Bobby-Whiskey
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Review: Hulk
Spoilers Lie Within...
Wow.
I was really expecting trash when I saw this one, what a surprise.
The trailer makes the movie out to be a half cartoon destruction-fest. This movie is everything but, with dangerously too much heart.
Yeah yeah you know the plot, Bruce Banner gets into an accident and afterwards when he gets mad, he becomes Hulk. I agree with the comment about the movie being split in 2, only I would say that half is a story about 2 sad scientists with very cold parents, and the other half is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde overdrive. The Hulk scenes are nice breaks from the characters, but I'm not sure if they were supposed to be funny or very serious (In the showing I attended, people cheered Hulk roaring and terrorizing everyone).
As with most summer films done right, the dialogue and plot are pretty routine, but the acting is waaay too good for this kind of movie. The always gorgeous Jennifer Connolly isn't given too much of a chance to flex her acting muscles here, but she's proven herself time and time again, so that's ok. The fact alone that her biggest acting scenes are among cgi creations and none of those scenes evoke unnecessary laughter is accomplishment enough (Her wrecked car on the other hand brought the house down more than once, I'll never understand people...).
Eric Bana does an okay job as Bruce, although I can name a thousand just-as-good actors that would have suited that role better.
The 3 acting standouts however, are the villains (at least they all start out that way).
Nick Nolte redefines overacting with his role as Bruce's father. But watching Nolte in a role like this is like watching someone like Al Pacino just spew out the lines and totally steal the scenes.
Sam Elliot is always a great actor, but here he's given the thankless cold army general role, and he does pretty damn good with it (his mustache could use a little work though).
And finally there's Josh Lucas, star of the better of the 3 villain subplots. He adds a shitload of comedy relief to all of his scenes, and in his final minutes, he brings alot of emotion to the table (I really could have done without the bullshit comic book-esque shot of him before he blew up).
The directing by Ang Lee is fuckin great. He makes superb use of the split screen to add an amazing comic book feel to the movie. He slipped up a little during the final fight by ending it too abruptly (the ending was good, but I would have liked a little more clarity on the outcome (Nolte)).
After Daredevil (Yes, I'm one of the few who loved it), films based on Marvel characters are on a roll. Here's hoping that Punisher won't disappoint.
Last edited by Bobby-Whiskey on 06-21-2003 at 10:12 AM
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06-21-2003 10:09 AM
