Hulk
Yes, it's true: I rather enjoy Ang Lee's Hulk movie. I know I probably shouldn't - about half the
critics in the world slammed the holy hell out of it - but I do. And here's why: the casting. The
casting was awesome; Eric Bana was perfect for the role of Bruce Banner. Plus, Jennifer
Connelly... I'm not gonna say much more about her because it makes the ladies jealous.
(She's totally hot.) But, the casting wasn't the only thing I liked about the flick; I also liked the
script, and the directing. I even liked the soundtrack. There wasn't a whole lot that I didn't
enjoy.
I've resigned myself to CGI; it's the hallmark of our cinematic times. Sometimes, it's good and
sometimes it's bad. It's a give and take: for every Jar Jar, we get to see Edward Norton's
slow motion suicide attempt in Fight Club. Hulk had about sixty percent good CG and forty
percent really, really shitty CG. The worst such instance of these effects is when our
favorite, tortured green protagonist fights three mutant dogs. The dogs looked like they
should have been chasing that squirrel from Ice Age around or something. They were hardly
the menacing beasts that one would expect to give the world's strongest and most violent
creature a run for his money. But I can overlook all of the less than impressive effects from a
Hulk movie. Why?
Because I got to see my favorite green monster (yes, sometimes gray for all you nerds)
rampage through San Francisco and Berkeley... and it was awesome. I'd pay for a channel
that was just video of my home town getting demolished by enraged monsters. There's just
nothing better and more cathartic than that.
But, frankly, and this is going to sound really gay, my favorite part of Ang Lee's first - and
probably last - foray into comic movies was the character development, the human drama. I
was much more interested in Bruce Banner than the Hulk, which is ironically what so many
critics slammed the film for - for being to serious - when the second Spiderman flick
garnered an ass-load of praise for the same reason. But life isn't fair. I know this. And
despite the moderate critical and financial success of the first Hulk flick, Marvel Comics' new
studio is going ahead with a second installation. It's probably going to be a lot different and I
doubt Jennifer Connelly or Eric Bana will star in it, but I'll still watch it. And provided Mr.
Banner once again demolishes SF, we can count on at least one favorable review. Because
screw this town, bro.
Yes, it's true: I rather enjoy Ang Lee's Hulk movie. I know I probably shouldn't - about half the
critics in the world slammed the holy hell out of it - but I do. And here's why: the casting. The
casting was awesome; Eric Bana was perfect for the role of Bruce Banner. Plus, Jennifer
Connelly... I'm not gonna say much more about her because it makes the ladies jealous.
(She's totally hot.) But, the casting wasn't the only thing I liked about the flick; I also liked the
script, and the directing. I even liked the soundtrack. There wasn't a whole lot that I didn't
enjoy.
I've resigned myself to CGI; it's the hallmark of our cinematic times. Sometimes, it's good and
sometimes it's bad. It's a give and take: for every Jar Jar, we get to see Edward Norton's
slow motion suicide attempt in Fight Club. Hulk had about sixty percent good CG and forty
percent really, really shitty CG. The worst such instance of these effects is when our
favorite, tortured green protagonist fights three mutant dogs. The dogs looked like they
should have been chasing that squirrel from Ice Age around or something. They were hardly
the menacing beasts that one would expect to give the world's strongest and most violent
creature a run for his money. But I can overlook all of the less than impressive effects from a
Hulk movie. Why?
Because I got to see my favorite green monster (yes, sometimes gray for all you nerds)
rampage through San Francisco and Berkeley... and it was awesome. I'd pay for a channel
that was just video of my home town getting demolished by enraged monsters. There's just
nothing better and more cathartic than that.
But, frankly, and this is going to sound really gay, my favorite part of Ang Lee's first - and
probably last - foray into comic movies was the character development, the human drama. I
was much more interested in Bruce Banner than the Hulk, which is ironically what so many
critics slammed the film for - for being to serious - when the second Spiderman flick
garnered an ass-load of praise for the same reason. But life isn't fair. I know this. And
despite the moderate critical and financial success of the first Hulk flick, Marvel Comics' new
studio is going ahead with a second installation. It's probably going to be a lot different and I
doubt Jennifer Connelly or Eric Bana will star in it, but I'll still watch it. And provided Mr.
Banner once again demolishes SF, we can count on at least one favorable review. Because
screw this town, bro.
