Post by devilmaycare150 on Jun 20, 2003 22:56:08 GMT -5
..I don't read many comic's, and you don't really need too to understand most Marvel movies. They tend to slowly, and then suddenly, as if all at once take off from the direction of their comic counterpart, but in The Hulk, it also differs from it's TV series cousin immensely; or at least from what my dad and mom say.
We've been seeing this kind of formula for awhile now; after Spiderman came out, it made millions, it was a win-win situation all around; fans of the comic would hastily flock to theaters to see the movie, as expected, and many other people would come see it just because of how cool it seemed it was going to be. But the main thing that surprised me about Spiderman was because all around, in every area, it was a good movie. I thouroughly enjoyed watching it from beginning to end. The director never dragged out the movie without some kind of important, or action packed scene to keep you in line, just before you were about to sneak over and mutter to the person you came with that the movie was getting boring, something happened.
Then Daredevil came out, I've never seen it, most critic's hate it, and most of my friends love it. Who should I trust; the friends who pretty much love every movie unless it's psychological, and drags itself out, or the stuck up critic's who pretty much (think they) know how bad a movie is by it's name (and the scary thing is, more times than not, their right).
Neither of these kinds of people can truly enjoy The Hulk.
Ang Lee, the acclaimed director of a number of films (Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm), is known for his ability to show off human interaction with a rare, and unique form of grace known by few directors; not so in The Hulk, the relationship between Betty Ross, played superbly by Jennifer Connelly (Who laid my fears of a horrible cast starring in The Hulk to rest after I heard she was in it; anyone who's seen A Beautiful Mind know's why) is definetly the strong point of the relationship. Ang Lee tries to make his character's and emotions and points clears by doing close up's of the character's many, many times. This almost does the opposite of what it's intended to present to the audience; at least to me, it tended to get annoying after awhile. But even then, the relationship could've been handled in a way that's closer to Ang Lee's form, after all, relationships are supposed to be one of Lee's forte's. But it's handled cumbersomely because of the "dramatic" closeup's. Of course, it's a very good thing that Mr. Bana (Burce Banner) was able to express his emotions, and manage to not alienate the audience by doing so; a thing a less experienced actor would have thought of. Sam Elliot, who plays as the general who's determined to stop The Hulk through any means neccesary despite his daughter, Betty's protests, is always on cue with his sneers, and he somehow accomplishes borderline overacting, he's nearly perfect in his role.
Lee's comic book style really add's to the originality of the film. He manages to show one scene through two or even three angles or viewpoints at the same time. One of the best examples of this is when Glenn (the usual lesser bad guy, played by John Lucas who smirk's and sneer's entirely too much) is walking out of a room after taunting Banner. This is not only impressive, but it's a risk that works, and shows how great a director Lee is, how intuitive he truly is. It's style enchances the film greatly.
But let us go back, to the film I mean, I'm starting to talk like many of the other critic's; in fact, the only reason why I know any movies by Ang Lee, his forte, and the name of any of the actor's (save for Nick Nolte as the trouble making father of Bruce Banner) is because I read it from the newspaper, another review of the film.
The first 40 minute's are iffy; that's the time until Banner is exposed to Gamma radiation, and we're introduced to The Hulk. That first half of the movie is rather disappointing, if not because it drags itself out, but because it doesn't go anywhere. We get a glimpse of Banner's tormented past, but many will start to get bored at this point, and confused by some of the scenes they would deem weird. The film does get better, and more interesting later on. But what's so great about the film, is that it doesn't rely on action, like I'm sure Daredevil did. It's a character driven, dark, psychological thriller, with The Hulk scnes their just to entertain some of the kids.
Yes, character driven, dark, psychological, thriller. I typed that up right. For one thing, The Hulk isn't your standard good guy, Banner, and the estranged Betty, who's having a bit of a crisis of her own adjusting to Banner alter ego, and realizing whther this is really the Banner she loves. Obviously, Bruce is going through his own identity crisis, The Hulk is a manifestation of his angst, and a conglomerate of all of his rage, that spans from his memories. This is not a jolly green giant, and it's not a happy movie, at any point. The ending itself could be described bittersweet, which follows in the movie's past setting. The movie was just depressing after awhile, things get much worse for Banner before it gets any better. It's just demoralizing to see a victim, such as him, to have to go through such pain for something he never really wanted. The Hulk is a hindrance to Banner, it's a symbol of everything he doesn't want in his life. In a critical moment in the movie , Nick Nolte gives a semi speech of how The Hulk is a part of Banner, it is him. He touches everything the movie wants you to think about, what truly is humanity?
In my opinion, this is a decent movie, it's first half drags it down a bit. The best advice I can give to you is approach it with an open mind..
We've been seeing this kind of formula for awhile now; after Spiderman came out, it made millions, it was a win-win situation all around; fans of the comic would hastily flock to theaters to see the movie, as expected, and many other people would come see it just because of how cool it seemed it was going to be. But the main thing that surprised me about Spiderman was because all around, in every area, it was a good movie. I thouroughly enjoyed watching it from beginning to end. The director never dragged out the movie without some kind of important, or action packed scene to keep you in line, just before you were about to sneak over and mutter to the person you came with that the movie was getting boring, something happened.
Then Daredevil came out, I've never seen it, most critic's hate it, and most of my friends love it. Who should I trust; the friends who pretty much love every movie unless it's psychological, and drags itself out, or the stuck up critic's who pretty much (think they) know how bad a movie is by it's name (and the scary thing is, more times than not, their right).
Neither of these kinds of people can truly enjoy The Hulk.
Ang Lee, the acclaimed director of a number of films (Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm), is known for his ability to show off human interaction with a rare, and unique form of grace known by few directors; not so in The Hulk, the relationship between Betty Ross, played superbly by Jennifer Connelly (Who laid my fears of a horrible cast starring in The Hulk to rest after I heard she was in it; anyone who's seen A Beautiful Mind know's why) is definetly the strong point of the relationship. Ang Lee tries to make his character's and emotions and points clears by doing close up's of the character's many, many times. This almost does the opposite of what it's intended to present to the audience; at least to me, it tended to get annoying after awhile. But even then, the relationship could've been handled in a way that's closer to Ang Lee's form, after all, relationships are supposed to be one of Lee's forte's. But it's handled cumbersomely because of the "dramatic" closeup's. Of course, it's a very good thing that Mr. Bana (Burce Banner) was able to express his emotions, and manage to not alienate the audience by doing so; a thing a less experienced actor would have thought of. Sam Elliot, who plays as the general who's determined to stop The Hulk through any means neccesary despite his daughter, Betty's protests, is always on cue with his sneers, and he somehow accomplishes borderline overacting, he's nearly perfect in his role.
Lee's comic book style really add's to the originality of the film. He manages to show one scene through two or even three angles or viewpoints at the same time. One of the best examples of this is when Glenn (the usual lesser bad guy, played by John Lucas who smirk's and sneer's entirely too much) is walking out of a room after taunting Banner. This is not only impressive, but it's a risk that works, and shows how great a director Lee is, how intuitive he truly is. It's style enchances the film greatly.
But let us go back, to the film I mean, I'm starting to talk like many of the other critic's; in fact, the only reason why I know any movies by Ang Lee, his forte, and the name of any of the actor's (save for Nick Nolte as the trouble making father of Bruce Banner) is because I read it from the newspaper, another review of the film.
The first 40 minute's are iffy; that's the time until Banner is exposed to Gamma radiation, and we're introduced to The Hulk. That first half of the movie is rather disappointing, if not because it drags itself out, but because it doesn't go anywhere. We get a glimpse of Banner's tormented past, but many will start to get bored at this point, and confused by some of the scenes they would deem weird. The film does get better, and more interesting later on. But what's so great about the film, is that it doesn't rely on action, like I'm sure Daredevil did. It's a character driven, dark, psychological thriller, with The Hulk scnes their just to entertain some of the kids.
Yes, character driven, dark, psychological, thriller. I typed that up right. For one thing, The Hulk isn't your standard good guy, Banner, and the estranged Betty, who's having a bit of a crisis of her own adjusting to Banner alter ego, and realizing whther this is really the Banner she loves. Obviously, Bruce is going through his own identity crisis, The Hulk is a manifestation of his angst, and a conglomerate of all of his rage, that spans from his memories. This is not a jolly green giant, and it's not a happy movie, at any point. The ending itself could be described bittersweet, which follows in the movie's past setting. The movie was just depressing after awhile, things get much worse for Banner before it gets any better. It's just demoralizing to see a victim, such as him, to have to go through such pain for something he never really wanted. The Hulk is a hindrance to Banner, it's a symbol of everything he doesn't want in his life. In a critical moment in the movie , Nick Nolte gives a semi speech of how The Hulk is a part of Banner, it is him. He touches everything the movie wants you to think about, what truly is humanity?
In my opinion, this is a decent movie, it's first half drags it down a bit. The best advice I can give to you is approach it with an open mind..