Ah, the sting of disappointment... I had such high hopes for this one. Think about it; you've got a tragic hero in the Hulk, representative of the rage buried deep within all of us. You've got Ang Lee, one of the most talented directors around; a master storyteller. Eric Bana, an actor that really has some impressive chops. Jennifer Connelly, a high class actress with beauty, talent, and a great screen presence. And what happens? A jumbled, inconsistent film that left me scratching my head.
Big problem #1: The "comic book" split screen. A gimmic, and an annoying one at that. Lee seems like he was going for some comic fan-boy street credit, but he misused the idea. Who cares about split screens of scientific experiements going on, or military vehicles moving around. Boring...
Big problem #2: Bruce Banner's character. Yeah, the guy is full of repressed memories and buried feelings... but give him a LITTLE likeability. Give him some HINTS of personality. Unfortunately, Eric Bana had very little to work with here.
Big problem #3: Nick Nolte. Oh my GOD!!! Nolte just goes WAY over the top here. Too looney... Too campy... Somebosy should've reigned in his performance at the BEGINNING.
Big problem #4: NOT ENOUGH HULK!! The best thing this movie had going for it were the TERRIFIC effects for the big green guy, and they barely used him. It took too long to get him on screen, and when they did, he should have been a massive pile of personified ID, destrpying EVERYTHING around him in the blind fury that the Hulk was born from. I'm not into giving the Hulk emotional eyes, and making the audience feel for him. No, no, no... make the Hulk angry, mean, and unlikable. That, coupled with a fleshed out, more rounded Banner makes the entire story larger and more tragic.
Big problem #5: The ending... I can't even BEGIN to describe the sheer horror I felt as I watched the film unravel... ugh..
Here's the saving grace of the DVD package. The features are great.
Deleted Scenes
Ho-hum with this one... I'm losing my interest in deleted scenes. More and more often, they seem like they're around just... well, just because. If an important scene had to be cut, or if a sequence was changed, THEN include the deleted scenes with commentary as to why. But if it's crap that's lying on the cutting room floor, I really don't care to see it.
Audio Commentary with director Ang Lee
I'm still a big fan of these, and this is a good one. Ang Lee is extremely interesting to hear speak, so I was glad he took the time to explain certain things.
Captured Fury
Some of the top comic book artists from around the world take a stab at illustrating scenes from the movie. Cool stuff! Being a comic fan, it's always cool to see different artist interpretations of a character, and the Hulk is obviously a fun one to draw. Comic fans will dig this one.
Superhero Revealed - The Anatomy of the Hulk
Sweet little Hulk documentary. Nothing great, but enjoyable.
Evolution of the Hulk
Another doc, this one detailing the Hulk from his origins on the comic pages to his presence on the big screen.
Hulk Cam
Optional flashing icons that pop up during the movie to let the viewer know that behind the scenes footage is available. Pretty cool, but only after you've seen the flick a few times. Otherwise, that icon gets pretty annoying.
The Incredible Ang Lee
A doc that looks at Ang's VERY hands on style of directing. Pretty cool, especially Ang's well publicised style of acting out the Hulk's movements.
The Making of the Hulk
Typical "behind the scenes" promo stuff. No different than any other self-promotional love fest, but I'm a sucker for these, so I enjoyed it.
The Dogfight
The best doc on the disc. This is an in-depth look at the CGI behind the Hulk Dogs and the fight the Hulk has with them. A great look at the inner workings, and a fun watch.
Disappointment, disappointment, disappointment...
My hope were high (perhaps too high), and I'm still left feeling flat about the film. Maybe Ang was trying too hard. Maybe he just didn't connect with the material in the right way. Maybe he was trying to do TOO MUCH. Whatever the reason, I feel like he dropped the ball.
Luckily, we're given good enough features to enjoy this Special Edition. Even if the film left me flat, the features showed a MUCH BETTER appreciation for the source material.
Casual fans will probably enjoy the film, hardcore Hulk fans will be disappointed, and cinaphiles will be wondering what happened to the usually outstanding Ang Lee.
I don't know... I'm still scratching my head about it...
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