Heres why you should watch "the Hulk" again.

[King of Depew]

-It's been a while. The hype that "the Hulk looks like shit, the CGI is bad" is long past, we've all seen how fuckin great and real it looks. Watch it again on DVD and put all preconceived notions away. (Once people hear the hype, they just HAVE TO go along with it.)

-Great writing and directing: C'mon, for Christ's sakes. This is Ang Lee and James Schamus. The Ice Storm? Crouching Tiger? These guys know how to craft characters. Getting as involved in the characters storylines and progress as much as the action in a big blockbuster is rare, and they did it. It just requires something an American audience doesn't have one iota of: patience. Ang got terrific performances out of everyone, even Stan Lee. ("We need security beefed up.") And the visual aesthetic of using the "comic book frames" on the screen was great, pretty original and going even farther to give the feeling of a real comic book movie. Plus it gave multiple reactions from characters at one time and kept things moving and dynamic.

-Great Acting: Eric Bana? When he gets pissed? Awesome. Great physical acting. Jennifer Connelly is great, Sam Elliott in full grunt mode, and Nick Nolte just going off the wall one minute and being totally introspective and self-loathing the next. Proabably on speed, which means one word for this boy: entertainment.

-GREAT CGI and effects: Man, oh man. The articulation in the Hulk's face especially, and his body is so painstakingly created. He doesn't look fake for one goddamn frame. The attention to detail in the action is what makes it so real; when he fights those tanks in the desert? It's unbelievable. And the little things, like when he smashes through that house and then kicks the fuckin couch into the house across the street, I laugh my ass off every time I see that. I love when he throws that tank and then bends the cannon right into the cockpit, and takes down that helicopter and then just punches the fucker. Everything is so meticulous, it looks very authentic which makes for much more engaging action.

-Great Character: Anyone could make "Hulk smashes the shit out of everything" for 2 hours. They made him a 3 dimensional character. A guy you could feel bad for and feel his anger is justified, which makes it all the better when he starts tearing it up. Its like he just wants to be left alone, the poor bastard. Like the scene where he's sitting up in the mountains just chilling, or the freedom you feel for him when he's jumping through canyons and the desert. I just love the guy, I could watch that movie every day.

The bitch of it is, if Micheal Bay made the Hulk it would have sucked ass, but everyone would have "loved it."

I can say on the down side, maybe the set up took a bit long. Some of the plot is a little convoluted, and the very metaphysical ending was a bit much. Some of the characters motivations weren't explained as well as they should. But for a "summer blockbuster", these are minor complaints and are completely outshined by the outstanding work in the rest of this well crafted picture. I really think you should watch it again.

If you read this whole thing, you really need a life. Don't be like me. Go play sports or get a job. But watch the Hulk too. Seriously.

[rilocay]

Yeh, i though it was pretty underated too, but it does get better on the second viewing aswel. It was nice to see an old form of editing put in a new way into film alla comic strips and yeah, the cgi i dont think is up to what you saying, i mean of course its gonna look fake, we dont see a big green mutha fuckin runnin past our house every day now do we? But hte cgi was very realistic for how the hulk would be, face n all, and i think its a bad move to make him smaller in the sequel (unlesa the more pissed he gets the bigger he goes). But yeh, I though Bana wasnt bad in the film, but bad compared with the other stuff he's done. Same with the rest of the cast. But yeh, this film is worth another viewing if you were a bit so-so the first time round.

[bigred760]

I've seen it a couple of times and enjoyed it each time. It's a good, dark, look at a superhero. It's a guy who doesn't have a choice on what he's become and that is what makes it interesting. I do agree that the movie runs a bit long, but I can get over something like that. The CGI never bothers me, cuz it does look pretty freakin' real.

If people are bashing this thing because of what other people said, instead of having their own opinion once they've watched it, than they need to get the hell of their ass, go to the video store, get back on their ass and spend 2 1/2 hours of their life and watch a pretty decent movie.

(Oh yeah, on a side note, love the Wild Bunch cover as your picture)

[Cronos]

Hiulk gets better with every viewing and is definitely one of the best comic book flicks, excellent direction and acting (i actually cared about the characters) and excellent CGI....i doubt i'll ever get bored of this film

[James Logan]

Originally posted by Cronos
Hiulk gets better with every viewing...

See, I thought the exact opposite. Seeing the movie for the first time, I thought it was pretty good -- Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly were both terrific, the script wasn't bad at all, the directing's classy as hell, and so is the editing, and the CGI is just plain breathtaking.

But the more I watch it, and I've seen it four or five times now, the less I can watch through the whole movie. Sam Elliott gets more and more dull, Josh Lucas get more and more caricatural, and Nick Nolte just completely reinvents the word "ridiculous" (it's so bad I wonder how Ang Lee, great actors director that he is, could ever even put such a bad performance on film). The movie feels longer and longer, stretched out like butter on toast, and the last twenty minutes to half hour are just off-the-chart cheesy (true, like old Hulk comics -- but super heroes used to wear yellow spandex, at the time). And the friggin' gamma dogs?

So basically, now, it turned into a "meh" to me. I have the DVD and I'll watch it, but just my favorite parts -- the beginning, the scenes with Bana and Connelly together, and the action scenes. And I stop when Hulk gets to Frisco and skip the whole last half hour.

[Ted Pikul]

I've seen it twice.

It was crap both times I'm afraid.

[B1rd_Po0p]

I just.... I can't do it, I can't subject myself to seeing it again... I'd like to; just for you - but I just can't do it... Watching it the first time was so frustrating for me that I wanted to break something...

[Joshmo]

I'll take The Hulk over

Hellboy
The Punisher
Electra
Daredevil

ANYDAY...

[morricone]

Hulk is definitely underrated. It didn't deserve this. I loved the movie. I liked it better than any of the other comic book movies that have been released (yes, even more than Spider-Man 2 and X2). It doesn't deserve all the detraction it's gotten dammit!

[King of Depew]

Yeah, I can definitely sympathize with you on the Josh Lucas character, he's pretty cliche.

Also, there's some kind of sloppy writing or quite a stretch on reality, for example 1. After they catch Banner in San Fran after his rampage, like they WOULDN'T kill him immediately after he turns back to human, and then 2. Would let Nick Nolte in to adjectate him or make him emotional, running the risk of him turning into "angry man" again.

I gotta disagree with the fella on the Sam Elliott. He's really good in it, man. Check out how you can just BARELY sense he feels bad for everything that's happened to Bruce or wants to help his daughter, but he's conflicted with his military priority and has to hide it. Very subtle shit, and at the end when he thinks he's dead, hes got a lil' tear slipping out.

My only thing is, people can hate this movie, I understand. But everyone is like "Oh, it sucks, it sucks, etc." and it' doesn't SUCK. You may hate it, but if you look at it critcally it's a well constructed and quality film.

*I don't get the line: "Well I'm goin!! You just watch ME go!" right before David/Nick Nolte bites into the wire. (Hence becoming the Absorbing Man from the comic book, which I never once saw addressed in one review. Also, the Absorbing Man wasn't Bruce's dad, he was another villian)

[Avid_Fan]

Seen it twice.

First time....5/10

Second time....8/10

[drago25]

I always assumed it sucked beacause of all the negative stuff I heard when it came out, and have thus never seen it. I guess I'll have to check it out then based on the comments in here.

[Ted Pikul]

Originally posted by King of Depew
I gotta disagree with the fella on the Sam Elliott. He's really good in it, man.

Agreed. Elliott was about the only good thing in the entire movie.

[B1rd_Po0p]

I did not hate this film; I was frustrated by it. I had high hopes but I guess the formula the director used just wasn't what I expected and I felt disappointed.

[Misanthrope]

I thought that the cgi looked good enough and that everyone made a big deal about it. The REAL reason i hated that movie is because it was just so utterly uninteresting and boring, and has quite possibly one of the worst endings ever, not even worthy of a DragonBall Z episode much less worthy of a feature film.

[James Logan]

Originally posted by Misanthrope
...quite possibly one of the worst endings ever, not even worthy of a DragonBall Z episode...

That's the best description I've heard of the ending yet. :)

The thing to me is that the ending kills it. The movie is a "meh" throughout, and you're hoping for something terrific to compensate and make it good. So you get Hulk on a rampage and it feels like it's gonna get terrific...and then you get the ending which is so ridiculous and over the top that it brings it all the way back down to "meh" territory again.

[LordSimen]

I have to agree with the person who first posted this.

I have many friends who either didn't like it upon first viewing or didn't go to see it based on reviews.

Most of them like it alot now after taking the time to see it or rewatch it.

[blankpage]

I didn't really like the film on first viewing. During the summer, I watched about 20 minutes of it again, but I had to watch something else. I just really wasn't into it. To me, the film didn't really have a sense of direction. Sure, it was pretty cool visually, and in a technical aspect, it is pretty good. But the film seemed stuck in trying to be an art film almost, and be a popcorn flick at the same time. Just didn't work for me, and thus it felt like a mess. There's nothing wrong with being more then just popcorn fun, but the more atrsy direction, which I felt it was going towards, didn't work at all.

I don't think it's an awful film, just wasn't a film I dug that much.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally posted by Ted Pikul
Agreed. Elliott was about the only good thing in the entire movie.

Lets not forget about Jennifer Connelly!

Ok, HULK is just a prime example of a film that was underappreciated at first. But now with the film having been released on DVD/video, more and more people have started to enjoy it. Sure there are scenes that drag on a bit, but I cant say that I was ever bored to death with them. Bana is great as Banner. Connelly as always, was great. Elliot was exactly what I was hoping to see in General Ross. And as for Lucas, he was alright. Very cliche, but that was the point of the character. In all fairness, he played the role like he was supposed to. I like Lucas, but he definately did come across as a wanker in the movie.

CGI? I thought it looked fantastic. Considering that what the actor's were acting with was just some stick with a hulk head on it. I have to say they all did a DAMN good job making it believeable. Alot of people thought it looked too much like a videogame, but IMO that was a lame ass excuse not to enjoy the movie itself. The CGI was very articulate, and something that couldnt have been done a few years prior. Good job guys.

Action scenes? They fucking rocked! Exactly how the Hulk should be realized. A giant fucking wrecking machine monster, but with shades of pathos. End of story. Ang Lee did a fine job at illustrating this. Much better than a director like Michael Bay could ever possibly fathom.

Ending? Admittedly, not the greatest ending the producers could have gone with. But in many ways, I believe it was inserted for the sheer purpose of satisfying all the people who grew up on the Ferrigno/Bixby television show. Something of a tribute in a way. I mean it's a classic line, "Dont make me angry. You wouldnt like me when I'm angry!". Too bad it was used right at the end of the movie though...

Ang Lee's HULK has undoubtedly gotten a second chance in the video market. It's a very different approach to a superhero film. And one I believe will be much more appreciated as time goes by.