How come mainstream movie critics are so stupid...

[JohnJones]

Well I saw and read some of what "Mainstream" movie critics said about the Hulk, and it just seems so funny...many denounced the film, but it was not contructive cristism, they just seemed to bash the movie for the sake of bashing it. It seems like whenever these pictures are made, both the main fans and a lot of people who don;t read comics, but still like a good movie, also like it, but the critics are like "Duh" in their reviews. So what do they know anyway....Nothing.

[Essex]

W...wow. John...you...posted an intelligent thought. I am floored.

Furthermore....I agree with you.

Many members of the media hated this film long before it was ever released. There was practically a smear campaign ordered against it by some areas of the media. It didn't receive anywhere near the attention that previous films did (like X2 and DD), but it honestly should have gotten MORE since it's a character who is so recognizable. It is a shame there is so much politics involed in the media...

However, the deck was stacked against Hulk from the get-go. It's a bold, intelligent, artistic film that also features a big green monster who kicks ass...not many mainstream people are really going to get that...

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"That which does not kill us...makes us stranger." - Trevor Goodchild, Aeon Flux

[TheHeretic]

I agree that the critics were set against this movie before it was even released, but then again, almost every non comic fan I spoke to thought the commercials looked stupid. I however thought it showed great promise and was more than happy to rush out to see it. I was not impressed. In this case I actually agree with many of the mainstream critics.

[Soccerdude]

hey,even some "comic fans"thought it looked stupid.like COUGH*BLINGBLING*COUGH.

[imported_Thom]

Hey, this "comic fan" didn't really like the movie either. I really, really wanted to like it, but it just didn't work for me.

But JohnJones is right... Too many critics offer scorn (or praise, depending on who you're listening to) without enough justification.

[JohnJones]

Contrary to press reports, some film critics have actually liked the movie, but their reviews do not seem to get as much coverage as the negative film reviews do, so much for balanced reporting....

[JohnJones]

HULK SMASH PUNY MOVIE CRITICS.

[JohnJones]

The worst of them all is CNN, their movie critics would not know a good film from a cheap box of cigars.

[kvdp_blade]

I'm in shook. Not only was your post a post that wasn't degrating tsome thing that most people like but I also agreed with you. I mean I always hear people telling me " Oh your going to see the (movie title) movie today, well the critics said it sucked."

I basically ignore all critics and see what I want, but some are all right.

Oh yeah Idid you see that some newspapers gave the "Hulk" movie 1 1/2 stars and then gave "From Justin to Kelly" 2 1/2 stars . whats with that.

[Frostbite]

From Justin to Kelly is symbolic of American stupidity.

[TheHeretic]

Except that noone went to see Justin and Kelly.
I do feel stupid for paying to see The Hulk though.

[JohnJones]

Seeing the Hulk was money well spent.

[woogaman]

I was surprised at how much I liked 'Hulk'.
Maybe the reason some people didn't like it was because it was too thoughtful a movie instead of being two hours of non-stop action.

[JohnJones]

If they want to see a Hulk movie with a lot of action in it, wait for the sequal. The Leader and the Abomination are going to be in it.

[ArkRaider]

Actually, some of the better critics liked the Hulk. Ebert and Roeper raved about it and thought it was a minor quibble that the Hulk didn't look life-like except in close-up. This is a minor point that I must admit I forget as the movie was quite well made. I really hope they make a sequel and for the masses put in more of the Hulk. The cerebral stuff apparently makes Ma and Pa Kettle's head hurt and, geez would they please stop bringing their toddlers to these films?

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"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted."-Albert Einstein

[Shadowchaser]

I think the critics were being too generous by giving this "film" 1 and a half stars frankly.

The main problems with it are: It really did not matter that the creature looked like the Hulk or was even called the Hulk. The story was poor at best, and tried its best to put me to sleep.

How any fan of the Hulk could call this a good Hulk movie is beyond me. I guess their theory is any Hulk movie is better then no Hulk movie.

[ArkRaider]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Shadowchaser:
<B>I think the critics were being too generous by giving this "film" 1 and a half stars frankly.

The main problems with it are: It really did not matter that the creature looked like the Hulk or was even called the Hulk. The story was poor at best, and tried its best to put me to sleep.

How any fan of the Hulk could call this a good Hulk movie is beyond me. I guess their theory is any Hulk movie is better then no Hulk movie.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Come on, it was an insightful film. If you have no patience and want the bashing to commence from the word go, yeah it'll seem boring. How do you set-up the film without some background information anyway? I think the film was very entertaining and when the Hulk finally appeared the film really picked up.

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"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted."-Albert Einstein

[imported_Thom]

My major complaint is the opposite. Yeah, it was an insightful film, or at least had some depth... until about the last 30-40 minutes. Then it devolved into an almost pointless actionfest for the remainder.

So, no wonder the film has underperformed. It's too boring for action junkies, and a letdown for many who did want to see the psychodrama play out.

[D.K.HOOD]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thom:
<B>My major complaint is the opposite. Yeah, it was an insightful film, or at least had some depth... until about the last 30-40 minutes. Then it devolved into an almost pointless actionfest for the remainder.

So, no wonder the film has underperformed. It's too boring for action junkies, and a letdown for many who did want to see the psychodrama play out.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I totaly agree with that. I've never been to movie where so many people were talking in the audience because they were so bored. A slow beginning and a weak ending isn't everyones cup of tea. I still think Universal made a huge mistake by firing the original composer. I've watched the unfinished version of The Hulk about 3 times and it just seems so much better with the original score. Its still slow going but it doesn't seem as boring as the theatrical version. I think another thing that turned audiences off was Jennifer Connelly's performance. Technically it was good, but she was too reserved. I believe that's why I didn't enjoy the scenes with Bruce and Betty together because we have two reserved people onscreen alone and the dialogue isn't good enough to carry those moments. And also, I've always thought that women who had abandonment issues were a lot more outgoing than how Betty was portrayed.

[Jel]

I personally have been blown away by this movie, a true masterpiece to rank up there with the other great character-oriented movies (not just C2F ones).

I really didn't think that it was too long to take off, I actually really thought it came just right.

I seriously can't think of one thing I didn't love about the movie. And what's up with the music haters? the score reallt gets the job done, making the flick even threatening at times when all that is shown is some mustache guy making experiments in the beginning! I also liked the tribal approach that Elfman developped later in the movie.

And some scenes were just...poetic, such as the leaping ones, where you can feel that hulk is enjoying feeling the air on his skin.

20/10!

[TheHeretic]

How poetic was the freeze frame CGI explosion scene?
Or how about that senseless, and rather dull final fight scene?
Did you find poetry in the scenes where Hulk is trashing stuff but you cant see much of it because half of the screen is showing some random soldiers running and some stuff rolling down a hallway?
Surely there was some in that godawful script somewhere right?
Did you find the A-Team poetic? I ask that because this movie used the same trick of showing you that absolutely noone was hurt during Hulks rampage.
I like the story leading up to the action, and some of the more plot oriented Hulk scenes, but the ending action scenes destroyed the film.

[ArkRaider]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Thom:
<B>My major complaint is the opposite. Yeah, it was an insightful film, or at least had some depth... until about the last 30-40 minutes. Then it devolved into an almost pointless actionfest for the remainder.

So, no wonder the film has underperformed. It's too boring for action junkies, and a letdown for many who did want to see the psychodrama play out.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That could well be the more common perception. For whatever reason, I liked the film and I thought it had the right balance between drama and action, but that's just me. I get what you guys are saying though too. Some people wanted more drama and others more action.

SPOILER WARNING

The only thing I could possibly complain about would be the water fighting between Absorbing Man and Hulk at the end. Seemed a bit strange and I was thinking Absorbing Man would get some of Hulk's power and they would duke it out and then the gamma bomb would be dropped on them.

My favorite action scenes were the gamma hounds fighting with the Hulk. More of that kind of savage fighting at the end would have been cool, but I still liked this film for the reasons stated. I suppose it's a matter of personal views here really. I would point out the critics I prefer to read liked the film (and I read them after I saw the film b/c I wanted to see it no matter what). Not being able to please Mr. and Mrs. Middle America was the problem with the box office for the Hulk I guess. They weren't looking for ANY drama, just action from start to finish. Can't please anybody at this rate.



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"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted."-Albert Einstein

[Jel]

Ark raider: you might be right, the middle america might've been disappointed... But I think it is what made this movie great, and that it will be remembered in the future as a great flick and not just a good superhero movie. Ang Lee actually had the balls to stray away a little from the source material (but not that much) to make a personal film which concentrates more in the hero's inner turmoil than the superhero aspect. This is drama!

Here is what I really thought of it:HOLY FARKIN SHIT.

this movie was more that I could've ever hoped for, and Ang Lee has just earned my eternal gratitude for turning a potential cheesy flick into an artistic masterpiece.

First of all, the photography and image treatment were superb, all these shots in the desert base were just beautiful. And I could go on forever on the very intelligent use of the split screens, which of course was a reference to the souce material, but also, as the movie progressed, helped underline Banner's schizophrenia.
The virtuosity and experimentality of Ang Lee are a major part of the movie's success: his bold choices made the flick feel like an indie author movie with a several hundred million dollar budget! After seeing this, I can't think of a better pick for the direction of this movie: Lee's double culture made him achieve a very unique film, hybrid of american pop culture and chinese aerial martial arts tradition. Hulk's feline and aerial leaps made up some very poetic moments which I thought were in the direct continuation of Crouching Tiger.

This is for the style. Now as for the story itself, it was just the perfect origin story: the plot built up in intensity until the climatic end, without the feel of slow pace or anything. It felt just right. Nick Nolte's performance was fantastic, especially in the final scene where he reminds us all why he is considered a top actor. I also appreciated how Ang Lee emphasized the greek tragedy roots of the story: Cronos eating his children, and Minos giving birth to his monstruous child, the minotaur. The Hulk is a great character/actor, his expressivity was almost scary as I was never distracted by the thought "hey, this 3D rendering is really good". And the "Hulk smash" parts were just 100% fun, slightly reminiscent of the King Kong classic.


To sum it up, this is the perfect movie: people who enjoy intelligent, pretty and novative indie films will like it, as well as the in-your-face action junkies.

[JohnJones]

What do movie critics know anyway? They only complain about other people's work just because they themselves did not have the brains to get a real job.

[kvdp_blade]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ArkRaider:
<B> Geez would they please stop bringing their toddlers to these films?

</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree. I would normaly avoid this invasion of kids in the movie theatures by going late at night the first day the movie comes out. But sadley I had to go early the second day. DAMIT. I would say their were about 20-25 kids in the theature when I was watching the hulk. About half way through the film a little boy asked his mom " can we go home now" so loudly that I could hear him. And then of course their was plenty of babies crying. Why on earth do they bring their babies to movies.

[Shadowchaser]

I think you are missing my point. The movie is bad because it is titled The Hulk, and is so far off base as to be disappointing.

If this movie was called Jolly Green Giant I would have loved it. However, the changes to Hulk's origin are drastic, and completely unneccessary.


*******SPOILER BELOW**********

The entire first 20-30 minutes of the movie could have been dropped and they could have used the Gamma bomb created the Hulk origin and made a much better Hulk movie. Showing his inner conflict would have worked just as well without the baby modification nonsense.

The only other problem I had was the lack of death. When exactly did the Hulk join the A-Team? Oh and I do not mean that it needed more action scenes, or even larger battles. I just mean smashing a tank or swatting a helicopter from the sky should not equal all survivors. Frankly in retrospect I am surprised they allowed him to kill the dogs.

[knack]

I saw the film today and despite the criticisms of the film I really got a kick out of it. The film was more or less as I expected it to be, but I hadn't counted on the editing of scenes (which must, at the very least, get an Oscar nod). I expected Lee to go into the psychological aspect and I wasn't bored by it at all.

But some of the critics want it both ways. I can't believe that some of them have criticised the film for having the emotional, dramatic and intellectual content they accuse blockbuster films of never having.