The Hulk: Steaming Pile of Cr*p, or Just a Massive Waste of Time and Money...?

Amazingly, some of THE HULK radio ads are trumpeting the director and the film's artistic credibility, as if it was some Sundance art house project. You wouldn't know the movie's about a green-skinned monster drawn from a comic book.

 

Oh, man.....

This is not good to hear. I haven't seen it yet(sunday). I am a longtime Hulk/Marvel fan, and I was/am looking forward to this. Is it really that bad?

Evan

 

Bummer news. Both of my kids are begging to see it. I'll decide tomorrow I guess.
Last time I checked www.rottentomatoes.com it had a decent rating on the "tomatometer". Not through the roof, but not bad either.

Dan C

 

As i discussed elsewhere, I'm admitedly biased but I thought the movie was pretty good overall. I think it's overly talky and psychological, with the action too slow to get started, and i didn't care for the ending, but overall I liked it. I think the Hulk himself looks and acts *much* better that he comes across in the ads.

And I know it's immaterial to most of you, but you're all thankfully unaware of what the project was like 3 or 4 years ago before Ang Lee came on board. Thank god that version of the film was never made.

As I predicted months ago, people will either love this one or hate it.

 

I agree... and I "hate" this movie!

 

I thought we were discussing HULK, not CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

 

Well, I guess I may be in the minority; I found this the most entertaining and well-made "summer movie" so far, far better crafted than X-Men or Matrix.

I agree that there were a number of rough transitions--I get the feeling that they had to trim a lot of essential stuff out to meet a certain running time--and the "deep stuff" needed some work, but I had the same feeling I always get when watching an Ang Lee movie (and which I didn't get with X-Men or Matrix), which is a sheer joy in the telling and true inventiveness in terms of cinematic language. He never picks the expected framing or cutting in his action scenes, and there were many places where I felt my breath was taken away. Plus, he does what cinema often aspires to but rarely achieves in terms of communicating with IMAGES rather than WORDS. One example: the scene with a viewpoint from high above where Hulk is bounding up and down across the desert communicates the idea of POWER, FREEDOM, and DELIGHT much better than Banner's declaration of the same does.

What's was surprising to me is that it is definitely NOT a kids' picture, which is how it's being marketed what with all the tie-ins. The screening I attended had a large number of 8-year olds and younger, and I felt decidedly uncomfortable for them at many points since it was not pitched to younger viewers. There was a father across from me with an about-7-year-old who was spending a lot of time explaining happenings like (spoiler!) the mother being stabbed. (end spoiler). For this reason alone, I don't think it will have "legs" as word of mouth gets around.

John K.

 

The Hulk can't be worse than From Justin To Kelly. A new low for film.

 

There is no chance I'm seeing this movie. The theater couldn't pay me to sit through a screening. Am I alone in wishing that America would get over the fad known as "American Idol"?

 

Not as bad as you thought it would be? Gary are you used to lowering your standards when pay to see a movie? It's sad that it's actually coming to that.

 

I'd like to see the fad called "reality tv" go away. There isn't a program in the history of TV that sends more negative messages than "Survivor". It sends the message "money is the most imporatant thing" and that "its ok to stab everyone in site in the back in order to get it"

 

God bless Tom Petty, who was on Leno when the producer/co-judge of American Idol was on, too. I'm not a fan of Leno, but I usually tune in during the musical segments when it's someone good. Luckily on this occasion, Petty sat down for an interview, right next to the American Idol guy, and he was asked about the show. He TRASHED it, not in an angry way, but sort of in a fun way. He said he and the band all watched it, and when they asked who he liked, he said, "I don't know, they're all so bad..." The American Idol guy just sat there, had NOTHING. All he could come up with was Petty's hair (if Petty was Idol, he'd tell him to do something about it).

 

Well, Simon Cowell obviously didn't know how to reach when REAL talent sat next to him....!

Anyway, off to see The Hulk this afternoon. Have to do it. Hope for the best.

 

Maybe not alone, but I disagree. I get a big kick out of the show. For some reason, some of us can see it for what it is - a popularity/singing contest rather than some validation of all that's wrong with "modern music."

As for comparing the American Idol contestants with Tom Petty: who's comparing them except for you guys (not you Tyler specifically)? Tom Petty is a rock musician, song writer, band leader and rock singer. Ruben and Clay are pop singers. Period.

What if there was a similar show on back in the early '60s. Don't you think that Dusty Springfield (for example) might have won?

 

I'll give credit to Hulk for being the wackiest movie so far this year. Badly paced (action fans can skip the first hour), murky, far too much use of flashbacks. Wanted less talk, more smash! The CGI Hulk is OK, seen better and worse. Nick Nolte uses Charles Manson as his model for the Hulk's father, a way over-the-top performance. The scene near the end when the younger and older Banner face off plays like a Beckett drama! Very unsatisfying ending too, but leaves plenty of room for a sequel.

BTW, believers in animal rights might want to skip this movie--we see starfish being mutilated, exploding frogs, and a mutant French poodle getting a right thrashing. ("No mutant dogs were actually harmed during the making of this picture.")

Weekend gross: ~$62 mil. Look for one of the steepest drop-offs in motion-picture history by next week.

 

I had no desire to see this before the lousy review and word of mouth came out.

 

My take:

The Hulk: decidedly a mixed (on a 1-5 scale with 5 being "don't miss" I'd give this film 2 1/2 or 3) green bag from the get-go. I think Ang Lee made a good effort, but the pacing was too slow and the split-screen panel shots just came across as distracting, forced and oddly dated. IMHO, this film needed tighter editing, perhaps 15 to 30 minutes sheered off, truncating the psychological subplot. I never felt that there was that much chemistry between Eric Bana & Jennifer Connelly and for some reason or other Bana seemed to be struggling with his dialogue. Note: He may have been a bit too self-conscious that his Australian accent would slip, but in overcompensating it made most of his conversations seem lispy, tentative and under-rehersed, almost like he wasn't quite sure how to play Bruce Banner in the character's "calm" state.

That said, I thought that Ang Lee's repressed memories subplot was a gutsy move and had merit because it added another (real world) dimension to the Hulk character, that Sam Elliot as never-sure-he-can-be-trusted General Ross was excellent and that the CGI effects were, for the most part, effective enough. Unfortunately, when you get down to the action part of this action movie both villains (i.e., Banner's father, Nick Nolte, and his nemesis, Joshua Lucas) were played too over the top in their key scenes to add any sort of depth to their roles and yet not really menacing enough to be serviceable in any other context. Ultimately, the helicopter battle scenes and the tank attack were the most effective parts of the movie.

On a side note, I agree completely with MatrixMan, Matt & Drew about American Idol, but have to add that Tom Petty, who is a REAL talent, couldn't possibly have taken down Simon Cowell better than he was ambushed on Leno's show when Katie Couric hosted it on May 12 (i.e., the now famous "Trading Places" sweeps stunt where Leno hosted her morning show).

During Couric's Tonight stint, Robbie Williams was her featured musical guest and when he performed he didn't remain on the bandstage the way Leno's musical guests typically do. First, as his song progressed, Robbie went out into the audience and flirted with several women and, perhaps in a cheeky fashion, with their boyfriends, then he abruptly turned his attention to Simon, who having just been interviewed was sitting to the right of Couric in the "catbird" seat (i.e., with the previously interviewed Mike Myers sitting to his right on the couch). And in the middle of his song, almost as if choreographed and perfectly timed, Robbie Williams sat in Cowell's lap while singing about the need for love and understanding, punctuating the performance with faux dog-humping over Simon's crotch to Cowell's shocked embarassment and laughter (what else could he do?)! Mike Myer's was literally stunned by this turn of events and as Williams approached him all he could do was jump over the couch, feign hiding behind the couch, and try to improvise a bit of lame comedy mugging as Williams continued singing!

Robbie Williams was in complete control of that segment and upstaged EVERYBODY. I'm not even a fan of this guy's music, but that was the highlight of the evening, and after I picked my jaw up off the floor and stopped laughing I realized that I'd watched one of those rare unscripted moments in television history that the censors probably wished they could've edited out.


Cat

 

Worse thing is,Eric banna had signed a contract for TWO more hulk movies if this one takes off.
Poor git,I don't think he knew what he was getting himself into.
What a short life in movies he might have.

 

The Matrix Reloaded didn't do as well as expected on it's second week of release. I think the Hulk may have an even bigger dip at the box office.

 

Why do you think he'll have a short career? He just starred in the biggest film ever to open in the month of June. I could see him being typecast if he played the Hulk (a la Ferrigno), but playing Banner shouldn't hurt his career. All it will do is expose him.

 

He may not be a megastar like Russell Crowe, but he's gotten steady work, first as a comic, then as a TV actor. Before the Hulk, he was a supporting player in Blackhawk Down and had a critically-acclaimed lead performances in Chopper. Even if the Hulk does begin to tank, I think he's got a healthy career going.

Besides, since it's sort of a "franchise" rather than a star vehicle, any damage it could do to him would be somewhat limited. Batman & Robin certainly didn't end George Clooney's career.