Hulk (2003)
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Hulk Movie Review
Hulk is a 2003 superhero film directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana. It’s an admirably dramatic, but dreadfully boring take on the character.
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“I should have killed you“
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This movie was kind of a box office bomb back when it was released. Some critics loved it, but most audiences despised it, and they continue to really hate it to this day. I personally do not hate it, but I certainly don’t care for it. It’s passable, but ultimately neither this nor the MCU version never did anything for me.
Ang Lee is an amazing director who did his best in many of the diverse genres that he has tackled so far, but in the superhero realm he fared probably the worst. The movie is surprisingly low on action scenes and even those that we get are very poorly executed. Same should be said for the visual effects, which are some of the weakest of any superhero movie. Hulk simply looks like an overgrown ape instead of his usual green, big, but not that huge self.
Where the movie definitely triumphs is in the storytelling department. The choice to focus on strong characterization and plot was great, but pacing issues and many other problems prevented the movie from reaching its full potential. But what Lee tried to do needs to be admired as he introduced this theme of bad parenthood and family gripes and grief into the character, and it really worked.
Eric Bana isn’t the most charismatic actor to play Bruce Banner, but he was overall fine here. Jennifer Connelly was much better in a role that was still mostly a repeat from her ‘A Beautiful Mind’ character. Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas and Nick Nolte all did their best, but it is Nolte who is particularly memorable.
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Hulk is at its best in the dialogue scenes that are overwhelming, but emotionally affecting. The pacing is the problem as the movie is way too long, slow and dragging quite a bit, thus my investment quickly evaporated. The cinematography, score and some interesting scene transitions, split screens and visual touches were intriguing, but the movie needed more spectacle and a lesser runtime.
