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Hulk

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Hulk (2003)

61%
53%
45%
N/A
N/A
N/A
61 %
Reviews Counted: 217 Fresh: 133  Rotten:84 Average Rating: 6.2/10
 
Consensus: Too much talking and not enough smashing. Too much talking and not enough smashing. more
 
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hrs 18 mins
Theatrical Release: Jun 20, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $132,122,995
Synopsis:
What if you always had someone around to look out for you? To defend you when challenged by a bully, threatened by an enraged driver, assaulted by a knifewielding mugger? That at those moments of stress and escalating violence, someone appears— an ever-present avenger, fueled by... [More]
What if you always had someone around to look out for you? To defend you when challenged by a bully, threatened by an enraged driver, assaulted by a knifewielding mugger? That at those moments of stress and escalating violence, someone appears— an ever-present avenger, fueled by righteous anger and possessing unequalled strength—and vanquishes the antagonist, rights the wrong, settles the score. Without remorse. Without consequence. Without memory. And what if that someone…was you? After more than four decades of continuing popularity, one of Marvel Comics’ most enduring and compelling comic book creations comes to the big screen, continuing Marvel’s superlative track record of bringing its classic characters to motion picture life: Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil. And now, this summer, The Hulk arrives. Scientist Bruce Banner (ERIC BANA) has, to put it mildly, anger management issues. His quiet life as a brilliant researcher working with cutting edge genetic technology conceals a nearly forgotten and painful past. His ex-girlfriend and equally brilliant fellow researcher, Betty Ross The Hulk – Production Information (Academy Award. winner JENNIFER CONNELLY), has tired of Bruce’s cordoned off emotional terrain and resigns herself to remaining an interested onlooker to his quiet life. Which is exactly where Betty finds herself during one of the early trials in Banner’s groundbreaking research. A simple oversight leads to an explosive situation and Bruce makes a split-second decision; his heroic impulse saves a life and leaves him apparently unscathed—his body absorbing a normally deadly dose of gamma radiation. …And yet, something is happening. Vague morning-after effects. Blackouts. Unexpected fallout from the experiment gone awry. Banner begins to feel some kind of a presence within, a stranger who feels familiar, slightly dangerous and yet darkly attractive. All the while, a massive creature—a rampaging, impossibly strong being who comes to be known as the Hulk—continues its sporadic appearances, cutting a swath of destruction, leaving Banner’s lab in shambles and his house with blown out walls. The military is engaged, led by Betty’s father, General “Thunderbolt” Ross (SAM ELLIOTT), along with rival researcher Glenn Talbot (JOSH LUCAS), and both personal vendettas and familial ties come into play, heightening the danger and raising the stakes in the escalating emergency. Betty Ross has her theories, and she knows the shadowy figure lurking in the background, Bruce’s father, David (NICK NOLTE), is somehow connected. She may be the only one who understands the link between scientist and the Hulk, but her efforts to stop the military threat, deploying every weapon in its attempt to capture the monster, may be too late to save both man and creature. Acclaimed Oscar.-winning filmmaker ANG LEE (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) turns his masterful eye to adapting the classic Marvel Comics character for the big screen. Setting out to faithfully transfer the Hulk comic book character from four-color paneled page to motion picture screen, Lee combines all the elements of a blockbuster visual effects-intensive Super Hero. movie with the brooding romance and tragedy of Universal’s classic horror films. Staying true to the early subversive spirit of the Hulk as envisioned by its creators (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) while also tuning the tale to current dangerous times, Lee presents a portrait of a man at war with himself and the world, both a Super Hero and a monster, a means of wish fulfillment and a nightmare. Committed to bringing the Hulk to authentic life, director Lee and his effects teams logged countless hours to assure a creature true to the essence of Kirby’s powerful seminal artwork and Lee’s mythic stories. Designers and artists returned to the original Hulk character conceptions to honor the Marvel traditions and place the creature in a motion picture world—grounded in reality, dictated by time-honored practice and colored by comic book convention. Universal Pictures Presents, In Association with Marvel Enterprises, A Valhalla Motion Pictures / Good Machine Production of An Ang Lee Film: The Hulk, starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas and Nick Nolte. Music is by Danny Elfman. The costume designer is Marit Allen. The editor is Tim Squyres, A.C.E. The production designer is Rick Heinrichs and the director of photography is Frederick Elmes, A.S.C. Executive producers are Stan Lee and Kevin Feige. The film is produced by Gale Anne Hurd, Avi Arad, James Schamus and Larry Franco. The story is by James Schamus, with screenplay by John Turman and Michael France and James Schamus. The Hulk is directed by Ang Lee. The film is distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures. ©2003 Universal Pictures. www.thehulk.com [Less]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Joshua Lucas, Nick Nolte

Director: Ang Lee
Screenwriter: Michael France, John Turman, James Schamus
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, Avi Arad, Larry J. Franco, James Schamus
Composer: Danny Elfman

DVD Info

Release:

Dec 12, 2006

[DVD Details]

HD DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35
  • HD - 30 (Single Sided)

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround - English, French, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Ang Lee - Director
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. HULK Cam: INSIDE THE RAGE
  • 2. EVOLUTION OF HULK
  • 3. THE INCREDIBLE ANG LEE
  • 4. THE DOG FIGHT SCENE
  • 5. THE MAKING OF THE HULK
  • 6. THE UNIQUE STYLE OF EDITING THE HULK

Interactive Features:

  • My Scenes

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Ratings Image

The only Ang Lee film where he shows even a modicum of originality in his direction or any real personality or interesting visual flair.

Full Review | Comment
01/16/08 02:31 PM
Derek Smith
Apollo Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

What a strange and fascinating contraption Hulk is.

Full Review | Comment
09/24/07 10:31 AM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
07/14/07 04:03 AM
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Ratings Image

[An] enjoyable summer behemoth.

Full Review | Comment
04/18/07 06:34 PM
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A talented director wasted on a poorly plotted and weakly acted film. Not even the visual effects are salvagable

Full Review | Comment
08/08/06 06:50 AM
Wesley Lovell
Oscar Guy
Ratings Image

Nice as it would be to report that Ang and his co-writer/producer James Schamus had regenerated the summer blockbuster, we gotta poop the party.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:42 AM
Derek Adams
Time Out
Ratings Image

The Hulk, like its lead character, is just too big.

Full Review | Comment
09/30/05 03:21 AM
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
Ratings Image

Audiences expecting to turn off their brains and sit back for another blast of mere eye candy may stagger out of this 138-minute epic wondering what hit them.

Full Review | Comment
01/15/05 10:39 PM
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Ratings Image

I cannot recall seeing a tank being lobbed at a copter with such finesse.

Full Review | Comment
10/14/04 12:23 PM
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
Ratings Image

Hulk se distingue de la masse par son caractère humain et par les thèmes qu’il aborde.

Full Review | Comment
10/07/04 04:37 PM
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Panorama
Ratings Image

Rent it, fast forward through the first forty minutes, and enjoy the rest. Well, except the last ten minutes... okay, maybe give it a miss.

Full Review | Comment
03/04/04 01:24 PM
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
01/24/04 08:17 AM
Independent
Ratings Image

Wastes time and squanders audience sympathy with too much humorless exposition.

Full Review | Comment
01/21/04 01:52 PM
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus
Ratings Image

[Lee] adapt[s] the visual language of comic books to the screen in a way that seems quite fresh... while focusing on a story of abuse, death, and emotional trauma.

Full Review | Comment
01/03/04 06:43 PM
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Ratings Image

Hulk smash!

Full Review | Comment
11/11/03 05:16 PM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image

... a 138-minute hulking monster of a box office smash hit about, er, a hulking monster who likes to smash and hit.

Full Review | Comment
10/28/03 05:16 PM
Anton Bitel
Movie Gazette
Ratings Image

Hulk plays like exactly what it is: an action movie by an art-house director, and ultimately that combination is more frustrating than fruitful.

Full Review | Comment
09/06/03 08:14 AM
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly
Ratings Image

Whereas the original Hulk (and King Kong, for that matter) fought against injustice, intolerance, and abuses of power, all that this Hulk has to fight is his Big Bad Daddy.

Full Review | Comment
08/30/03 08:14 AM
Todd R. Ramlow
PopMatters
Ratings Image

Ang Lee has exteriorized shamelessly; The film is practically inside-out with armchair psychology.

Full Review | Comment
08/08/03 12:31 PM
Nathaniel Rogers
Film Experience
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Pictures

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News

Louis Leterrier Promises Action-Packed Incredible Hulk
posted by Jeff Giles March 17, 2008
After sitting through what they felt was a curiously action-deficient Hulk in 2003, some fans of Marvel's ragin'...


Edward Norton Wants Hulk Sequels
posted by Jeff Giles January 24, 2008
Were you a little surprised when you heard that Edward Norton had signed on to star in (and ultimately co-write) The...


William Hurt Sheds Light on Iron Man/Incredible Hulk Crossover
posted by Jeff Giles January 22, 2008
An Avengers movie starring the principals from various Marvel-related superhero films still seems highly unlikely...


Louis Leterrier Talks Incredible Hulk
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He's a little over six months away from trying to make film fans forget Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk -- but, as Incredible Hulk...

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