Films that failed at the box office but are worth a look: Hulk

Directed by: Ang Lee

Stars

Eric Bana
Jennifer Connelly
Sam Elliot
Nick Nolte

The Hulk film failed at the box office and received a lot of criticism from the public and reviewers alike. Although its not perfect it contained plenty of good points. This is the first in a series of films that will be reviewed on this blog, films that didn't perform well at the time of release but are not as bad as they seem.

The story

The Hulk film loosely followed the premise of the comics; Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) unleashes the Hulk after an experiment goes terribly wrong. In the comics, the Hulk takes over Banner after a gamme bomb explodes however in the films things are a little bit more complicated. Banner senior (Nick Nolte) genetically alters Bruce's DNA which eventually leads us to the Hulk and lots of rampages. I like the story as it is more character driven than some of the other super hero films that have been made. In the 70s TV series physical pain was the trigger that brought forth the Hulk while Ang Lee focused on psychological anguish.

The good points

The Hulk featured quite a well written story and some exciting action sequences, in particular the tank battle in the desert. If you want to see the Hulk in a major strop then check out his tank bashing abilities. Of course the  Hulk wouldn't be much without a good reason to prompt his transformations. Bruce is plagued by nightmares but due to a suppressed memory he has no idea why they occur. These nightmares are connected with his father who did something quite nasty when Bruce was just a child. There's quite a lot of emotion in this film which adds to its depth.

The bad points

The Hulk effects could have been better, although they are not as bad as some people make out, and there could have been a bit more action but they are my only gripes.

Conclusion

I enjoyed this film on a few different levels. I appreciated the story and the action and how it was different from other superhero films. If you've never seen the film and you enjoy something with a bit of thought then I'd say it's worth a look.

Captain America: The First Avenger, does it have any potential to be good?

As Marvel have offloaded their most well known characters onto the public (X-Men, Iron Man and Hulk) they are now digging deeper into their comic book arsenal. Captain America and Thor are next in line to receive the big screen treatment before the release of the Avengers in 2012. These two films along with Hulk and Iron Man where made by Marvel Studios which means they are all interlinked. 

This is a great step forward for Marvel fans and for anyone who has a soft spot for any Marvel related films that have gone before. Superhero films can have a tendency to lack any kind of depth however there are those that do stand out from the rest, namely the X-Men films and the first Hulk (although many may disagree). I've been hoping for a decent Captain America film for a long time, after the weak 90s version, so I'd like to see good things from the First Avenger.

So what could go against the Captain America film?

The first potential downside to this film is the lead actor. Wasn't Chris Evans the Human Torch in a certain other Marvel film a few years ago? It seems a bit strange to have the same actor play another Marvel character. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

So what about the choice of director? I would have said he was a bad choice a few years ago but after the Wolfman I'm not so sure. I will confess that I haven't actually seen the film but judging from the trailer and the odd clip I've seen, his directing abilities have veered to a more serious approach. This is what I want from the Captain America film, not a shallow special effects laden no-brainer; I think the comics deserve more than that. 

Captain America has a lot of potential and unlike many superhero films there is a lot more scope for the sequels. The comics have dealt with some pretty edgy issues such as terrorism and in today's uncertain world it would seem appropriate (but difficult to approach) to include such a storyline a future Captain America film.

Well those are some of my thoughts on the Captain America film, if anyone wants to make a comment please feel free to do so. We'd like to hear your thoughts on this, or any other film.