Title - Hulk
Type - Feature Fiction
Genre - Superhero, Action
Director - Ang Lee
Country - USA
This has got to be my best Hulk film yet, of course technically speaking there's only one more film (the 2008 Ed Norton one) if you do not count the Avengers Hulk. I recall vividly when it was released in 2003, I was only 19 years old and had the poster (same as below) on my bedroom wall! At that time it was easy living - school, movies, martial arts, school, movies, martial arts, repeat - we all miss childhood! This Hulk film was then really hyped-up by Empire Magazine (where I got the poster) and everyone who was a Marvel fan was dying to watch it after decades of Hulk's absence from the screen. It was also a new age of filmmaking and CGI was gaining momentum at a fast pace with cinematic advances such as that of multiple camera and green/blue-screen use which The Matrix (1999) made us privy to after taking away our awe-struck dropped jaws!
Funny and oddly enough, this Hulk film was hated by many movie-goers including film critics. I personally have no regard for film critics or critics of whatever type (have you ever seen a statue put up to celebrate a critic?) but all I can say in this case is; if you hated this Hulk film it's either: -
- you are/were too young (millennial generation) to understand the comic evolution of the Hulk
- you are a film die-hard and know little (or care less) about the comic franchise
- you are too harsh a film critic and hence judge this film against newer ones which have obviously more advanced form of CGI and editing technology
To be honest, the only thing I found slightly wrong with this Hulk is that he was just a bit too light green, that's it. He comes closest to the comic book Hulk staying true to Stan Lee's and Jack Kirby's initial concepts. The Hulk is meant to get bigger and stronger with more agitation; this we clearly see in this 2003 version and is lacking from the later versions especially the Avengers Hulk. Also, the Hulk is indestructible, can regenerate damaged tissue and organs (better than Wolverine), can survive in space without breathing, doesn't need to eat or sleep and can leap so high that he is known to have once leaped out of the earth's orbit into space - qualities we see (expect the breathing in space) in the 2003 Hulk and not in the Avengers Hulk. It is actually annoying to comic fans such as myself when you see a powered-down Hulk in the Avengers films, but of course non-comic fans would never know this. For all the above reasons, the Hulk is my favourite Marvel comics hero along with Ironman.
Another thing that made critics soil their pants with frustration is the claim that this film was 'slow'. In my opinion, it wasn't. It built the much needed back-story and momentum for the climax we see in the end. The worst thing about this movie is probably the fact that Marvel went a different direction with the franchise ... I would have loved for Ang Lee to stay on as director to similar sequels, but oh well, you can't win them all. I hope the Russo brothers redeem their lacklustre Hulk with a stand alone Hulk film once the Avengers brouhaha comes to a close.
That's it for today! If you haven't watched this 2003 Hulk film - please do!
Rating - 4/5 stars
Review by Robert Mũnũku
Instagram - @nairobifilmgeek
Email - nairobifilmgeek@gmail.com
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