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Heavy action, slim storyline
REMEMBER the scene in King Kong where the monster holds Jessica Lange in the palm of his hand? Well there’s almost something like that in Hulk with Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) being the beauty with the beast. And there’s much more of the Gulliver-in-Lilliput effect to keep the viewer going. Hulk gets its inspiration from Frankenstein, a reluctant monster, more sinned against than sinning and a reflection on men tampering with nature. Based on the comic strip of the same name, Hulk, alias Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), is the subject of a catastrophic experiment in which his dad, Dr David Banner (Nick Nolte), and the US Army is involved. They think that regeneration is immortality. So, Hulk is King Kong, Frankenstein and Superman, all rolled into one. And when his mother tells him as a child "there’s something inside you that’s special, some day you’re going to share it with the whole world," it is an understatement. But it is only when he’s angry, that Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk. It is his attraction for Betty Rose (Jennifer Connelly) that is able to control him, or rather bring him back to normal human form. To further complicate the
plot, Betty’s dad General Thadeus Rose (Sam Elliott) is also involved
in the experiment in which Bruce’s dad was said to have been put away.
Well, there’s enough of background brought out rather well in
flashback by director Ang Lee, who uses the split-screen technique
(popular in the late-1960s) to give it a comic-strip effect. The fact he
seems to overlook is that comic strips are done with animation figures. |
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For variety there is a mutant French poodle and her canine companions which are made to attack the Hulk with bizzare results. Betty is attracted to Bruce because he is emotionally distanced and her conflict between Bruce and her dad is meant to provide the emotional or romantic interest. But try as Jennifer Connelly does, it is the special effects that get centre-stage. And though Eric Bana tries hard to get under the skin of the hero, he never succeeds. In defence of the Hulk it can be said it has a basic storyline, however slim, but it is the overdose of slam-bang action and special effects that numb the viewer’s sensibility. But if you are an action film buff it should be up your street. May be Hulk is the WMD Bush and Blair were looking for in Iraq! |
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