| |
 Faster
than a speeding film projector! More powerful than a major Hollywood
studio! Able to leap box office records in a single weekend! Look…up
on the big screen! It’s a drama…it’s a comedy…no, it’s another
comic book movie! That’s right, folks, not even two months after
the pulp heroes of X2: X-Men United
kick-started the summer with a phenomenal opening weekend, the
biggest, meanest, greenest comic book hero of them all, the Hulk,
is ready for his close-up.
Actually,
the Hulk isn’t really a superhero at all—at least, not in the
classic sense. But he is a Marvel comic book character (like Spider-Man,
Daredevil and The X-Men), and ever since he smashed his way through
a TV spot that aired during the Super Bowl last January, internet
chat rooms have been buzzing with talk about how fake he looks
(“Shrek on steroids,” anyone?). While I can honestly say that
he does look better in some scenes than in others, we are talking
about a special effect here (albeit a very expensive one—the movie
cost a reported $150 million), and after a while, you get used
to it.
Besides,
the story is the thing, and that’s where the film gets…well, interesting.
Not great, mind you, but interesting. The Hulk is easily
the most ambitious movie of its kind to hit the big screen yet,
and that will surely please open-minded moviegoers looking for
a break from the formula. Then again, this is not your typical
comic book movie, and all others expecting the usual allotment
of mindless summer entertainment are in for a rude awakening by
its deep, psychological, cerebral approach.
In a freak
mishap, scientist Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is exposed to massive
amounts of gamma radiation that would have killed a normal person,
but it instead triggers a biological transformation within him
that turns him into a huge, raging, indestructible juggernaut
who smashes through everything in his path. His would-be girlfriend—and
fellow scientist—Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) must stop her
father (Sam Elliott) before he uses military force to destroy
the monster, but she has to act fast if she is going to save both
the man and the creature.
Screenwriter
James Shamus and director Ang Lee—hot off the incredible, Oscar-winning
success of 2000’s Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon—remain true to the Hulk’s Stan Lee-created
mythology, but they take some very interesting creative liberties
when it comes to making the film more of a character study. There’s
an obvious sympathetic beauty-and-the-beast element that recalls
the original King Kong, and the presence of Bruce Banner’s
father (played by Nick Nolte, looking much like he did in his
recent DUI mug shot) gives the film a paternal mad-scientist angle
like the one found in Frankenstein.
On a stylistic
level, The Hulk looks more like a comic book movie than
any of its predecessors. Lee uses a lot of ambitious, arty split
screen techniques that resemble comic book panels, while the opening
and closing credits use the type of lettering that have been used
in comics for decades. There are also a lot of quick zooms in
and out of the action, while transitions between the various scenes
literally morph and blend into one another.
The problem
is that this zippy style is in stark contrast to the overall tone
of the movie, which, it must be stated, takes itself way too seriously.
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a different
approach to tell the story, Lee seems to have forgotten that comic
book movies are supposed to be fun. There’s too much brooding,
talking, sulking and psychological analysis for this to be considered
“fun,” and a lot of the initial character development feels fabricated,
contrived and—at times—poorly written.
Then again,
when the not-so-jolly green giant finally does lose his temper,
look out! The sight of the computer-generated character may be
a bit jarring at first, but once he breaks out of his prison and
hops across the desert to reach San Francisco, the movie kicks
into the “fun” gear that it should have been in the whole time.
During these scenes, the film ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous,
which is especially the case when the Hulk takes on a few genetically-enhanced
dogs (including, of all things, a giant killer poodle!).
For a comic
book movie that puts so much emphasis on character development,
the acting is surprisingly stiff. Eric Bana, who made a killer
turn in the critically acclaimed Chopper and stood out
from a crowded cast in Black
Hawk Down, doesn’t really resonate as Bruce Banner (then
again, he is playing second-fiddle to a special effect). Oscar-winner
Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful
Mind) does her best as Bana’s would-be girlfriend, while Josh
Lucas (also from A Beautiful Mind) is a little too one-dimensional
as Bana’s scientific and romantic rival. Probably the best performance
belongs to Nick Nolte, who manages to make his mad scientist somewhat
sympathetic despite his selfish motivations.
Ang Lee has
one of the most varied resumes in the business (Sense and Sensibility,
The Ice Storm, Ride with the Devil and Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon), so it’s no surprise that he took his first
Hollywood blockbuster in such a different direction. He certainly
deserves a lot of credit for doing so, but the results are decidedly
mixed (the film drags on for 2 hours and 18 minutes, and the dialogue
is corny at times). It may not be the kind of Hollywood blockbuster
that’s going to sell a lot of Happy Meals, but as long as moviegoers
are in the mood for a challenge, then there’s no doubt that The
Hulk will keep them from getting angry.
And believe
me, you won’t like them when they’re angry!
|
|
