First of all, I'd like to say that I'm thrilled that Ang Lee was given the chance to direct a huge comic book blockbuster such as The Hulk.
I've been a fan of his films ever since "Sense and Sensibility." "The Ice Storm" was, to me, an under-appreciated masterpiece, and "Crouching Tiger" proved
that Lee was the most versatile director working today. His filmic range, like his intelligence and curiosity, seems to know no bounds.
One thing was for certain: Ang Lee would make a super-hero movie like nothing we'd seen before.
That is certainly true.
Ironically, Ang Lee's desire to do something different has brought about the
familiar: for the first time, a comic book movie LOOKS like a comic book. The optical effects, boxes, wipes and mesh effects are truly (forgive the pun)
Marvelous. Comic book artists have long known how to create movement, depth
and multiple dimensions on a static page: Lee has exploded this sensibility into the cinematic realm.
Ang Lee has taken a great many chances with this film. In addition to the
sometimes brilliant, sometimes distracting comic book visuals, he also delays the metamorphosis deep into the movie, asking us to live off the characters'
emotions.
Ang Lee took big, wild chances on this film, and I respect him for it.
Unfortunately, those chances don't pay off with an entertaining movie. There are many reasons why.
Let's start with casting. First, there's Eric Bana. He's just plain bland. He's also playing against Jennifer Connolly, who is undeniably beautiful, but her painfully serious tone takes this movie, which already takes itself too seriously, right over the edge into grating pretense. Nick Nolte hits all the wrong notes, and one gets the tickling suspicion that the hair stylist didn't have to touch Nolte's head when he showed up for work every morning. He's already that freaky.
The script, alas, falls short. That was a surprise to me, given that James
Schamus, Ang Lee's longtime collaborator, has a credit on the film. The Hulk's outbursts are never very clearly motivated. The villains are hackneyed (how
many times have we seen the evil Government antagonists? Wargames?
Starman? Outbreak? The list goes on and on...), but worse than that, they are stupid and redundant. This movie makes its protagonist the most ignorant guy in the room when it comes to the plot. We feel like we're spending the whole two hours plus waiting for Bruce to GET IT. Sprinkle in some preachy, over-the- top speeches about the evil military, which clank and thud right about now, and you've got a pretty lame screenplay.
As I said earlier, I admire this director, and this movie, for the chances they take. If you're going to fail, fail big. I guess it's nice to see that Ang Lee is human, because it makes me respect his successes all the more.
But in the pantheon of his creative endeavors, this Hulk will be a miniscule little blip.
I've been a fan of his films ever since "Sense and Sensibility." "The Ice Storm" was, to me, an under-appreciated masterpiece, and "Crouching Tiger" proved
that Lee was the most versatile director working today. His filmic range, like his intelligence and curiosity, seems to know no bounds.
One thing was for certain: Ang Lee would make a super-hero movie like nothing we'd seen before.
That is certainly true.
Ironically, Ang Lee's desire to do something different has brought about the
familiar: for the first time, a comic book movie LOOKS like a comic book. The optical effects, boxes, wipes and mesh effects are truly (forgive the pun)
Marvelous. Comic book artists have long known how to create movement, depth
and multiple dimensions on a static page: Lee has exploded this sensibility into the cinematic realm.
Ang Lee has taken a great many chances with this film. In addition to the
sometimes brilliant, sometimes distracting comic book visuals, he also delays the metamorphosis deep into the movie, asking us to live off the characters'
emotions.
Ang Lee took big, wild chances on this film, and I respect him for it.
Unfortunately, those chances don't pay off with an entertaining movie. There are many reasons why.
Let's start with casting. First, there's Eric Bana. He's just plain bland. He's also playing against Jennifer Connolly, who is undeniably beautiful, but her painfully serious tone takes this movie, which already takes itself too seriously, right over the edge into grating pretense. Nick Nolte hits all the wrong notes, and one gets the tickling suspicion that the hair stylist didn't have to touch Nolte's head when he showed up for work every morning. He's already that freaky.
The script, alas, falls short. That was a surprise to me, given that James
Schamus, Ang Lee's longtime collaborator, has a credit on the film. The Hulk's outbursts are never very clearly motivated. The villains are hackneyed (how
many times have we seen the evil Government antagonists? Wargames?
Starman? Outbreak? The list goes on and on...), but worse than that, they are stupid and redundant. This movie makes its protagonist the most ignorant guy in the room when it comes to the plot. We feel like we're spending the whole two hours plus waiting for Bruce to GET IT. Sprinkle in some preachy, over-the- top speeches about the evil military, which clank and thud right about now, and you've got a pretty lame screenplay.
As I said earlier, I admire this director, and this movie, for the chances they take. If you're going to fail, fail big. I guess it's nice to see that Ang Lee is human, because it makes me respect his successes all the more.
But in the pantheon of his creative endeavors, this Hulk will be a miniscule little blip.