The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: ‘Planet Hulk’ Movie Review

Film — February 1, 2010 at 10:00 — no comments

Clark Kent says: Those familiar with ‘Planet Hulk’ and ‘World War Hulk’ will surely enjoy Marvel Animation’s direct-to-DVD adaptation of the popular Hulk story arcs. Fans of other Marvel animated tales will want to add this one to their collections. See why after the jump.

GOOD: Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle pen an iron clad script that allows the translation from comic to film to be done with ease. Everything flows well together and the story pacing is great. Subtle differences are apparent. The Illuminati led by Iron Man and other Avengers who’ve had enough of Hulk’s temper-tantrums and have sent him off to a planet best suited for him and his “issues”. But knowing the Hulk (Rick Wasserman) — he’s not happy. While I’m more a fan of Fred Tatasciore’s grunts and yells, Wasserman’s Hulk throws the ship off course into the Roman-esque planet of Skaar. This flick is pure fun for any fan of Marvel, comics, or just a good cartoon. Fans of Kevin Michael Richardson will be happy to know that his vocal talents are present as the bad-ass rock man Korg. After seeing a lot of angry Hulk in films and TV, ‘Planet Hulk’ shows Big Green in a different light that many would enjoy when they watch this flick.

BAD: Sticklers to animation will say that this is not Marvel’s best animated film. Some corners were cut in making ‘Planet Hulk,’ but it’s not completely horrible. At some points Hulk is about as intimidating as Beast Boy from ‘Teen Titans’ with his styling making him just a little young looking and far from the ruggedly intimidating Hulk we know and fear.

UGLY: ‘Planet Hulk’ is a solid and an enjoyable experience. All of the characters from the comic are there. There’s even some smart dialogue pulled from the comics. The pacing of the film is fluid enough to not make the experience enjoyable for both fans and first-timers. Action scenes are just that and provide you with some “ooh ish” moments. Even though there’s no signature “HULK SMASH” or “puny man” references, the ending to ‘Planet Hulk’ has left it open for a possible ‘War World Hulk’ sequel. While it doesn’t break any animation barriers, this film does come out as one of Marvel/Lionsgate’s better animated stories.

Clark Kent says: Cop this when it hits stores on February 2nd. Peep the trailer below: