Hulk
Tags: boring, murder, violence, flashback, good versus evil, action

Plot synopsis:
Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is a research scientist at a Berkeley, California laboratory. His work focuses on using nanomeds and gamma radiation to cure cancer and other diseases. Unfortunately, all of their experiments end in the test animals exploding. He works with Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly); they were recently romantically involved but have broken up because Bruce was too withdrawn emotionally. Although neither of them know it, their fathers worked together on an Army base in New Mexico, in the late 1960s. David Banner (Paul Kersey) was a driven research scientist intent on unlocking the secrets of regeneration of tissue so that humans could regrow lost limbs. Sgt. Ross (Todd Tesen) shut down Brian's experiments when he learned he had been experimenting on himself. David was aware of the risks and already feared that he had passed on some genetic mutation to young Bruce. Bruce was a quiet, troubled child who was comfortable only in the presence of his mother, Edith (Cara Buono). After being fired, David sabotaged his equipment which resulted in an explosion on base. He then went home, fought with Edith and tried to kill young Bruce. Instead he accidentally killed Edith. David was arrested and incarcerated in a mental hospital. Bruce was placed with foster parents. He has repressed his memories of his parents, and because Bruce works under his foster parents' name (Krensler), Betty's father doesn't recognize him. Ironically, Ross oversees the research Betty and Bruce perform.Glenn Talbot (Josh Lucas) used to work for the same lab as Betty and Bruce but has since moved on to a private corporation, Atheon. He returns to the lab, flirts with Betty and offers her and Bruce an unlimited budget if they will bring their research to his corporation. They both refuse but Bruce's anger begins to rise anyway. Later that day, an experiment goes horribly awry. Bruce is exposed to massive doses of nanomeds and gamma radiation. Unlike the other test subjects, however, he doesn't die. In the hospital he is visited by a strange man who had earlier begun to work at the lab as a janitor. Although Bruce doesn't recognize him, it is his father (Nick Nolte). His father suggests that Bruce has secret reserves of power hidden within him, then disappears. After being released from the hospital, Bruce returns to work. He hears a phone message from Betty in which she discusses a meeting she had with now-General Ross (Sam Elliot) about Talbot's offer. Bruce's rage spirals out of control and he transforms into the Hulk, a superhumanly powerful, green-skinned creature. He destroys the lab and throws the gamma radiation generator into the parking lot. When he sees his father observing his rampage, the Hulk leaps away in confusion.Because Bruce was the last person in the lab, he is under suspicion for destroying it and is placed under lockdown by Ross. Betty goes to see David. He tells her as well about Bruce's power before curtly showing her the door. Upset, Betty drives to her cabin in the mountains. David has created a trio of superpowered gamma dogs using equipment purloined from the labs. Using a scarf she left behind, he gives the dogs Betty's scent and sends them to kill her. He then calls Bruce to tell him he has done so, to coax the Hulk out of him. Just then Talbot arrives to confront Bruce. Ross has ordered Talbot to leave Betty and Bruce alone, enraging Talbot. He tries to beat Bruce but manages only to anger him enough to cause another transformation into the Hulk. Hulk beats Talbot badly then escapes the Army guards to find and protect Betty. At the mountain cabin, he fights and kills the gamma dogs. Exhausted, he transforms back into Bruce before Betty's eyes. The next morning, the Army arrives and sedates Bruce. Betty, unsure of what to do, had called her father during the night.By now Ross knows who Bruce is. He has Bruce and Betty taken back to the New Mexico base where David and he had worked earlier. Betty and Bruce walk the grounds in an attempt to understand how Bruce became who he is. Before any real breakthrough can be made, Ross' superiors place Bruce in Talbot's care. Talbot has assured them he can find out what causes Bruce to become the Hulk, and harness that power for the military. Betty leaves the base. Talbot taunts Bruce then knocks him out. Bruce is placed in an isolation tank so Talbot can perform tests on him. As Talbot probes, however, he unleashes the Hulk. The Hulk breaks free of the tank and begins to wreak havoc on the Army base. In the process, Talbot is killed. Ross decides to free Hulk from the base and then destroy him outside. The Hulk destroys four Army heavy tanks and leaps off into the desert to hide. Ross and his forces find him and he leads the Army on a chase throughout the Southwestern United States, battling briefly with a small unit of Comanche choppers. Firing on a series of rock towers to bury him, the Hulk escapes and heads in the direction of San Francisco. There he proceeds to wreak havoc in the city until Betty arrives and calms him down. He transforms back into Bruce.David uses the restored gamma radiation generator and nanomeds to make himself into a superhuman being. He is now able to adopt the physical properties of anything he comes in contact with. He contacts Betty and agrees to turn himself in to Gen. Ross if he will be allowed to see Bruce. Ross agrees. Father and son meet in an abandoned warehouse. David tries to persuade Bruce to accept his power and join him but Bruce refuses. David taps into a powerline and becomes living electricity. Bruce transforms into the Hulk and the two men battle. They eventually wind up at a secluded lake. David decides to absorb all of Bruce's power for himself. However Bruce's power is so immense, David cannot contain it all and explodes. As that happens, the Army drops a bomb on the site, destroying it.Bruce's body is never found. Ross keeps in touch with Betty and hopes that if Bruce were ever to contact her, she would tell him. But he knows she wouldn't. In a South American rain forest, an American doctor provides inoculation shots to the needy. Mercenaries attack his camp to confiscate the supplies. As his eyes begin to glow green, Bruce warns them not to make him angry.

Review: At the time I didn't understand or care about any of the split screens, dream sequences, etc, I was just waiting for the hulk to show up and destroy stuff.(The hulk dosen't show up till about 40 minutes into the movie, by the way.) I eventually began to get restless because it is a very slow movie and when it was over I felt very disappointed.A few years later I bought the DVD to give it another try, and I was very surprised with how good it actually was, now that I had gotten older and could appreciate the style, acting and pretty much everything else.
This works most of the time,as it gives the film a unique look thats different from other comic book movies.Now to the much criticised CGI, which for me is a mixed bag.
In a time where superhero movies seem to come from the assembly line and standards are (sadly) set already it is hard to find gems that really transcend these paradigms.Ang Lee made a different approach to the superhero genre - and the people didn't like it!
Ang Lee seems to have taken especially this thought very seriously and created a piece of art that the average pop-corn-formula-film-liking movie-goer may find hard to digest.
"Hulk" looks and feels like no other film, which makes it one of the most interesting, if not one of the best comic- adaptations of all time.
The intellectual Ang Lee- connoisseur picks his nose when it comes to the Hulk, simply due to its humble roots, while the average popcorn-cinema-goer is slightly irritated when confronted with the films "odd" approach to comic-movies.
All the other elements for a good piece of entertainment are there and present: Eric Bana is, as usual, fine as the tormented soul which manifests itself in green rage, Jennifer Connelly is as solid as ever and Nick Nolte steals the show with what is a truly weird turn as Bruce Banner's/the Hulk's dad.
It expresses the idea that this Hulk was born of two of the greatest known forces in the universe, genetic and atomic force.It's Ang Lee's masterful filmmaking, strong use of visual metaphor, and faithfulness to the original comics that really sets his Hulk film apart for me.
We experience Bruce Banner's awkwardness and inability to express himself adequately, which makes us understand all the more why he begins to `enjoy' transforming into his raging alter-id.Though it's true that the Hulk doesn't appear until 45 minute into the movie, once he does, the action hardly stops.
You'll understand it once you see it.Fans of the Hulk (like me) will be familiar with the several storylines that have been amalgamated into the screenplay, one of them being David Banner, who is Bruce's character in THE INCREDIBLE HULK TV series (speaking of which, Lou Ferrigno, who portrayed the TV Hulk, appears in a cameo with Stan Lee).
Following the trend on the last years about recycling comic superheroes, Hulk's turn became a very interesting alternative to other formulas used in several of these adaptations.Knowing that many people consider this movie as dull and boring, please let me state that it's far from being dull.
After the critics towards Spiderman just scratching the surface of character development, and where other movies simply failed miserably (e.g. Daredevil), we should be grateful that we can finally see some depth in the main character as we're used in the good comics.Ang Lee's direction shows his usual way of telling stories, in a sensitive and personal way.
The editing work, which remarkably resembles comic frames in many scenes, and contains some awesome transitions, is simply wonderful.And all this not forgetting Hulk's main point: a green, angry mass of power and destruction.
The movie is full of small details (has anyone noticed the frog over the hat in the final scene?) which reward you when watching it a second or third time.The main down of the movie might be that followers aren't used to see Hulk in this way, a deep and sensitive character, and probably expected more action and enemy-smashing and less deep dialogues running after child traumas...
Modern viewers with no attention span be advised up front that you will find "Hulk" challenging, and would be better served by spending your "entertainment" budget on trash like "The Phantom Menace" and "The Day After Tomorrow," and leaving the real movies to the adults.I don't insist that a fan of typical Hollywood summer fare actually offer some rational critique of the picture--I'm not a cruel man.
As many previous reviewers pointed out, Ang Lee has created a marvelous movie/comic book amalgam, which may be too cerebral to most of the viewers, but Hulk has always been pretty complicated character anyway.
This way we got excellent Sam Elliot and Jennifer Connely, and very good Nick Nolte and Eric Bana, all capped with absolutely brilliant directing by Ang Lee. If only all the other comic book movies were directed in this way....
Marvel Hero movies are always awesome.It was sort of documentary types in the beginning,but later on after the gamma ray incident it catches the flow.Its a lovely movie.And i am a fan of Eric Bana from this movie.If there were a bit more sequences of Hulk's action it would have been satisfying.The story line is awesome.It is so good to know the story of a super-hero and then his wonders.Through it we could also know some scientific facts regarding the mechanism that took place in Hulk's body.And after all lovely Miss Ross.The bad part of it all was only Bruce's father Dr.Banner.If the documentary part had been a little less and fast it would have been better.As then there would more space to show about Hulk's consequences and more action scenes !.
Bruce banner a man with a monster inside him and he's completely unaware of it but one day during a freak lab accident he's inner beast is released and he becomes the most powerful creature on the planet the hulk Ang lee is an awesome director he doesn't make the whole movie a action galore porno he shows the struggles of a one mans life and his perspective of how to handle his anger it gives a message how we take every little thing to seriously and we let are anger get the best of us and it turns us into something ugly and horrible great story line and great dialogue and great actors Eric banna is the best as Bruce way better than Edward Norton(in my opinion) go see this movie i highly recommend it.
When Banner tries to describe what happened unemotionally, there is a momentary lapse during which he grabs Betty's throat; I got chills.Ang Lee gave this movie an almost Asian feel while still keeping it accessible to American audiences who know what they are getting.
Ang Lee's "The Hulk" is a film that's so good, so well acted, so well written, and so engaging that I found myself constantly wishing that it wasn't centered on a silly green superhero.
"The Hulk" is a film that puts all the recent comic adaptations to shame ("Spider-Man" and "Daredevil"), and is definitely the best superhero movie since Tim Burton's "Batman."
In a way, I agree with this way of thinking, but only with a comic character like "Spider-Man" would this work: he's a superhero that, unlike the Hulk, has no dimension.
Instead of simply catering to morons by having the movie be non-stop smashing, Ang Lee and his screenwriter James Schamus decided to research the character and create a film more about his struggle than his tumultuous panics.
This care for the character Bruce Banner, his background, and his life shine through every frame, and this creates a sensation that's very rare in comic flicks.Yet even Ang Lee, art-house master, knows that a summer comic blockbuster wouldn't be complete without some serious action, and the final action sequences are the most stunning and visually imaginative since Ang Lee's own "Crouching Tiger."  In one scene, the Hulk, who can jump miles, jumps from a rocky canyon region to a silent desert while loads of planes and helicopters pursue him, trying to blow him to green sludge.
Ang Lee only gives us action after he has invested our care into his characters, and it means so much more then the boring action scenes performed in "Spider-Man."As far as the acting goes, it's top-notch for sure.
Schamus's script investigated more emotion and motivation behind the Hulk than any superhero film I think I've ever seen: and it's this serious tone that makes the movie so above and beyond the rest.
Yes, there were times during action scenes were he seemed to be made of silly putty, but they never got as flawed as in "Spider-Man."And finally, Ang Lee's hold on the film is crucial: the way he films it mimes a comic the entire time: wide angles and vibrant frames, and the editing swipes/fades/dissolves/ and split screens really recreate this sensation of turning the pages of a comic (I'm sure the creators of both of the last comic films wish they had thought of this).
Especially since it is not your usual superhero story with a boy who gets superpowers and gets to fight crime, bla bla bla...The best of the movie for me are the facial expressions of Hulk - they are done so well here with the CG that I am starting to believe they hired the real Hulk, filmed him and then added some shaders to give it a CG feel :D But seriously though, the story is really moving, and Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly and Nick Nolte really pull the movie in the right direction.So if you are reading this "review", go watch it, you won't regret it no matter your taste of movies.Cheers..
I wasn't sure if the movie will be as good as I wanted it to be : I like very much Ang Lee for all of his production, but people talking were not so nice.
For about half an hour I was seriously thinking "My goodness, Lee's really lost it." Then as soon as the Eric Bana and Nick Nolte's relationship started to pick up, I thought; "Exactly what I was looking for."The action of course was unbelievably fantastic.
Ang Lee, the director of such great films like `The Ice Storm' and `Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon', has done something that no comic book film (or any film) has done in a while: take its time by developing the characters and actually making us care for them.
I'm not saying it was the greatest move, but I was glad Ang did it.`Hulk' is just the latest comic book to be made into a movie, following in the tracks of `X-Men', `Spider-Man', `Daredevil', and the upcoming `League of Extraordinary Gentleman'.
The CGI was great; I like the fact the Ang Lee's team introduced different versions to the public i.e. Super Bowl Sunday, trailers on the net to see if the 'real' Hulk fans would accept it.
Right now for comic-to-movie it's like this in my book:1> Spiderman 2> Blade 2b> Hulk 3> Batman  -- if they stop changin you plays Bruce Wayne...
A very few people seemed to realize the difficulties that Ang lee had to deal with, directing the movie adapted from the misadventures of the first super hero whose the enemy would be his own nature.For the action sequences, Lee did put entire pages of the original comic book in motion.
All the fierce power of the creature is there, treated in such a way that the viewer is like in the core of the action, to make him/her intimately feel the visual fury.The best proof of the greatness of this film is the way it influence, without no one ever noticed, critically acclaimed followers like "Spider-Man 2" and "Batman Begins".Thank you Mr Lee..
The acting was solid, the story was great, the action and effects were well done, and Ang Lee captured the emotion of the Hulk most superhero/comic book movies lack these days.Thats not to say there were some flaws in this film.
The people who wanted to see that movie would have to wait 5 years before one came out ( the 2008 Incredible Hulk)Overall, an excellent movie, over criticized, underrated and disappointed they didn't make a sequel to this great film.
I thought this film was fantastic they really explain the hulk very well in this film and the way it's shown on the screen, with different scenes that are happening at the same time displayed at once made it look a bit like a digital comic book which i enjoyed about the film even though you may focus on one of the shots and miss the others.
If you love the hulk comics or your just love action films then see this film without listening to any one else and you will see that its in fact very good, very well made film by Ang Lee and terrific acting by Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly and many others..
What Ang Lee was blessed with the ability to do in this Film is something they only dreamed they could do back then.What I liked most about the Film is that Bruce Banner as The Hulk doesn't just get mad & smash everything he sees.
I think Ang Lee presents this aspect of the story in a masterfully subtle way.And as far as the acting goes I thought Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte, and Josh Lucas all did wonderful work throughout the entire Film.
Sam Elliot relishes the opportunity to do more than smile under his moustache for once.Ignore the reviewers who reviewed this film expecting Spiderman or X-Men. With every one of his recent films Ang Lee looks at the fantastic movies that proceeded him in that genre and then asks - what were they ACTUALLY trying to do, and how can I achieve what they wanted to do but didn't.
Compared to the light and fluffy depiction of Banner and the big guy in the MCU these days, and especially compared to the safe, generic, boring Edward Norton flick, this movie is a deep and intimate journey through the breaking dam of latent rage.Ang Lee is one of my favorite action directors of all time.
It reminds one of the mid-90's films.On the bright side, I liked how the characters of Bruce Banner/hulk and Betty Ross were written.
I saw The Hulk on the 4th of July 2003 and on the same night I saw Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines!It was an excellent experience seeing both blockbusters right after the other!It was well worth it and a unique way to spend on Independence Day!First I want to say months ago I didn't give much thought to the Hulk.Well I sure did when I saw the film!The music by Danny Elfman is great!I was really surprised this time!I didn't think he could tie his score of Batman and the Planet of the Apes!The cast was really perfect!Eric Bana played the part very good!Jennifer Connelly was really good and she was so much different than she was in the Roceteer.Sam Elliott was great!Josh Lucas play his villain part well and I hope to see him in more bad guy parts and as for Nick Nolte give him the academy award now!Lou Ferrigno looked awesome in his cameo!Ang Lee's direction was very good and his comic split screens really worked well.As for the action it was incredible!It is hard to say what I like most of the action scenes but I loved it when the Hulk was just destroying those tanks!This is a very,very,very,serious movie and there is very little humor if any and I really don't know if kids will like it because of the serious attitude and dark story it has.This isn't just another movie based on a comic book,it is very unique and all together different.The special effects were great and I loved the way the Hulk looked and he looked very real!The end of the movie was good.I am satisfied with film.I think this is what all Hulk fans have waited for!Go see it!.
I saw the movie The Hulk today, Ang Lee's grand interpretation of a comic book classic and huge fan favorate.
The character and situational development succeeds whether plenty of other action movies fail, it makes the viewer feel for hero, Bruce Banner.
The action and drama incredible but you want to see something incredible you watch the phenomonal directing by Ang Lee. he makes such an attempt to make this movie into a masterpiece and he almost succeeds with electric performances from a stellar cast and Eric Bana is perfect as Banner.
Bringing comic book characters to live action movies isn't a bad idea in my book, as I have seen it done well in a good number of films.
The acting, directing, and script are a joke, such a shame that a great character like the hulk got the worst cinematic treatment of a comic book movie ever.
Ang Lee's art house style of directing was probably fine for Crouching tiger, hidden dragon but in Hulk it really feels out of place.Eric Bana is a fine actor in the other movies I've seen him in Troy and Chopper, but in this film whenever he was supposed to be enraged to the point of turning into the hulk, he seemed like a 3 year old play acting.
Ang Lee, who did a great job directing the film, was wise to choose a newcomer to play Bruce Banner.
Ang Lee also uses a split screen effect to show different angles of what's going on or to show multiple actions going on at the same time that I thought were very original.I didn't expect to like this film as much as I did since I'm not a big fan of comics-to-screen films or movies that rely heavily on digital effects.