Those who are die-hard "Hulk" fans might be disappointed in this Ang Lee adaptation of "old green skin."
While the portrayal of the antihero monster is fairly accurate, the story is centered too much around the relationships between the characters, and not on the biggest star of the movie - the huge green freak himself.
The Marvel Comics-inspired story opens in the mid-1960s with young scientist David Banner (Paul Kersey) frustrated because the U.S. military will not allow him to experiment on humans. With the birth of newborn son Bruce, his curiosity gets the best of him and before long he is giving his only son nanomed injections up until he is four, using his son as his only available test subject. Fast forward to when grown-up Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) has followed in the footsteps of his father as a scientist and is studying genetic technology. One day while conducting a lab experiment with fellow researcher and ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly), Bruce is accidentally exposed to gamma radiation and - there we have it - "The Hulk" is born.
What makes "The Hulk" unique is unlike past Marvel comic book heroes who hit the big screen like Blade, the X-Men, Spider-Man and Daredevil, the Hulk is the antihero. He is not out to save the world - he wants to be left alone. What enrages him into "The Hulk" is the cat-and-mouse game played by Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross (Sam Elliott), Betty's father and David Banner's old nemesis. "The Hulk's" anger also predictably dips into his nearly forgotten past, which is reborn with the unexpected appearance of his conniving father who is on a mission to exploit his son's own powers.
With the stage set for a romp of computer generated effects, don't prepare yourself for too much action or fight scenes. While the completely computer generated green monster might be able to jump at incredible heights and battle off an army of tanks, this is not the movie's driven focus point.
The film is largely based on the personal relationships between Bruce and Betty and their estranged fathers. Although Director Lee is successful in making his audience care for the characters, there is too much emphasis placed on it. The Betty and Bruce connection is the only essential relationship because the audience needs to be convinced that she is the only one who can calm down "The Hulk" and make Bruce Banner reappear. With David dropping hints of why Bruce is how he is, the story often times borders on a confusing. Bruce's reoccurring blurred flashbacks to his childhood tends to only complicate the story more.
One mildly interesting - though unnecessary - aspect of "The Hulk" was Lee's call to split the screen into panels in comib book spirit. Fox's "24" did a better job of this because the show uses the split scenes in each necessary and expected part of the show.
Bana and Connelly are excellent in this film. If there is anything believable to the story, it's the chemistry between these two. Bana's facial expressions of kindness and sincerity giving way to a frown and scowl while in transformation to "The Hulk" brings a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" theme to screen. Connelly is radiant as Betty, whose character is not cast as the typical "chick role," but as an intellect who stands on the same level of knowledge as Bruce. In the past with movies like "Spider-Man" and "Batman," the stories were very self-explanatory. If you didn't read the comics, you wouldn't have any trouble catching up on what you missed. With "The Hulk," you might want to consider getting a little background information on the story before seeing the flick.
Overall: **
Directing: **
Acting: **1/2
Cinematography: ***
Music: **
