Home   Movies   Celebrities   Feedback Search for your favorite Celebrity / Movie

Top Movies Eight Below Date Movie The Pink Panther Curious George Final Destination 3 Firewall Freedomland When a Stranger Calls Big Momma's House 2 Nanny McPhee New Releases Curious George Final Destination 3 Firewall The Pink Panther Date Movie Eight Below Freedomland Something New Failure to Launch When a Stranger Calls Top Celebs Reese Witherspoon Brad Pitt Paris Hilton Mariah Carey Lindsay Lohan Scarlett Johansson Phil Collins Britney Spears Angelina Jolie Jodie Marsh	The Hulk  Release Date - June 20, 2003  Distributor - Universal Pictures  Duration - 2 hrs. 18 min.  Type - PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, some disturbing images and brief partial nudity.  Writer : David Hayter, James Schamus, Michael France, John Turman, Michael Tolkin  Producer : Avi Arad, Gale Anne Hurd, Larry J. Franco, James Schamus  Director : Ang Lee  Starring : Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas  Synopsis In this adaptation of the long-running Marvel comic "The Incredible Hulk," research scientist Dr. Bruce Banner's (Eric Bana) failed experiments cause him to mutate into a monstrously powerful and savage green-skinned behemoth whenever he loses control of his emotions. Jennifer Connelly plays his love interest Betty Ross, Nick Nolte plays Bruce's dangerous father, and Sam Elliott plays Betty's father, the tough-as-nails General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.  Critic Reviews Don't be hatin' on Ang Lee. The extremely talented director did exactly what he said he'd do with "The Hulk." It's a psychological drama. A long one. Plenty of people will think "Hulk," based on the Marvel Comics superhero and costing $120 million to make, is a miss. At times it can seem as lumbering as its lead character is, well, hulky. And many pure fans of the comic book will likely turn angry-as-Hulk over liberties the director has taken with his storyline. But Lee, who turned martial arts into full-fledged visual art with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," has fashioned a sometimes enjoyable, sometimes moving film. The computerized imagery does work well enough (though your friends may argue that the compter-generated images still look fake). At least the final special effects are light-years ahead of what fans saw in early previews. Maybe the problem is that moviegoers don't go to summer movies expecting them to feel as if they've been staged by the Eugene O'Neill Players. "Hulk" is, basically, a two-hour psychological couch session for its title character (there's a lot of emotional upheaval involving the big guy's dad). Plus the movie's got an additional 18 minutes or so of full-on fun special-effects action. (Warning to parents: The Hulk's lack of anger management -- especially his first roars and full-screen mad-as-hell face can frighten wee ones). The plot is as much a hand-wringing downer about what made Bruce Banner have such a sad, blue heart as it is about the genesis of the genetic alterations that give him such a Herculean, green body when his brain switches on the anger button. As usual, it's all mommy and daddy's fault. Physically, this Hulk, ballooned to gargantuan proportions, pretty much does what the comic book guy does. The green galoot can jump like nobody else, bullets and missiles mean nothing to his regenerating flesh, and he can land punches on anybody or anything like 10 Mike Tysons times 10. It all makes for predictable but enjoyable action sequences. In this movie version, the Hulk takes on a trio of vicious, gene-altered dogs (or, really, a couple of Hulkamanic Cujos and one really peeved poodle), a battery of military copters, a squad of tanks and what looks like the entire San Francisco police force and S.W.A.T. team. Mentally, the "Hulk" is sort of a cross between "Frankenstein" and, say, Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal." There's much brooding and sadness and angst and, darn it, if Jennifer Connelly (who plays Banner's lab partner and sweetie) doesn't cry over and over as if she's supposed to be Demi Moore in "Ghost." As Bruce Banner, Eric Bana is pure vanilla (too bad Lee couldn't land Billy Crudup like he wanted to). And don't even get me started about Josh Lucas ("Sweet Home Alabama"), who plays Banner's nemesis Talbot. Why is he pure comic-book evil in a movie where everybody else is required to bare their souls? It's left to Connelly (strangely, for the first half of the film with a near-Veronica Lake swoosh of hair dangling near her right eye) and Nick Nolte as Bruce's deranged dad (sporting the same hairdo in Nolte's now infamous real-life police mug) to provide the film's only acting muscle. They do well, especially Nolte, until he dives off the mental high board near movie's end. As director, Lee clearly gets into his job. He uses multiple split screens, moving landscapes, quick zoom-ins and zoom-outs and stationary freeze-frames to evoke a feeling of film as comic book. And while the script attempts to dig into his superhero's brain, his visuals often poke into the essence of life and matter, magnifying genes, cells, algae, landscapes and rock. "The Hulk," if anything, is always interesting to look at. The film's great money shot involves an overhead view below a copter at cars toppling down a Frisco street in the wake of the Hulk's wrath. It may be the action film shot of the summer. And it all fits into Lee's plan. He's seeking to attain his definition of a film master -- one who takes on all genres, studies them and cinematically fashions them into something that matters. He's succeeded so many times. With the Chinese food film "Eat Drink Man Woman," the English romantic comedy "Sense and Sensibility," the stark American drama "The Ice Storm," the western "Ride With the Devil" and the martial arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." "The Hulk" is just another step. It's a homage to old-fashion action movies when characters had deep-felt reasons for doing what they do. Maybe to some it's far less shock and awe and too much aw shucks. But in the big picture of things, it's simply more proof that Ang Lee is one of the world's elite directors.   For rating reasons : filmrating.com, mpaa.com                                    For Parents : Parentalguide.com
Home | Movies | Celebrities | Feedback Copyright © 2005 StarGlimpse.com. All Rights Reserved.