Hulk-a-mania

[Omar Harris]

Low and behold, in the wake of the current trend in introducing Marvel comics to the world of cinema, we now have The Hulk. OK, this is pretty old news, but I thought it deserved a thread.

To anyone not familiar with the Hulk, or living under a rock, the Hulk is about a scientist named Bruce Banner, who designs a bomb using gamma radiation, for the military. When he sees a young boy named Rick Jones sitting on the test site (at least in the comic) he saves him, only to be splashed in gamma rays when his partner (revealed to be a commie spy) lets the bomb go off instead of halting the countdown. Now, whenever he becomes enraged, all the pent-up anger and rage he has had for his entire life, transforms him into a living "engine of destruction", the Hulk, a green, humanoid monster, with the mentality of a toddler, and near-infinite strength that continues to grow as he becomes angrier.

The movie is directed by Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and features what look to be some spectacular CGI for the Hulk himself. Anyone interested?

[Guest Hikaru Ichijyo]

Personally being one of the biggest Hulk Fans around on OB (Yes I'm a closet, Hulk Fan) I'm looking forward to the movie, however I'm not sure it will fair well too much CGI and it seems not enough true to the comic settings. I'd much rather recommend the old 1970's Hulk series, and the three made for TV movies instead.

Especially the Death of the Incredible Hulk and the Trial of the Incredible Hulk. They truly were tear jerkers.

"Don't make me angry! You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!"--Bruce Banner

[Omar Harris]

The Hulk looks very realistic in this one; much better than the Lou Ferrigno Hulk from the TV show. That guy used to creep me out as a kid (ok, I was a coward as a kid. Sue me:p

So far, like every comic movie, there are changes. The Hulk's father is a geneticist, and implanted the trigger that created the Hulk, the trigger that brought the beast to life with the gamma rays, whereas in the comic, the Hulk is the living manifestation of all of Banner's repressed rage. It looks like dear old dad, who was a drunkard, and the murderer of Bruce's mother, will be the "villain" of this story.

It would be interesting if the movie featured the Abomination (the anti-Hulk.) If I wrote this movie, I'd have him as a anti-American spy who joins forces with the American government to fight the Hulk, for American pardon.

While on the subject, I've always wondered why Marvel can afford the best directors (Sam Raimi on "Spider-Man", Bryan Singer on "X-Men", or Ang Lee on "The Hulk") but not the best writers. Save for "Spider-Man" and "X2", none of their movies were as good as they could have been, in my opinion. Not that they weren't good, just could have been better.

[Pyrophobic]

The Hulk is indeed a classic, but I don't know how it'll fare against the likes of Spider-Man and X-Men 2. I can sort of see them ending up with a bunch of big and bizarrely random explosions, video game-like action and a severely linear storyline - I would HATE for it to follow the same old formula, as if it does, this whole trend is sure to die sooner than it might have with a sprinkle of originality. I think Spider-Man in particular was heir to such weaknesses, even if Raimi is a good director: I sat through the entire thing thinking I was watching a Power Rangers-cum-PS game stretched over a couple of hours. All the same, I wouldn't say it was really that bad, considering its aims: the many computer effects (which I wish had been replaced in part by proper stunts - evidently possible in several instances) were adequately impressive and reintroduced the characters to a younger generation. That seems the major aim of all these superhero flicks.

I'd say X-Men 2 was a great deal stronger. The cast was very agreeable and it wasn't nearly so flat in terms of plot. As for The Hulk - well, Ang Lee is a brilliant director and it'd be interesting to see if he breaks away from the cliched and the inevitable. I do agree that he has a lot to live up to, considering the 1970s version.