Don Harlow reviews The Hulk

All in all, the movie is a lot better than it could have been.

When I was young … oh, scratch that. The Incredible Hulk was never one of my favorite comics.

Still, I read those early issues, and remember the story fairly well. The hero, a scientist named Bob or Bruce Banner, ⁽¹⁾ captured in the open during the test of a horrific gamma bomb at a desert base run by General Ross, father of Banner’s love interest Betty Ross, developed a tendency to turn green, muscular, and destructive. Of course, as time went on it turned out that he would only use these destructive powers for good (aside from a little urban mayhem every now and then).

For the movie, a back story has been introduced; I don’t know whether it showed up in the comics in later years, or is something written strictly for the movie. Banner’s father, a rather undisciplined scientist, worked for then-Lt.-Col. Ross, but was basically canned for violating experiment protocols (i.e., experimenting on himself and, indirectly, his son). Some sort of catastrophe occurred, Bruce’s parents were “killed”, and Bruce himself — shorn of memories of the horrific event — was farmed out to an agency and adopted by the Krenzlers. “Bruce Krenzler” (Eric Bana) then went on to unwittingly follow in his father’s footsteps and become a genetic researcher at Berkeley, along with beautiful co-worker Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) — daughter, of course, of now-General Ross (Sam Elliott). Naturally, a lab accident occurs, in which a combination of gamma radiation, nanobots and the changes David Banner made in his own DNA — inherited by his son — caused “Krenzler” to become susceptible to turning into a 15-foot-tall, massive green ogre when in a rage. ⁽²⁾ At this point, the government wants him (for the government’s usual reasons), his father — recently released from durance vile — wants him, and, of course, Betty wants to help.

At around two and a half hours, the movie is overlong, but perhaps only slightly so. Those who want to see lots of CGI action and explosions will probably disappointed in the few relatively short segments in which the CGI Hulk gets to strut his stuff (his first transformation in the lab, his battle with the transformed dogs outside Betty’s cabin, his escape from the desert base and flight across the desert, culminating in a battle in San Francisco — the longest sequence — and his final battle with his transformed father [Nick Nolte]). Much of the movie is given over to aborted flashbacks, some of which could, I think, have been omitted.

I was less than impressed with General Ross’s characterization; I’ve known a general or two in my time, and by the time a man gets to be a general he has a bit less unthinking fire and youthful ruthlessness in him — Ross, even the older one, was more representative of a high-ranking company grade officer than of a flag officer — well, maybe a brigadier general, but Ross was wearing four stars. The character should have been presented as a Colonel, or perhaps a civilian Secretary of the Army. ⁽³⁾

Glen Talbot (Josh Lucas), who was a major in the comic book, is now a (former military) head of an R&D company, with his eye on the main chance (“patents”) and no conscience whatsoever. I didn’t like the smarmy comic-book character, but I liked him better than this one.

But, all in all, the movie is a lot better than it could have been — comparing it with other Marvel films, only a little inferior to the X-Men films and Spider-Man, and considerably better than Daredevil. Maybe this is the influence of director Ang Lee, whose previous films that I’ve seen (Sense & Sensibility and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) show him as a man whose work to watch for.

I don’t know whether Marvel is planning a sequel or not, but at least the ending indicates that the Hulk/Banner is not dead (as everybody else seems to believe), but is out there somewhere, just waiting for the studio to announce a go-ahead. I’ll look forward to seeing it.

Note for all True Believers: keep an eye open (early in the film) for a very short scene in which Lou Ferrigno (an earlier, TV Hulk) is deeply involved in a discussion with Marvel’s Stan Lee.

⁽¹⁾ In the first issue or so, he was invariably presented as “Bob Banner”. Then the guy who handwrote the text in the word balloons apparently forgot this, and started referring to him as “Bruce Banner”. When one or more irate fans tasked Stan Lee with this inconsistency, he ingeniously explained that Dr. Banner’s full name was “Robert Bruce Banner”, and that either name could be used (though from then on “Bruce” was preferred). For the movie, however, he appears to be strictly “Bruce”.

⁽²⁾ The makers of this film, like those of many other “science-fiction” films, seem unaware of the Law of Conservation of Mass.

⁽³⁾ Experienced generals tend to turn into Colin Powells, not Donald Rumsfelds. I forget who it was, but somebody once pointed out, back during the Vietnam War, that most of the “doves” in the U.S. Senate were former military men who had seen action; most of the “hawks” had never seen a shot fired in anger.

Don Harlow, June 20, 2003 03:31 PM

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