Gods and Monsters
I am a huge fan of Marvel and DC. I also love animation. Imagine my deep joy then when the knock at my door this morning revealed the postman with a package for me. Ripping it open (after closing the door, of course), I discovered my pre-ordered copy of Hulk Vs.
For those who don't know, Hulk Vs is the latest offering from Marvel Studios Animation. Ever since they produced The Ultimates, Marvel (and DC, coincidentally) have continued with a programme of feature-format, straight to DVD movies based on some of their most popular franchises.
Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the aforementioned Ultimates; they've all received the animated movie treatment. As a fan, I've collected them all, but with mixed enthusiasm upon viewing. Up until Hulk Vs I'd give the Marvel stable of animated movies a distinctly average 6 out of 10. Most have failed to live up to their potential and fallen disappointingly by the wayside. Both The Invincible Iron Man and Doctor Strange (two of my favourite characters) suffered from fairly weak stories and even weaker animation in some cases (why, oh why, do animators insist on adding obviously CG'd material to the cell art format - it looks so incongruous and rough).
Hulk Vs has bumped the average up to a healthy 8 (just...). Firstly, it's not just one movie - it's two: Hulk vs Wolverine and Hulk vs Thor (what a line-up). I watched them in that order.
Let's be clear; this is a lot darker than most Marvel animations - especially the Wolverine story. It's not gratuitous, however, but rather it simply fits with the violent nature of the Hulk character. The Wolverine story is excellent, essentially a giant fight scene and some Weapon X backstory told over 30 minutes, but then it doesn't pretend to be anything else and does what it's meant to do extremely well - i.e. entertain.
Bone-crunching, blood-spilling fight scenes abound in this awesome slug fest between a homicidal, adamantium-clawed maniac who can regenerate and a muscle-bound, uber-violent, bellowing monster as the former tries to bring the latter to heel (for peace and harmony or for the Weapon X programme, I'm still unsure) Expect to see cameos (actually, they're a little more than that) from the likes of Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, Sabertooth and Omega Red (sweet!), too.
The story actually culminates in a huge showdown between these characters as Wolverine tries to make the Hulk realise he's on his side and that they have a common enemy in the other members of Weapon X. Fans will revel in Deathstrike getting her arms torn off, only for the internal circuitry within to reattached them for her again. Deadpool is darkly humorous throughout, his banter serving to enrage Hulk, Wolverine and his team mates, but it's welcome light relief.
The animation style looked slightly different in this animated interpretation of Marvel's characters. The previous movies suffered from a lightness that made the visuals look kind of airy and weak. This was much harder and edgier, with darker lines of definition and strong colours with great atmosphere effects that earlier incarnations simply lacked. I hope that Marvel continue with this style and don't go back to the limp-wristed pastels of Iron Man and Doctor Strange.
Movie two, as I've already said, is Hulk vs Thor. In this story, Bruce Banner is captured by Loki and brought to Asgard where he forces Banner to transform into the Hulk and then takes control of him. Loki basically wants to use the Hulk to destroy his hated brother Thor. Of course, the Hulk is too stocked full of rage to be cowed for long and eventually breaks free, and all hell breaks loose (or breaks loose in hell, kind of literally).
Suffice it to say, this is another slug fest but of more godly proportions as Thor and the Asgardian pantheon of heroes take on the green monster from Midgard (that's Hulk, by the way and Midgard is what the gods called our Earth). The battles in this are simply titanic. You'll get to see entire armies battered away by Hulk's sheer wrath and insatiable desire for carnage.
Again, the animation style of this feature was strong (though, oddly, not quite as crisply rendered or hard-edged as Hulk vs Wolverine), and the lightning effects from Mjöllnir (Thor's enchanted hammer that also lets him fly) are great.
The Thor story was only slightly shaded by Wolverine (which surprised me, as I expected it to be the other way around), but at about 15 minutes longer was more satisfying in the epic stakes. I think Hulk vs Wolverine was really helped by the fact that the writers and animators didn't skimp on the blood-soaked carnage (I was wincing at some scenes).
As a fan of animated features (especially the Marvel and DC ones), I would highly recommend Hulk Vs. Leave your brain at the door and settle down for around 80 minutes of all-action carnage involving the Hulk and some of his toughest adversaries.
Hulk smash!
For those who don't know, Hulk Vs is the latest offering from Marvel Studios Animation. Ever since they produced The Ultimates, Marvel (and DC, coincidentally) have continued with a programme of feature-format, straight to DVD movies based on some of their most popular franchises.
Iron Man, Doctor Strange, the aforementioned Ultimates; they've all received the animated movie treatment. As a fan, I've collected them all, but with mixed enthusiasm upon viewing. Up until Hulk Vs I'd give the Marvel stable of animated movies a distinctly average 6 out of 10. Most have failed to live up to their potential and fallen disappointingly by the wayside. Both The Invincible Iron Man and Doctor Strange (two of my favourite characters) suffered from fairly weak stories and even weaker animation in some cases (why, oh why, do animators insist on adding obviously CG'd material to the cell art format - it looks so incongruous and rough).
Hulk Vs has bumped the average up to a healthy 8 (just...). Firstly, it's not just one movie - it's two: Hulk vs Wolverine and Hulk vs Thor (what a line-up). I watched them in that order.
Let's be clear; this is a lot darker than most Marvel animations - especially the Wolverine story. It's not gratuitous, however, but rather it simply fits with the violent nature of the Hulk character. The Wolverine story is excellent, essentially a giant fight scene and some Weapon X backstory told over 30 minutes, but then it doesn't pretend to be anything else and does what it's meant to do extremely well - i.e. entertain.
Bone-crunching, blood-spilling fight scenes abound in this awesome slug fest between a homicidal, adamantium-clawed maniac who can regenerate and a muscle-bound, uber-violent, bellowing monster as the former tries to bring the latter to heel (for peace and harmony or for the Weapon X programme, I'm still unsure) Expect to see cameos (actually, they're a little more than that) from the likes of Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, Sabertooth and Omega Red (sweet!), too.
The story actually culminates in a huge showdown between these characters as Wolverine tries to make the Hulk realise he's on his side and that they have a common enemy in the other members of Weapon X. Fans will revel in Deathstrike getting her arms torn off, only for the internal circuitry within to reattached them for her again. Deadpool is darkly humorous throughout, his banter serving to enrage Hulk, Wolverine and his team mates, but it's welcome light relief.
The animation style looked slightly different in this animated interpretation of Marvel's characters. The previous movies suffered from a lightness that made the visuals look kind of airy and weak. This was much harder and edgier, with darker lines of definition and strong colours with great atmosphere effects that earlier incarnations simply lacked. I hope that Marvel continue with this style and don't go back to the limp-wristed pastels of Iron Man and Doctor Strange.
Movie two, as I've already said, is Hulk vs Thor. In this story, Bruce Banner is captured by Loki and brought to Asgard where he forces Banner to transform into the Hulk and then takes control of him. Loki basically wants to use the Hulk to destroy his hated brother Thor. Of course, the Hulk is too stocked full of rage to be cowed for long and eventually breaks free, and all hell breaks loose (or breaks loose in hell, kind of literally).
Suffice it to say, this is another slug fest but of more godly proportions as Thor and the Asgardian pantheon of heroes take on the green monster from Midgard (that's Hulk, by the way and Midgard is what the gods called our Earth). The battles in this are simply titanic. You'll get to see entire armies battered away by Hulk's sheer wrath and insatiable desire for carnage.
Again, the animation style of this feature was strong (though, oddly, not quite as crisply rendered or hard-edged as Hulk vs Wolverine), and the lightning effects from Mjöllnir (Thor's enchanted hammer that also lets him fly) are great.
The Thor story was only slightly shaded by Wolverine (which surprised me, as I expected it to be the other way around), but at about 15 minutes longer was more satisfying in the epic stakes. I think Hulk vs Wolverine was really helped by the fact that the writers and animators didn't skimp on the blood-soaked carnage (I was wincing at some scenes).
As a fan of animated features (especially the Marvel and DC ones), I would highly recommend Hulk Vs. Leave your brain at the door and settle down for around 80 minutes of all-action carnage involving the Hulk and some of his toughest adversaries.
Hulk smash!
posted by Nick Kyme at
17:31
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