Hulk

A family drama and a comic book story – do they even go together? Yes, if a capable director takes it on, which Ang Lee undoubtedly is. Ironically, I enjoyed the much criticized first "action lacking" half the most. Thanks to the imaginative direction, the clever editing and the interesting division of the image into multiple windows, I was not bored for a moment. My enthusiasm waned a bit during the botched scene with the mutated dogs, but the subsequent moments in the Nevada desert satisfied my libido again. The tank demolition scene in particular was awesome. During the lengthy dialogue between father and son at the end, boredom began to take over, but certainly not fucking boredom, as one unnamed critic stupidly wrote. Oh, and one more thing, Hulk’s purple shorts were really nasty :) (10/11/2003)

Hulk is fresh and innovative in its details, but it’s inconsistent as a whole. As the minutes pass, its large number of excellent (not just action) scenes and praiseworthy psychological dimension are transformed into a dramaturgically unbalanced and muddled mishmash. The second half of the film would need some relief from the “family drama” and to let the brilliant action and adventure go full throttle. Then it would have been a hell of a movie. The action scenes in the desert are outstanding. (07/08/2003)

Instead of proper psychology, we get a lot of verbal filler, and instead of exciting action, we only get digital ridiculousness in the desert. Ang Lee wanted to take the untrodden path, but he took a wrong turn with this film because it is simply impossible to carry a nearly two-and-a-half-hour colossus only with conversation. The formal games (editing, split-screen) get stereotypically boring after a while and don't suit the film at all. It's as if someone was adding their own psychedelic insertions to it in Lee’s editing room at night. The cast is excellent, and Elfman's ethnic-themed soundtrack is very nice, yet this whole farce still takes a downward turn given that the main villain doesn't show up until ten minutes before the end... in a comic book movie! Oops! (07/15/2007)

At the time, Hulk was quite misunderstood and maybe it still is. The psychological comic adaptation was not positively accepted by the audience although I don’t get why. Ang Lee layers the atmosphere and brilliantly develops the personalities of the characters, Bruce Banner, Banner’s father, Betty, General Ross and only then does he focus on the action. The interesting thing is that even in the action scenes he doesn’t forget to think about the motivations and psychology of the characters. All their actions have a purpose. The action in itself is amazing (The Hulk vs. the dogs or the battle in the desert are genius). The cast is also excellent, especially Nick Nolte and Eric Bana. Thanks to those two, the final dialog was amazingly intriguing. I’m so sorry that the second Hulk is going to be shot with different creators according to a different template. If it was up to me, I would just keep developing the promising concept created by Lee. But who am I to be giving advice to the bosses in L.A., right? (04/27/2007)

When confronted with the flood of television and film productions, it's crucial to value every minute. A friend of mine advocates the theory that if a film doesn't catch his interest within five minutes, it's not worth watching. I broke this rule and gave Hulk a full thirty-five minutes, but it offered me little in return. It simply didn't engage me, perhaps except for the charm of young Jennifer Connelly, and that's too little. The start was too slow, and the overly psychological dialogues for a comic book story weren't my cup of tea. I can't judge the entire film, but from what I saw, I wouldn't give Hulk more than a 40% overall impression... (05/06/2007)