*** Official "THE HULK" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Al_S]

I saw this movie yesterday and thought it sucked. It was very boring and I nearly fell asleep the first hour. I thought it focused too much on the Hulk's relationship with his dad. I also thought the special effects were cheesy looking. I laughed when I saw the Hulk hop around like a big frog, I thought that just was plain stupid. If you've seen the previews then you've seen the best part of this movie. Two thumbs down.

 

[Augustin Rodriguez]

Well I wish I could say I've seen the entire movie, but the AMC theater lost power just as it was starting to get good.
Right when the Hulk was fighting the dogs at the cabin we lost power.

They had to close the theater and gave everyone re-entry passes. No I have to sit through the first boring 1 1/2 hours to get where I left off.

Talk about frustration. I going to bitch until they give me part of my money back for all the wasted concession stuff. The least they could do is give me some coupons for some free stuff.

Anyway, I thought the beginning of the Hulk was very boring. I hope it gets much better.

 

[Chris Atkins]

I am really surprised that the "cream of the crop" critics at RT reviewed HULK worse than the "normal" critics, since HULK has much of the artistry that endears "higher" critics to different types of films than the average movie goer.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Trying to set up Bruce and Betty's relationship by talking about it after it's been ended in the early part (where we finally see Eric and Jennifer on screen) instead of showing the audience made their relationship/fling seem academic, with little in terms of emotional/romantic connection, thus, later in the film, there isn't an overwhelming plausibility when Betty shows up, that her very presence is able to soothe the savage beast.

 

[Norm]

I laughed when I saw the Hulk hop around like a big frog,

Its obvious you never picked up a Hulk Comic Book. For me that was Awesome, the Comic Book came alive!

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

I also thought the running and leaping scenes were some of the most breathtaking shots in the film, easily surpassing "Spiderman" in the "bringing the comic book to life" department.

-Dennis

 

[Patrick Sun]

When Hulk started leaping around like a frog, and since his exterior is green, you had to wonder if David Banner was playing around with some amphibian/frog DNA in his experiments way back in the 1960s...

 

[Eric Franklin]

They were as realistic as I could imagine given the context. For a being that can lift 100 tons, that strength should not be limited to his arms IMO. I especially liked how disoriented he looked while he was in the air during his first couple of leaps.

Can you explain what you mean by wanting more ‘realistic’ jumps?

 

[ChristopherDM]

The Hulk for me was a very mixed bag.
Pros:
-The CGI(which was my worry before I saw it) was great
-Hulk smashing up the army stuff and general beating and destroy everything that gets in his way is vintage Comic Book Hulk and yes the jumping part made fell good
-Jennifer Connley is always a joy to look at
-the very end with him in South America was good setup

Cons:
-The whole dad subplot brought the film down and screws up the comic book orgins of the Hulk
-The movie was too long, the ending part of the dad felt tacked on
-not enough of HULK SMASH!=]

6/10
for me


Chris

 

[Travis_W]

9/10 for me.

I thought it was great. I loved how they didn't just slam you with the Hulk for 2 hours, the film established a much more personal feeling. Don't get me wrong, I love mindless action as much as the next guy but too much Hulk might have been a bad thing.

As for the comic book style editing, I dug it. Made the film even more engrossing.

I counted about ten three year olds in the movie last night. Many fell asleep, some parents took them out, and most were yacking the whole time. But I think the talkers fell asleep too after the first hour .

I've never read the comic but I'm familiar with the mythology and starting to warm up to the TV series. Maybe I liked it so much because my hopes weren't as high as some of your's.

 

[Chris Clark]

What a hard film to type about...
I enjoyed the direction Ang Lee, the acting, and the effects, but I couldn't end up liking this film. I think what may have been my problem with the film was the plot's insistance to repeat, again and again, that Bruce had a Severely Traumatic Moment.
By the time General Ross grills Bruce about the Moment, the audience already knows that whatever happened, it involved a knife and Bruce winding up with foster parents. It killed the impact of the full flashback, which could have been an electrifying moment for both Bruce and the audience. Instead, the viewer just wants to move on.
An irksome direction choice was to have splitscreen on actions that didn't really need it, such as David Banner hitting two switches in one frame, while the other shows...the hitting of the same switches at a different angle. It did pay off in spades in a later scene, though. Capturing the security guard's reaction during Nolte's weird rantings was worth it.

There were minor moments that I liked, such as the extreme longshots revealing how small the Hulk was in comparison to nature (rolling down a sand dune, standing amongst the rocks).

Consider me mixed on this film, more so than Daredevil.

-Chris

PS. People who bring small squealing children to theaters should be fined. If they're going to make us pay, then their price of admission should double.

 

[Peter H H]

Pat,

That was a joke.

-Peter

 

[Patrick Sun]

More from "out of the mouths of babes" department (overheard loudly at my theatrical viewing yesterday):

Just after Hulk disposes of the dogs, he shrinks back to being Bruce, but he's now naked. The kids started saying stuff like "he needs to put on some pants." and "Bruce, you're nekkid, go find your pants!"

 

[Hunter P]

Count me in the thumbs up category. Sure it was slow at parts but I think the comic book boxes kept those scenes visually interesting. The movie also had several false endings to the movie. By the time we get to the "One Year Later" part, I'm already silently screaming, "End it already!"

The biggest drawback to intro movies like this one is that so much time has to be used in giving background and setup. I can't wait for the sequel when we can go straight to the action. X2 proved to be better when they didn't have to resort to recap and intro's. I hope Spidey is the same.

The most impressive part of the movie was seeing the sheer power of the Hulk. I was pretty impressed by it when he was battling the dogs. I was more impressed when he battled the tanks, probably because tanks are something real to which I can relate. The power was unbelievable and impressively rendered.

Nobody commented on the Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno cameos. I got a good kick out of it but throw Lou a bone and give him at least one line.

My major disappointment: No "Hulk Smash." I just wanted it once. Oh well.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Lou Ferrigno is deaf correct? So Im not sure if he can talk very well...

 

[Chris Atkins]

HULK aspires to be something different than the standard, cookie-cutter, formula driven drivel that most studios release in the summer.

It should be praised on that basis alone.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Amen to that Chris!

 

[Sean Moon]

I loved this film. In spite of the fact that I felt the Absorbing Man ending was kinda tacked on, the rest of the movie was amazing. The effects were awesome as was the acting. The editing was interesting and very cool, and actually made me get into it even more than I probably would. The main complaint I have heard from talking to people today though is that in the film there isnt enough Hulk, that he should have been in the movie most of the time instead of in intervals. I tried to explain to them that the main battle in the film is not the govt or someone else trying to control the Hulk, but Banner trying to control himself. If he changes, then he lost the fight. There was only one time when I didnt feel kind of sad when he changed into the hulk, and that was when he broke out of the base.
As for Talbots death, the paper doll thing got a lot of laughs at my showing, and I loved that. It made him go out like the punk he was.

One final comment though. THE SOUND! Good god almighty this DVD is going to kick serious ass in the sound department when it comes out. I saw this at a nice theater and the whole place shook when the Hulk lept or smashed something. I fear for subwoofers everywhere when this movie comes home. I just hope Universal makes this a two disc set when it comes out so that they can get a DTS track on the DVD as well. I will be happy with Dolby, but would be in heaven with DTS on there. I dont think it will be on there though seeing the length of the movie and Universals reluctance for two disc sets lately.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I thought the film goes over better on the second viewing once you know how the pacing of the film unfolds. There were more character nuances peppered into the script than I had remembered from my initial viewing.

The ending between Bruce and David still needs work, though, that was just a murky mess of an ending.

 

[Patrick G]

Loved it. Great summer fun flick