On a roll

Man oh man, where to start? Well, first of all, I just wanted to say that I was highly impressed by the Hulk. I knew it was going to be a great movie, but I did have some doubts about it. Two of those doubts remained very heavily in mind prior to watching the film: Bruce Banner’s father and the CGI creation of the Hulk.
Bruce Banner’s father was one of the most prominent concerns that I had about this film, not because I doubted Ang Lee’s ability to include him in the Hulk’s origin, nor because I neglected Nick Nolte’s acting talent. Rather, I was dubious about the role Bruce’s father played in his life, particularly in the transformation of the Hulk. As many people might recall, the Hulk’s creation was the result of Bruce Banner’s own anger in conjunction with a radioactive nuclear blast. Banner’s own fault though was in letting the Hulk gain control of his life; it was his downfall that he brought upon himself, not his father’s. The movie on the other hand presents a very different viewpoint into the matter, showing that it was the father who implanted the hidden ability in his son. A nuclear accident was thankfully the catalyst that ultimately released the Hulk, but the root of Banner’s transformation came from his father’s genetic tampering. However, I later recalled that Bruce Banner had an abusive father in the comics, a father who had destructive ramifications upon his family. With that in mind, Ang Lee’s adaptation of the Hulk remains faithful to the storyline of the comic book. True, some changes are present, but that almost always happens with a comic book film.
I think what sealed my acceptance of Bruce’s father however was Nolte’s brilliant performance. His charisma, hatred, abusiveness and outright insanity are perfectly portrayed by Nolte. If the Academy Awards weren’t so repulsed by comic book movies then I’d suggest that Nolte be given the award for best supporting actor. One of the best moments of the entire film is when Bruce is confronted by his father inside an army warehouse wired with electricity, a confounding situation made even more dramatic by Nolte’s sharp berating.

The other issue I had with the Hulk was the CGI, created by none other then George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic. ILM has done good work in the past with films like Star Wars, Minority Report and Artificial Intelligence, but I didn’t think they could pull the Hulk off. The Super Bowl preview only served to add fuel to my disgruntlement, a fire that was only quenched by actually seeing Hulk in action on the big screen. I tell you, one of the most fulfilling moments to ever take place in a comic book film had to be seeing Hulk bound across the desert in hot pursuit by the United States Army. He smashed tanks, he brought down helicopters from the sky, and he even grappled with airborne missiles. Ang Lee certainly knew how to bring Hulk’s action to life, and ILM did a fantastic job in animating the Hulk. Particularly engaging is the transformations that the Hulk and Bruce Banner endures throughout the film. If Nolte deserves to win supporting actor then Industrial Light and Magic at least deserves a nomination for the effects award.

All around, I liked the movie very much. For me, it stands next to Spider-Man as my second favorite comic book movie. Of course, Batman is still number one, and I doubt that anything is going to usurp the Dark Knight’s position save for another Batman film. Still, with X-Men 2, Daredevil, and now the Hulk, I’d say that Marvel is on a roll.