The Hulk

[Lieutenant Kije]

I went to see X2 with my fam and fiancee today.  We saw a trailer to the Hulk movie, before.  By the end of the preview, my fiancee, my mother, and my sister were all of them laughing out loud.  I really don't know about this movie.  I think the Hulk's a great character, but from what I saw I don't think that computer animation is up to the task.  He looked puffy and ridiculous and way too fake.  That's just my opinion.

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

And I suppose you thought that the 60s or 70s version of The Hulk was a whole lot better? At least now he's proportional to what his size should be, and not just some George Forman(or whoever) painted green.

[Slant]

Actually I think Hulk is supposed to be about 7 1/2 feet tall, but the difficulty is that every artist who works on the comic interprets him differently.  I have to say that the movie Hulk really does look like an overgrown muppet.  I think that the Hulk should be only slightly larger than a normal human, but very very compact and muscular.  Kind of like when he first premiered back in the 60's and looked almost as broad as he was tall.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I like how he looks. And I think everything else going into it is going to make it a movie worth watching.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Hey, it was the 70s.  What did you expect?  Outside of comic book art, Lou Ferrigno (not George Foreman) defined the hulk for me.  He starred as the Hulk in six TV movies, a TV series that ran for four seasons, did the voice for an animated hulk in the 90s, and even shows up in this new movie.  You gotta love that wild spikey hair he had goin' on back then.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

So what you're saying is that it's ok for something you've seen as a child to look like crap, but not ok for something new to look less than perfect...

[Fellfrosch]

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me, Saint. If they have the technology to make things look perfect, I see no reason for them not to use it.

[Lieutenant Kije]

I was just indulging in a little sappy nostalgia.  To be honest, if the old Hulk tv show comes up while I'm flipping channels, I keep on flipping.  But I agree with Fell: given the difference in technology and ability, Lou Ferrigno is more forgivable than Puff the Magic Hulkster, or Kermit the Hulk, or He's Not Heavy He's My Hulk.  Okay, I'm sorry, I'm being ridiculous now.  Everyone's got their opinion, which makes the world an interesting place.  

[Gemm: Rock & Roll Star; Born to Rock]

And mine would be to beat you with My First Little Whacking Bat.  

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

what exactly are the problems with him? That he doesn't look like a big person and doensn't move naturally? But he's not supposed too. He's a monster. I don't think he looks so bad, and I don't think there's very much forgivable about the old TV show. Yellow eyes and green paint. Yah, horrible. I'm scared. Why i your character/writing/cardboard set so crappy?

[42]

Well, I just watched the trailer again and looked at some movie stills. I actually think they did a prety good job with the animated Hulk. However there are a couple of things that I think could have been better.

First, the hue/saturation doesn't seem consistant to represent skin temperature or wear. Basicly, he doesn't seem able to blush, bruise or rash, which is minor but on real actors you passively notice these sort things.

Second, there seems to be some dissidence in some of his motion paths rate comparative to the motion rate of background or forground images.

Third, there seems to be an odd reflective light in the shadows that just seems a little too intense giving him a radioactive look, which could be intentional.

That's just my opinion, and I wouldn't expect a by-the-book animator to catch any of that stuff. Some of it, like point number one, the technology doesn't exist fully to compensate for the condition.

[Lieutenant Kije]

I apologize if I've offended - that's the last thing I want to do.  I tease my 12 year old sister professionally and maybe that rubs off in some of my posts.

I don't know anything about hue, radiation, etc. but it was just hard for me to take him seriously.  He is clearly animated.  Of course he's animated, but to me he stands out too much for me to enjoy.  Kind of like those scenes in Spider-Man that were clearly animated and looked a little goofy.  (But maybe I'm the only one that thought that also.)  He doesn't stand out as much as Roger Rabbit, but enough.  And there was a scene in the trailer where he was running around a canyon dodging missiles and it almost seemed like he was waddling with his huge feet and stubby-looking legs.  Maybe it was just that shot.  But I couldn't believe it enough to think it was cool.  I'll shut up now, lest I raise anyone else's hackles.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

lol, i don't think anyone is offended. And certainly everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I think unfavorably comparing the cgi Hulk to Lou is a disservice and I'm still a little disbelieving that anyone honestly thinks the TV series looked better. More seemless, yes. More like the Hulk? Not at all. I still think of the comparisons as more exaggerations to make a point.

[House of Mustard]

I don't know about anyone else, but my hackles have been raised.

[42]

In fairness, I think the CGI Hulk looks a lot more like the comic book version of the Hulk.