like him. He is after all trying to control a really big ball of rage who stomps around the countryside doing lots of damage, whilst at the same time trying to protect his daughter. In other words - he is doing his job as a military man and a father.

Banner Sr., as his past becomes more clear, becomes less likeable, but it is not all that difficult to identify with his actions. In trying to push back the bounds of science whilst still trying to be a good husband he creates.........a monster (mwuh huh huh!)

Hulk meanwhile doesn't seem to have the redeeming qualities of most superheroes. He is not out there to fight for the good of humankind or to battle criminals. Rather, he gets pissed off, goes green and then jumps around destroying things fairly randomly. He is maybe more a tragic character in the mould of Frankenstein's monster than an actual superhero.

***The Effects***

Hulk is a superb CGI creation. Although the trailers appeared a little ropey, the rumour is that they were put out early to keep the studio happy. The introducti
on to the character is slow and generally dark, which had me thinking that there was something to hide. When he comes out into the daylight however, it is clear that this is the real business - the transformation from Banner to Hulk and back again is seamless and superb. The computer generated character interacts brilliantly with his surroundings and has all the characteristics that a human-based character should, including a superb array of facial expressions. Although it is always in the back of your mind that he is computer generated, there is no real reminder on the screen that this is the case - simply fantastic.

The character aside, there are some superb scenes involving battles with tanks (very humourous), helicopters and strike jets, the latter whilst Hulk is perched on top of the Golden Gate Bridge (which reminded me of King Kong perched on the Empire State). I am not sure where the live action ended and the computer generated began - I was pretty sure that the tanks were real M1 Abrams but then he started ripping them apart and was that a real fighter jet that he clung on to the back of or a computer mock up?

+*+Conclusion*+*

I found this really difficult to call. The film is well acted and cleverly edited in a style whcih reflects its comic book roots. The character of Banner is explored quite closely with the traumas of his childhood revisited in dream form and through conversations with his father.

Bad guys are not really all that bad and the good guy is not all that good. That having been said - we are clearly meant to identify with Hulk - but it is more difficult to do so than with traditional heroes.

The bottom line however is that for me, it didn't really work as a film - it seems to be lacking an overall focus, is a little slow in the beginning and doesn't really lead to a satisfying conclusion. Maybe that says something about my expectations as a movie goer and maybe there is a problem with thos
e expectations which is being addressed here by Ang Lee, renowned for being an innovative director. I believe that I am a fairly average, educated movie goer however and this film left me scratching my head and feeling dissatisfied - and the box office results suggest that the same is happening elsewhere. An initial peak has faded and the take has not been great for a film of which so much was expected.

This is certainly worth a look, but I wouldn't recommend it as a "must see".

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