"My son is unique, and the world will not tolerate his uniqueness." - David Banner
The above quote from the movie accurately sums up my impressions of the feedback this movie is recieving. The Hulk is unlike any other recently released comic book movie in story or tone. There's very little humor, the delivery is as straight and serious as can be, and there really isn't an identifiable big bad for the hero to face for almost the entire picture. It is unique, and I don't think people are ready for how different it is. However, I also think people forget what the Hulk comic was really like.
The Hulk comic, while I was reading it years ago, wasn't like most comic books. Alot of that repressed memory/rage and general mind/dream sequence stuff that you see throughout the movie happened quite frequently in the comic. One of my favorite sequences in the movie is when you see a door open in Banner's mind with the outline of the Hulk stepping into view. The door metaphor was a common occurrence in the comic. Remember how Mr. Fixit or the "fusion" of Hulk and Banner into the "smart" Hulk came about in the comics? It was mostly a cerebral event taking place abstractly within Banner's mind.
My point is that the comic always indicated that Banner was quite screwed up in the head, and this movie chose to focus on this attribute of the character instead of the exploits of the jolly green alter ego. The story here completely fleshes out the reasons why Bruce's psyche is damaged, albeit with some liberty taken from the source material. This aspect of the movie is like the comics in this regard. People that don't like the movie because of this are justified, because they do bring up valid points. Perhaps the director over-portrayed this aspect of the character to the detriment of the viewing audience expecting alot of "Hulk Smash!" and a gallery of super villains. However, this part of the movie isn't from out in left field. It really is keeping faithful with the comic, and the Hulk, especially at this stage, is just a manifestation of Banner's id. With this in mind, I enjoyed the pure exposition in the first half of the movie, and how it resolved itself in the pre-requisite, although short, final battle.
When the Hulk does show up, the movie pretty much turns into an action piece for the remainder of its run. The comic Hulk was an ordinance-proof behemoth who would continue to "hulk out" if he was made angrier, and traveled by leaping for miles. I think these aspects of the Hulk were captured well, and I really enjoyed the lengthy battle with the military, as I think most Hulk fans will. The cgi isn't perfect throughout, but I was able to maintain my suspension of disbelief.
I can perfectly understand why some people aren't enjoying this film. The movie is aimed towards a narrower target audience than most summer blockbusters. It's more of a character study of an emotionally distant man who happens to turn into a giant green monster rather than a movie about a bad guy bashing super hero who happens to be giant and green. It seems to be aiming towards the "Unbreakable" crowd end of the spectrum, although the pace of this is more brisk in comparison with much more payoff. However, like "Unbreakable", this isn't going to satisfy the masses.
3 out of 4.
The above quote from the movie accurately sums up my impressions of the feedback this movie is recieving. The Hulk is unlike any other recently released comic book movie in story or tone. There's very little humor, the delivery is as straight and serious as can be, and there really isn't an identifiable big bad for the hero to face for almost the entire picture. It is unique, and I don't think people are ready for how different it is. However, I also think people forget what the Hulk comic was really like.
The Hulk comic, while I was reading it years ago, wasn't like most comic books. Alot of that repressed memory/rage and general mind/dream sequence stuff that you see throughout the movie happened quite frequently in the comic. One of my favorite sequences in the movie is when you see a door open in Banner's mind with the outline of the Hulk stepping into view. The door metaphor was a common occurrence in the comic. Remember how Mr. Fixit or the "fusion" of Hulk and Banner into the "smart" Hulk came about in the comics? It was mostly a cerebral event taking place abstractly within Banner's mind.
My point is that the comic always indicated that Banner was quite screwed up in the head, and this movie chose to focus on this attribute of the character instead of the exploits of the jolly green alter ego. The story here completely fleshes out the reasons why Bruce's psyche is damaged, albeit with some liberty taken from the source material. This aspect of the movie is like the comics in this regard. People that don't like the movie because of this are justified, because they do bring up valid points. Perhaps the director over-portrayed this aspect of the character to the detriment of the viewing audience expecting alot of "Hulk Smash!" and a gallery of super villains. However, this part of the movie isn't from out in left field. It really is keeping faithful with the comic, and the Hulk, especially at this stage, is just a manifestation of Banner's id. With this in mind, I enjoyed the pure exposition in the first half of the movie, and how it resolved itself in the pre-requisite, although short, final battle.
When the Hulk does show up, the movie pretty much turns into an action piece for the remainder of its run. The comic Hulk was an ordinance-proof behemoth who would continue to "hulk out" if he was made angrier, and traveled by leaping for miles. I think these aspects of the Hulk were captured well, and I really enjoyed the lengthy battle with the military, as I think most Hulk fans will. The cgi isn't perfect throughout, but I was able to maintain my suspension of disbelief.
I can perfectly understand why some people aren't enjoying this film. The movie is aimed towards a narrower target audience than most summer blockbusters. It's more of a character study of an emotionally distant man who happens to turn into a giant green monster rather than a movie about a bad guy bashing super hero who happens to be giant and green. It seems to be aiming towards the "Unbreakable" crowd end of the spectrum, although the pace of this is more brisk in comparison with much more payoff. However, like "Unbreakable", this isn't going to satisfy the masses.
3 out of 4.