Hulk

An adaptation of a comic book that was a little before its time. It was one of the first to favor psychological aspects over action. Both elements are here and both great, although the low-key part is central point and the pillar carrying all of Hulk's weight. Eric Bana made the most of his opportunity, Jennifer Connelly is enchanting as usual and the rest of the cast fits its roles too. The only downside is that it is so strictly divided into a long psychological section at the beginning and pure action at the end. Better balanced blending might have improved things. (25/07/2007)

What, five stars? For the boredom? Are you able to see properly? You do! I think this Hulk is perfect. Ang Lee probably figured that since he was making a comic book film, he wanted it to look like one... So he turned the canvas into comic book pages. He divides the image into frames and boxes, with the characters missing only bubbles with written texts above their heads. Lee's next feat is to turn a comic book that is all about fighting on paper (90% of Hulk’s stories) into an almost psychological film, a father and son drama, a description of the tragedy of a family. The scenes, dialogues and so on are well thought out, you can think about them, it's not just a dull chewing of the text. And when it comes to the action, it's spectacular and imaginative (the tank throw and dogfight lead the way). What more do you want? Me personally, nothing. One of the best comic book adaptations. Why, you ask? Precisely because it's different. (18/06/2009)

Hulk is fresh and innovative in its details, but it’s inconsistent as a whole. As the minutes pass, its large number of excellent (not just action) scenes and praiseworthy psychological dimension are transformed into a dramaturgically unbalanced and muddled mishmash. The second half of the film would need some relief from the “family drama” and to let the brilliant action and adventure go full throttle. Then it would have been a hell of a movie. The action scenes in the desert are outstanding. (08/07/2003)

This is not an action comic, this is a deeply penetrating drama about the split personality and the consequences of one's own sins. And a little bit of a comic. What Ang Lee unleashes in the final half hour is a psychological bomb and the redeeming sacrifice from Betty helps cleanse the soul of the viewer. It's a shame that the majority of them were not yet prepared for such an experience at that time. (18/06/2005)

Ang Lee went about this cleverly, constructing his Hulk as a psychological spectacle rather than an "action eye candy comic book romp". You can feel the unconventional qualities and the attempt at resonance, which deserve credit at the very least for its audacity. Some of the flashbacks may come across as unnecessarily drawn out, but by the end I felt that everything fell into place well and I fully appreciated the rather dense psychological part of the story. But I have to be honest and say that I can't imagine a similar take on a comic book movie today – given the flood of over-stylized and extremely successful Marvel movies (which I also enjoy a lot, but in a different way), it seems almost impossible. (25/07/2018)