I had intended to go to see The Hulk tonight, but after reading Oliver Willis’s review of the Hulk, I might go see Bruc Almighty or something else. Here is part of Oliver’s review:
“Hi, my name is Ang Lee. Somehow I’ve made the Incredible Hulk boring.”
That’s all I could think as I walked out of Hulk. Here’s a movie about a 10 foot tall giant whose driving force is pure and unbridled rage and Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) has managed to mold the thing into a snoozefest. For too many years critics have derided the plots and pacing of summer movies, essentially dismissing them as MTV-inspired bits of candy. I’m here to say that I like my candy, and I want my summer movies to be big, loud and engaging. Based on sheer entertainment value, Hulk is sadly a failure.
I am trying to think of a time I disagreed with Oliver about a movie or tv show, and I can’t. Sorry Hulk, I’ll catch you on DVD.
Terry
Go see The Italian Job; it’s fun and entertaining as summer movies are supposed to be.
HH
It included a lot of dialogue… welcome to Marvel Comics. It had an interesting directing style… welcome to an Ang Lee movie. It had a full half hour of the Hulk going berzerk. Maybe Oliver had already walked out at that point. It wasn’t the best comic book movie but I’d hardly call it boring, unless you find Marvel Comics boring.
Oliver
The reason the movie stunk was that it was exactly the OPPOSITE of a Marvel comic. You flip through a comic to get to the climax, enjoying each page as you go along. I just wanted Hulk to be over.
HH
Well I see that you did enjoy the action. Hulk has never appeared all that often, it’s always been more about Banner. I saw a cartoon from the ’80s whose entire purpose really was to show the Hulk going crazy. He appears in MAYBE 5 minutes of a 22 minute show. I didn’t see anything unusual about that. In the first movie there will always be more exposition… you’ll see more Hulk in the sequel for sure. And I don’t see how it was the opposite of a Marvel comic at all, it was introspective just like the best of them. In the latest Hulk comics, you’re lucky if you see the Hulk at all.
platosearwax
What a disappointment. I so wanted this to be a cool movie.
Ricky
Terry’s right. The Italian Job is great (similar to “Sneakers”).
X-Men2 and Nemo are top notch, as well. I’m planning on watching Bruce Almighty tonight.
Ryan
This movie was one of the worst pieces of crap I’ve ever seen. I want my $9 back. Seriously, I want it now.