Ang Lee is a great director...let there be no doubt. CROUCHING TIGER, ICE STORM, SENSE & SENSIBILITY. All TRULY outstanding films. So it comes as no surprise that he would try to bring greatness to a genre little familiar with greatness...the movie comic / superhero genre.On many levels, Ang Lee did a great thing. He attempted to REALLY delve into the emotional angst of his characters...to show use in a "believable" manner how Hulk could have come into being. The opening credits for the movie are great, in my opinion, truly setting a mood while giving us a lot of backstory. The cinematography and unusual style of fade-in / fade-out that Lee uses throughout are highly suggestive of a comic come to life. It is a daring movie on many levels and really kept me engaged in the conflicts building up. I was able to enjoy not just the "superhero level" quandries of the characters, but their human problems as well.
However, the movie fails Lee (and vice-versa) in two fatal ways.
1) Lee is obviously a good director of experienced performers. Think of Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh in CROUCHING TIGER...probably their best work. Signourney Weaver in ICE STORM. Great. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet in SENSE...Oscar nominees. Lee must establish a wonderful rapport with his experience actors. In HULK, Nick Nolte is a bit over-the-top but actually quite frightening, and Sam Elliott is at his best. Jennifer Connolly gives a tortured performance. But newcomer Eric Bana is just NOT GOOD. He may look OK for the part, but he brings no emotional heft, no believeability to his role...and that's a REAL problem. If we don't buy Bruce Banner in all his anguish, we have a hard time making an emotional connection with him. (To a lesser degree, the inexperienced Josh Lucas is also miscast and unconvincing.)
2) THE SPECIAL EFFECTS STINK! When I think of the miracle of craft that Gollum is in LORD OF THE RINGS, it is inconceivable to me that the Hulk was allowed to come to an audience looking so totally and completely unconvincing. There are a few nice moments, such as when a sprinkler system is raining water everywhere, and we see it running off of Hulk. But I was AWARE of the thought that went into that shot...I was totally removed from the movie. The worst is when Hulk is prancing around in the desert...oh my God. '50s era monster movies weren't much worse!! It is simply impossible to suspend your disbelief as the film nears its climax, and thus the whole contraption falls apart.
Ang Lee will no doubt continue to make outstanding films. He (and we) should just chalk this one up to experience and move on. If you haven't seen this movie, I can't really think of a compelling reason. There are more clearly awful movies out there, true, but there is something sad about watching a movie that COULD have been really special fall so short.
