Review of Planet Hulk (2010) by James W — 23 Apr 2010

Planet Hulk! yeah the title of this Direct-to-DVD movie should drive you close if you're a comic fan. Based on the Planet Hulk comic series back in 2006, 'Planet Hulk' attempts to recreate a huge complex story in a self-glorified 81 minute animated film.

Yeah that intro didn't sound too friendly huh? or maybe it did?

I'm not sure, bur I'll tell you the truth, this film left me with a feeling of emptiness, I wanted way more than what this offered.

The plot.

Iron Man and a few other heroes decide (offscreen) that Hulk is to dangerous to be kept on Earth so they send (or more like banish) him to another planet where he can live peacefully. Well on the way there, Hulk breaks out of the space shuttle but the ship crashes down to the planet Sakaar taking Hulk with him. Upon landing, he is captured by hostiles and sold into slavery. Forced to fight for his life, The Hulk becomes a gladiator in the planet Sakaar.

Ok so Marvel definitely knows they stole the majority of this plot from Scott's film, Gladiator.But they decided to turn this comic story into a movie anyways, I dont know why, I loved the concept of this story and danggit I was dying to see this film!!!! But I was kinda let down.

Ok, so I will say that the movie overall is very good. The story is strong but everything else that got the other Marvel films off the shelves was kinda missing in this one.

The animation was cheap, once again. In the beginning it was especially noticable but it did get better as the minutes past by, or maybe I just used to it? I really don't know. The sound was there, nothing amazing, why? Because the Hulk didn't really go beserk!!!! He was a calm greenie, using his strength almost as much as a bodybuilder would. Not like a raging chunk of green hate charging towards you. There were very few instances where Hulk just let loose. Savage Hulk is non-existence here. I hated that. His rage is one of his biggest selling points and it was never really used.

Ultimate Avengers had the Hulk own every single Avenger on the battlefield with his rage but not here. In Ultimate Avengers 2, he was able to overcome a lethal nerve agent to break out of his 'Hulk-proof' cell. In New Avengers, he ripped the head off a 60 foot robot and threw it into a mountain. He even showed brute strength and rage in the live-action films. Do I need to mention more? I dont think so. Hulk is easily the stongest being out there, but that fact was underused in this film. That is my biggest complaint. To see my favorite superhero barely use his biggest selling point. The film was almost like seeing a really strong green goliath fight in an arena.

The movie was well-rounded in the story department, although sometimes I felt as if it were being rushed just a bit. But some parts I did like, were the addition of several Marvel Heroes in cameo roles. Some had extended cameos and that was just a plus. The film overall was good but not all that exciting. I wouldn't buy this immediately, I am waiting till this thing drops a significant amount before it gets added to my collection.

I would give it 2 and 3/4 stars but I can't here, so I'll round up, 3 stars.