Techtite DVD Reviews

The Film: Hulk is a film that tries to burn its candle at both ends. No surprise there, since the same can be said of the comic book: a cerebral approach at solving mysteries by Dr. Banner on one side, with a crash-and-burn method of stopping the criminals, thanks to Banner's alter-ego, "The Incredible Hulk." This double edged sword will lead to a decidedly split feeling of this film: some moviegoers will be irked at the excessive dialogue in the Dr. Banner scenes, while others will be irked at the violent crash-and-burn scenes of Hulk's rage. Fans of the comic book --always somewhere in the middle-- should be quite pleased.

The story is quite similar to the comic, as well as the 1970's TV series starring Bill Bixby (and which, personally, I liked a bit more than this film). Dr. Banner is a research scientist who is looking for a way to better humankind, making them stronger and more resilient and so on. An accidental overdose of gamma radiation triggers a strange flux in Banner's own body chemistry, causing him to become a super-powered (though not too terribly bright) "Hulk" whenever angry or in rage. When this happens, well, it's almost certainly bad news for whoever ticked him off. For type-A personalities, this is comic book gold.

Of course, any retelling of an over-30-year-old comic tale is bound to have a few modernizations, and once again, some diehard fans might be a bit irked. For one, the "Hulk" in this film, Dr. Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), is not the true origin of these experiments, though is actually following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. David Banner (Nick Nolte). Personally, I felt this angle of the story was a mistake, because it takes all the guilt from the "Hulk" Banner, and places it onto his father. This makes said Hulk into a victim more than the guilt-ridden lost soul he is in the comics. Will fans be forgiving to this adaptation of the classic tale? Check the box office and you'll have your answer...

Other mild adaptations actually enhance the story. For one, this Banner seems not as ready to find a cure for his "condition" as the original Hulk ever did. In fact, the lab accident turns out to be more upsetting for Banner's on-again, off-again girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) than Banner, since Bruce grows to like his alter ego, and the power it gives him. After all, he's often just a mild mannered weakling, and now he's this super-powered green goliath. Unfortunately, Betty's father (Sam Ross) happens to be in the military, and as such sees Hulk as a threat that needs to be blown to the dark side of the moon, if you know what I mean. Hulk is not too easily captured, and...you can figure out the rest.

You may ask who the bad guy is in such a picture. Therein lies the core flaw with this liberalized telling of the Hulk tale. Is it The Hulk? Is it Betty's militant dad? Is it the seedy scientist looking for a Hulk blood sample to sell to the highest bidder? No, it turns out to be none of the above, leading to a final battle with said "bad guy" which is almost as out-from-left-field as the finale of an old Scooby-Doo Cartoon. The concept to make this sorry wretch (without naming names) into the film's core "villain" was clearly an after thought --at the eleventh hour of film production-- and it shows...right down to the shoddy, blurry FX of this final battle. Don't argue: this finale, to this critic, is about as visibly comprehensible as a Rorschach Test. Mind you, the concept of what's going on is easy to grasp, and yet the FX were so rushed, it's distracting.

Not that all FX scenes are as shoddy. Many were done with explicit care, even if some were not. Superior FX moments include at least one shot each of Bruce becoming the Hulk, and inevitably, reverting into his original form. Another action-packed scene includes Hulk's run-in with the Army itself, showcasing the ominous power of the Hulk, and how perhaps, indeed, the military is correct in accessing him as a threat. If this film's 217 minutes were edited to only include the good FX scenes, there'd be less problems.

However, such editing was never done, and this is a shame. Some scenes should not only have been edited out; they are totally cornball, including --I kid you not-- a fight between Hulk and a mutant French Poodle. Even at the drawing board stage, such a scene should have been long abandoned, and not even attempted. With such a scene intact, Hulk will go down in history as the film which should have known what even the finest of FX departments could never do. Not even the finest FX team in the world could ever make a fluffy mutant French Poodle look menacing.

In the end, this CGI-laden film is saved via its human characters. The chemistry between Bruce and Betty is quite believable, as is her immediate recognition of Hulk as her estranged boyfriend. This is a really nice love story, with a lot of three dimensionality to it. Likewise for the typical emotional tale of how scientists should often consider what they "should" do, before considering what they could do. These two subplots combine into a very nice tale about the strength of the human spirit, because Hulk deep down is still Bruce Banner, who even as a rage-minded Hulk, would never let any harm come to Betty. Awww!

If this film ended with such a heartfelt message, this would've been a flawless Hulk for the silver screen. Instead, they felt the need to add the blurry, Scooby-Doo-quality final battle. Sure, it's a battle with big 'splosions, though it still makes little sense. Always know when to end your film, kids. Hulk is a goliath-sized testament to this.

The DVD: You know; more often than not I review a DVD's bonus features with depth, but being so close to a deadline this week; I really don't see the need, or the desire, to review the extras here. Not that they're bad but to be candid --mini-review notwithstanding-- I don't really want to see the film a second time right now. See you when I do, soon enough, but for now here's an encapsulation of those bonus features:

	Final Rating : Small Crater. While this is far from a bad film, the two (three?) blurry, shoddily done FX scenes --including the oddball finale-- detract from the fun elsewhere.
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Hulk

A Techtite Review