First off, let it be said - this is NOT just an action movie. If you want a an incredibly inept slam-bang summer action thriller, you'll probably be disappointed, since aside from one or two outbursts, there's not tons of action until the last half hour or so. Purists might also want to note that the hulk's origins as well as some other things have been changed from the comic. I never really liked the Hulk comic much, though when I was younger I faithfully read no less than 10 marvel comics on a regular basis, and this wasn't one of them. However, Ang Lee does a brilliant job at turning the Hulk's rage into a wonderful metaphor. Beneath the veneer of a comic book film we have a metaphor for the psychology underlying our parental relationships in a consumer culture in the same sense Crouching Tiger was clearly a film about the political independence of a nation hiding amidst what was ostensibly a martial arts film. The film's Oedipal themes are incredibly intriguing, though ended in a somewhat unsatisfying way. The film's editing and Ang Lee's use of varying camera angles to depict the same creative geography in different ways violates anything I've ever seen in Hollywood editing and is wonderfully inventive. It resembles comic panels more closely than any other comic films. A very dark, intelligent, and deeply psychological film as well as brilliant cinema. It's too bad more mainstream films couldn't be this good. 99% of it will go over the heads of the audience watching it though.
Review of Hulk
