Planet Hulk - Review
May 13th 2011 05:34
Planet Hulk - Review
Information:
Writers: Greg Johnson
Format: AC-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: Unrated
DVD Release Date: February 2, 2010
Run Time: 81 minutes
Synopsis:
A whole new world of hurt! He was a monster, impossible to control, too dangerous to ignore. So Earth’s mightiest heroes exiled him into outer space. But now THE INCREDIBLE HULK crash-lands on the distant planet SAKAAR, ruled by the tyrannical RED KING. Sold into slavery, the Hulk becomes the planet’s mightiest gladiator—but his new masters get more than they bargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhood with his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek, ruthless rock-man Korg, ex-shadow pirest Hiroim, and the noble-born rebel Elloe. Unlike Earth, the desperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is just what they need. But will the Hulk be the one to save their world…or destroy it?
Review:
After the incredibly disappointing Ultimate Avengers films, I had low expectations for anything Marvel Animated and especially Planet Hulk. But this Hulk really grabbed me and pulled me in to one of the best Hulk adventures I have ever experienced. It begins with a video of Iron Man and the Illuminati explaining to Hulk that he has been exiled to another planet. Hulk starts smashing up the spaceship and it crashes on the planet Sakaar, ruled by the Red King. Hulk is captured and forced to fight in gladiatorial arena, where he rises to fame and bonds with a unique group of slaves who call themselves The Warbound. Hulk must decide to challenge the Red King or seek a path of isolation, because unlike the Earthlings, the desperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is just the hero they need.
Planet Hulk is a Hulk you have never seen before. All the other Hulk stories feature the struggle of Bruce Banner. Then when Banner loses control, the character development is over, the story is over, he just transforms into Hulk and a giant slug-fest ensues. But Bruce Banner isn't even in Planet Hulk, and we get to see how deep and conflicted the character of Hulk can really be. It's not a journey of man into monster, it's the journey of a monster into a hero. It isn't Banner's struggle, it's the Hulk's struggle. But the character-work doesn't stop there, the Warbound group is a very interesting and well handled group of gladiators.
Which leads me to the fights. The idea of making the Hulk a gladiator on an alien planet is such a good concept for his character that I can't believe this wasn't thought of sooner. It gives Hulk ample opportunity to pummel a host of unique foes. There's some really memorable fight scenes and powerful moments here. Due to copyright issues, they could not feature the famous fight between Hulk and the Silver Surfer that's found in the comics. Instead, they used Beta Ray Bill from Thor and tied it in with the events of Hulk vs. Thor. The end result is a pretty incredible match.
Grade - B (plus) Highly Recommend - Planet Hulk as a great exploration for Hulk's character, and Marvel Animation's best film to date.
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