As a kid I grew up reading Marvel comics; as an adult I like movies with more than just action. So I should be a perfect candidate to like Ang Lee's adaptation of Stan Lee's creature, which aims to combine action and real drama, comic books and Greek tragedy. On the surface, there is everything: the bad science, the crazy military, the greedy corporation, the tragedy of a (slightly theatrical) mad scientist, a sprinkle of romance, a difficult father-daughter relationship, some visionary comic-style scene transitions and split-screens, some not-so- bad-as-they-say visual effects, even the beautiful American natural scenery, and, of course, the main ingredient: Marvel's version of Frankenstein meets Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, with all his incredible anger and strength. But then, there is too much. And not every ingredient is as fresh and satisfying as it should be. The movie goes on for almost an hour telling a complicated plot about the Banner family and some bio experiment gone terribly wrong, before the gamma rays eventually unleash the raging Hulk we all love. Only then, do we begin to really care about our guy being chased by some stupid people who make him angry and make him transform into the green creature. But the Hulk's story is interrupted again by digressions and flashbacks. Another major problem in this flick is that there is a lot of Eric Bana. The Australian actor playing Dr. Bruce Banner is at the same time too bulky to make a credible nerdy lab genius, and too dull to make viewers care about him, at least before the transformation. The other characters, Betty Ross (a charming Jennifer Connelly), General Ross (stiff yet human), Bruce's father (Nick Nolte), and even the computer-animated cartoon-like green creature, are not so bad, but the weakness of the Bruce Banner character, together with the overloaded plot, spoils a potentially good movie. My vote: 6 out of 10, but I would give 6 and a half if I could give half marks. Had the movie been 20 minutes shorter, my vote might have been a 7. In conclusion, if you are a fan, I say: do buy or rent the DVD, I think you'll enjoy it anyway. But don't expect too much from it, or you might be disappointed.
