Hulk – Review

A quality director, a great cast, a Marvel superhero, what could go wrong?? I guess for me, the overall script could not keep up with this more artistic approach to the Hulk character. But, not all of it is bad, and there are definitely some bright spots.

In an Army-run lab, animals are dissected and liquid formulas are created. Samples from all over are combined using any modern technologies available. The goal appears to be human regeneration utilizing DNA from other species, such as lizards and starfish. In 1996, a young man named David Banner can’t help but use human subjects for his tests, despite finding out his wife is pregnant. I wonder who he will choose to test it on…

Little Bruce Banner joins the world, but David is focused on his serums. Has his genetic exploration been passed on to his son?! Maybe pops should test his baby’s blood. The results?? Uh oh. As Bruce ages into a teen, his birth parents are nowhere to be found, having “died” in the 90s. His stepmother tries to keep him strong, despite nightmares. Bruce hopes to be a great scientist, and eventually heads off to college. Hopefully he can share his greatness with the world someday.

Finally, when a grown man, Bruce (Bana) works for the Berkeley Nuclear Biotechnology Institute. He and Betty Ross (Connelly) have a presentation for the review board coming up. They have unfortunately broken up recently, but the focus on work remains. Nanomeds and gamma radiation experiments are their task at hand. Maybe gamma exposure is the key to the regenerative serum that Bruce is also working on. Like father, like son. As experiments go awry, so does Bruce’s internal beast, letting loose a gigantic unstoppable green force.

Hulk blasts on the big screen for the first time in this adventure, previously being relegated to TV movies. The major issues are a so-so script and slower pacing, despite a “hero” which smashes the shit outta things. There are indeed some okay action sequences, but a few story choices hold back the experience despite some well-cast actors in the main roles.

The film runs too long for its mediocre story, but some of the visual presentations and shot transitions make it play out somewhat comic book-y. Despite that added flair, it is a tad overdone and can get a bit egregious at times also. It definitely has some quality moments in it, but not enough Hulk and not enough story. It’s worth watching for those curious enough, but does feature a few odd choices here and there.

While some fans did enjoy this more artistic approach, cracking the Hulk’s code didn’t happen for me until years later with the Edward Norton version, which I personally had a good time with. Subsequent Hulk appearances in the Disney/Marvel Avengers flicks sometimes did pretty well also. This one is unrelated to those features; however, it may eventually get tied into things in multiversal features like the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. All bets are off for those flicks!