It ain't easy being green

I guess this release is best dubbed “The Incredible Hulk Movie Collection.” It includes the middle 2 of the 4 “Incredible Hulk” TV movies (Pilot, Return, Trial, and Death). Since they are, in essence, 2 releases in one package, I’m going to review each one individually and talk about the common points.

If you’ve never seen the “Incredible Hulk” TV show then you don’t want to start with these. Go back and at least watch the premier movie. The installments I’m reviewing both take place after the final TV episode. If you haven’t seen all of them you won’t get lost, but you do need to see the first movie to have any appreciation for what is happening with the characters. Even if you know the basic premise of the Hulk from the comic books, there is enough difference between them and the TV show that warrant starting from the beginning. And if you’re just checking out reviews because you saw the Ang Lee movie, the TV show version is WAY better.

The Incredible Hulk in general:
Here’s the basic premise of the TV show. David Banner is a scientist studying superhuman feats of strength in otherwise normal people. When experimenting with radiation a screw-up changes him in unimaginable ways. Now when he becomes severely agitated his mind shuts down to a primal state and his body transforms into a huge, green, incredibly muscular form. Though still basically good, the creature is nonetheless destructive and, in David’s eyes, dangerous. Now he roams the land under assumed names trying to cure himself of this affliction while helping people whenever he can.

Review 1: The Incredible Hulk Returns
David has suppressed his alter ego for longer than he ever has before and is on the verge of a cure. A former student, Don Blake, shows up having stumbled across and recognized the scientist for who he truly is. Don wants David to help sever the tie that has been woven between him and a Viking called Thor. Thor is not quite dead, not quite alive, but is either/or and both at the same time. Banished from Valhalla (Viking heaven) until he performs a number of noble deeds he has been bound to Don for need of a guide in the modern world. This is more responsibility than Don cares to have, but he cannot seem to ditch Thor which is why he’s seeking the wisdom of the scientist he respects most. Thor agitates David until he morphs into the Hulk, and David blames Don for the creature’s resurgence. He helps Don and Thor both in ways they don’t expect while they team up to save David’s kidnapped girlfriend. All the while he watches his hopes of a cure slip away when he’s never been so close.

If you haven’t seen "…Hulk Returns" you may be disappointed or pleasantly surprised. Can I state the obvious or what? If we were talking binary I’d be telling you that the next bit would be either a 1 or a 0. No kidding, right? What I mean is for the most part a fan is a fan, but I have run across people that liked the series and hate everything after - meaning all 3 movies including the 2 I’m reviewing here.

If you watch this one thinking you’re going to see the greatest incarnation of the Hulk you’ve ever seen you’ll probably be let down. Likewise, you should not make assumptions about the portrayal of Thor; he’s not a line-by-line carry-over from the book or from Norse mythology. However, if you go in with the attitude that you’ll take what you get, no assumptions or preconceptions, I think you’ll like it. I enjoy the internal struggles of all the characters, the super-human action sequences, and the mild humor.

On the downside, the acting, directing, special effects, and choreography all lack at times and take the overall effect down a bit. David Banner, Jack McGee, Thor, and Hulk are pretty much flawless in my eyes (though some folks have expressed dislike of Thor, I think his nuances are wonderfully subtle such as his look of confusion when Blake calls him “Dude.”) but most everyone else ranges from decent at best to poor with a few that fluctuate depending on the scene. The pitfalls in directing show through in scenes that are more cheesy than dramatic, or have weak dialogue and inconsistencies. For example, sometimes when Don calls Thor his voice echoes even when he whispers, other times it’s normal.

Kenny Johnson was not a part of this movie which is one main reason it has such a different feel than what came before. If he had been at the helm I think this would have been better than it is.

Whatever its downfalls, it’s still one of the greatest moments in TV fantasy. The Hulk-Thor battles are a lot of fun, the costumes are pretty good, and the whole thing holds true in almost every way to the episodes. The ending is properly heroic and somewhat sad, just what we fans expect.

Content:
This is a family friendly show. A little bit of bad language and some mild violence are all you have to worry about.

DVD 1:
The DVD is pretty well done compared to some other releases of old shows. The audio/video quality beats watching a broadcast even if they’re not groundbreaking. The menus show some creativity with feature music and animation as well as nice original graphics.

The video is the TV standard and the sound mono. It’s better than watching a TV broadcast, but it’s not impressive as far as quality.

Extras include a lengthy Stan Lee interview. It covers his personal history, and that of the Hulk.

Lou Ferigno talks about overcoming his disabilities to be an actor.

There’s a good gallery and bios for Lou and Bill Bixby.

Review 2: Trial of the Incredible Hulk
David Banner has given up hope. He’s reduced to wandering around just letting life pass him by and avoiding situations that might bring out his greener side. He doesn’t care much for finding a cure anymore if he can just exist quietly. That’s not his lot in life, however. He’s blamed for an attack on a woman in order to cover up for the Kingpin’s lackeys. Attorney at Law Matt Murdock offers to help in order to get incriminating evidence against Kingpin. What each man doesn’t know is that the other has an alter ego. Daredevil reveals his identity to David in a plea for his help then the Hulk rears his head and saves Daredevil’s butt from Kingpin’s attack. Now they’re out to save a kidnapped woman and stop Kingpin’s criminal reign, an unstoppable force of green and red.

Incredible Hulk fans finally get the most elusive Hulk movie of all. It’s probably available on VHS, but I’ve never seen it, nor do I see it on TV often. So it’s ironic that it (along with The Incredible Hulk Returns) was the first widely available Hulk DVD release.

You’re probably wondering why this one is so elusive; I think it’s mostly because it is far from great. What makes it so bad? First let me say that I do think it’s worth watching. I’ve seen it more than once, and now that I have it on DVD, I‘ll see it many more times. It has a good story (despite how corny it sounds to put the Hulk in a courtroom) and some decent to great actors in many of the most important roles (John Rhys-Davies, to be specific, and the guy playing Edgar are great, Murdock/Daredevil and the supporting cast around him are pretty good). The biggest flaw in actors or characters is that of Ellie. She is not very well written or portrayed. She’s meant to be sympathetic, but she’s not believable enough to pull it off. Some of the other minor characters lack as well.

As much as I hate to say anything negative about Bill Bixby and his directing abilities (after all, much of what I love so much about the series is due to him) there are a lot of elements that fall short of what I expected starting with Lou as the Hulk getting too little screen time. That's bad enough but there's more. Daredevil scenes are weak in their choreography, camera work is poor (some shots are at odd speeds making them look weird), and some special effects sequences lack the technology to carry their scenes (particularly the final scene with Kingpin). 1 or 2 of these elements alone might not be so bad, but together they tear the production down in a hurry.

The big finale of all other Hulk shows feature the show’s namesake, this one features David and Daredevil. It lacks the explosive power we’ve come to expect especially since, like I’ve said, the Daredevil choreography is not impressive. Hulk should have been given some time here as well as more at the beginning. Other major disappointments are the lack of common elements from other shows like the recognizable theme.

The most unforgivable lack, however, is the absence of Jack McGee. We’ve followed him since the original movie, and suddenly he has fallen off the face of the Earth. His character deserved a more significant final end than he was given in "…Hulk Returns" even if it had only been referred to rather than acted out. Have him give up the Hulk chase to make a life with a woman, find out David is alive and feel compassion for his plight to the point that he keeps the secret once he has the story he's been after for so long, virtually anything that paid respect to the character would have been better than nothing.

Like I said, "Trial…" still has its merits and will be a welcome addition to the collections of most Hulk fans. You get a few good performances, a great Hulk scene in the courtroom, and the positive ending of David coming to realize he has gifts as a doctor that need to be used for the benefit of his fellow man.

Content:
Once again, this is a family-friendly show. A little bit of bad language and some mild violence is all.

DVD 2:
The DVD, like the movie, is good enough to interest the old fans but not enough to win a lot of new ones. Still, most companies wouldn’t have put nearly as much effort into the design as Anchor Bay did. The audio/video quality may not excite perfectionists, but it’s a noticeable improvement over broadcast quality. The menus and interfaces show some creativity and effort, and, most noticeably, are completely original instead of copying the other disc in the set. The basic format is the same, but the animation, graphics, buttons, music, and major extras are all unique to this disc and relate back to scenes and styles from the movie.

The biggest extra on this one is a lengthy documentary on bodybuilding. It features Lou Ferigno, of course. I found it pretty slow, but then I don’t have any interest in bodybuilding.

The gallery and bios are repeated. The screenplay is supposed to be on the DVD-ROM, but it’s not. Oops.

The set as a whole:
I'm impressed with some elements of the packaging. The DVD trays are set into a folder that slips into an outer sleeve. The art has a comic-book motif that is creative. There are a number of nice images throughout.

The insert keeps the comic book feel with a particularly creative cover. Inside are a few pages of notes about the productions, a brief history of comic books on TV, and a look at the guest starring comic book personas. The back contains chapter lists for both movies.

I have run across both of these movies sold individually in plastic cases. Even though I like the plastic better than the cardboard sleeve and folder you get with the set, you get more for your money with the set. The individual releases don’t appear to have any extras at all, and don’t have the creativity in the artwork (which I would bet carries over to the menu designs) that the Anchor Bay set has. So if you do decide to buy these movies, get the Anchor Bay set!

Final thoughts:
True “Trial of the Incredible Hulk” is possibly the worst thing the series produced. If sold alone… well, let’s just say it was probably smart marketing to put it in with “Incredible Hulk Returns.” The latter show is great and worth the price of the set by itself despite its flaws. I recommend this to any and all Hulk fans. Like I said, there are some TV series fans that dislike the following movies, but not too many that I know. It would be great if they all had the same quality as the Kenny Johnson-driven series, but I still enjoy them all. I’ll give the set 3*. “…Hulk Returns” is a fun show, but it just has too many flaws to do better. The documentary doesn’t sway me. Despite being a relatively big extra it’s just not exciting without an interest in bodybuilding. The interviews and gallery are great to have, though. The creativity put into the packaging design is a plus. Anchor Bay has some of the most creative minds in the DVD industry.