As all of you fans of the Hulk know, this is the animated adaptation of the popular comic book series. Now, I would like to begin, that they made a lot of changes in this adaptation. Some are good, while others I don't care for, but this is still a great animated action film. The demise of the Red King is something that I like better here than in the comics.Sadly, just to inform you, the Silver Surfer has been replaced by Beta Ray Bill!!! But don't blame Marvel, blame FOX STUDIOS!!! One thing this movie has though is a lot of action and a fast paced storyline. It is without a doubt the best Marvel animated film so far. It keeps a similar theme to its comic counterpart, and it still keeps the viewers entertained.
The voice cast is just great, and they suit each others characters perfectly. While I must admit, I still prefer the comic over the animated film. I'm a big Hulk fan, and the way I look at it, if it isn't broke, don't try fixing it. I just wished they would have made it exactly like the comic, but I'm not complaining, for I really like this film.
What intrests me is if there is a World War Hulk, his wife Caiera may be coming along for the ride! I would love to see a WWH animated film! Just to see Stark, Richards, and all of the Marvel Universe being beaten almost to death!!! It gives a whole new meaning to the words... HULK SMASH!!!!
This two disc set contains these special features:
A Whole World of Hurt: The Making of Planet Hulk
Let the Smashing Commence! The Saga of Planet Hulk
Opening Sequence: Thor Tales Of Asgard
Wolverine vs. Hulk Episode from the popular series Wolverine and the X-Men
Spider-Woman: Agent of Sword Motion Comic
Astonishing X-Men: Gifted Motion Comic
Watch Your Step: Spider-Woman Music Video
Rise Up: Astonishing X-Men Music Video
PLOT
When the Hulk becomes too dangerous for the Earth, the Illuminati trick Hulk into a shuttle and launch him into space to a planet where the Hulk can live in peace. Unfortunately, the Hulk's struggle to escape makes a malfunction in the shuttle causing Hulk to land on the planet Sakaar where he is sold into slavery and trained as a gladiator. With the aid of fellow gladiators Hiroim, Korg, Miek, and Elloe Kaifi, the Hulk forms the Warbound in a plot to overthrow the Red King.
VOICE CAST
Rick D. Wasserman Hulk
Lisa Ann Beley Caiera
Mark Hildreth Red King
Liam O'Brien Hiroim
Kevin Michael Richardson Korg
Samuel Vincent Miek
Advah Soudack Elloe Kaifi
Michael Kopsa Lavin Skee
Marc Worden Iron Man
While I did not care for the changes they have made to this animated adaptation, it didn't ruin it for me. The story is fresh and the action is some of the best I have ever witnessed in animation. Some fans will dislike the change (well more like they will hate it), others fan or non fans will be sure to enjoy this great animated film.
My advice, buy this film. It's a good adaptation, and it is sure to please those who like great fights and a good story. It's worth the price of $17.49, and you will not be displeased. While it may not be as spectacular as its comic book counterpart, it is still great in its own way.
We're dropped right into the story, as the Hulk (voice of Rick Wasserman) awakens to find himself traveling through space, with a video from the Illuminati (Iron Man [Marc Worden, reprising his role from various other Marvel DVDs], Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt) explaining that his constant destructive rampages have forced them to send him away to a peaceful world where he can at last be left alone. Nice idea, but the Hulk doesn't take this well, and destroys the instrumentation, sending the ship careening into a wormhole and crashlanding on the planet Sakaar. Captured and forced to fight in gladiator games for the entertainment of the despotic Red King (Mark Hildreth), he finds himself the unwilling companion of the Warbound, a collection of fellow-gladiators. Many come to see the Hulk as the Sakaarson, the saviour of the planet, but others, including the Red King's lieutenant Caiera (Lisa Beley), insist that the King himself fulfills that role. And the Hulk himself doesn't have a lot of interest in it...
If it sounds a bit like the movie "Gladiator", it is. But it's "Gladiator" with the action quotient increased to eleven. The story is a fairly faithful condensation of the original epic (which ran for over a year in the comics), with a few character roles and plot elements shifted around. Most notably, for those who have read the original, Beta Ray Bill has been substituted for the Silver Surfer, which works extremely well, and is a tremendous little depiction of the character. The voice actors all do a good job with their parts, including Wasserman as the Hulk, who is far more talkative here than general audiences will be used to (in the comics, he's been typically sentient since the 1980s). And for those who like their cartoons a bit bloodier than they'll show on Saturday morning, this is your story. There are some truly brutal action scenes here, and the Spikes are depicted like creatures from a horror movie.
Fans of the comic will also be familiar with the followup story, "World War Hulk", which the end of "Planet Hulk" leads into. As I had suspected prior to watching, the DVD stops just short of the comics ending, wisely not presuming that there will be a followup DVD; Pak has spoken of plans for one in the near-future, where the sad fate of Sakaar can be played out in the opening sequence. After this excellent film, it will be a truly sorrowful thing to see.
Recommended.In the first decade of the 21st century, Marvel's had big success in comics, on film, and in animated television programs; the one area where they have really lagged behind DC has been in the animated DVD market, where Bruce Timm's productions have been more numerous and generally more successful. The recent "Hulk vs." DVD was a step in the right direction, providing some great action and good use of Marvel characters, albeit in two shortened segments that neither of them possessed a full story. "Planet Hulk", an adaptation of the Marvel Comics storyline of the same name by Greg Pak (who is involved in the production), is a full-length story, and it is by far the best thing Marvel Animation's DVD program has done, and ranks with my favourite DC DVDs. Again starring the Hulk, but this time way out of his normal element, it delivers action and heart. Some spoilers follow.
We're dropped right into the story, as the Hulk (voice of Rick Wasserman) awakens to find himself traveling through space, with a video from the Illuminati (Iron Man [Marc Worden, reprising his role from various other Marvel DVDs], Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt) explaining that his constant destructive rampages have forced them to send him away to a peaceful world where he can at last be left alone. Nice idea, but the Hulk doesn't take this well, and destroys the instrumentation, sending the ship careening into a wormhole and crashlanding on the planet Sakaar. Captured and forced to fight in gladiator games for the entertainment of the despotic Red King (Mark Hildreth), he finds himself the unwilling companion of the Warbound, a collection of fellow-gladiators. Many come to see the Hulk as the Sakaarson, the saviour of the planet, but others, including the Red King's lieutenant Caiera (Lisa Beley), insist that the King himself fulfills that role. And the Hulk himself doesn't have a lot of interest in it...
If it sounds a bit like the movie "Gladiator", it is. But it's "Gladiator" with the action quotient increased to eleven. The story is a fairly faithful condensation of the original epic (which ran for over a year in the comics), with a few character roles and plot elements shifted around. Most notably, for those who have read the original, Beta Ray Bill has been substituted for the Silver Surfer, which works extremely well, and is a tremendous little depiction of the character. The voice actors all do a good job with their parts, including Wasserman as the Hulk, who is far more talkative here than general audiences will be used to (in the comics, he's been typically sentient since the 1980s). And for those who like their cartoons a bit bloodier than they'll show on Saturday morning, this is your story. There are some truly brutal action scenes here, and the Spikes are depicted like creatures from a horror movie.
Fans of the comic will also be familiar with the followup story, "World War Hulk", which the end of "Planet Hulk" leads into. As I had suspected prior to watching, the DVD stops just short of the comics ending, wisely not presuming that there will be a followup DVD; Pak has spoken of plans for one in the near-future, where the sad fate of Sakaar can be played out in the opening sequence. After this excellent film, it will be a truly sorrowful thing to see.
Recommended.
Read Best Reviews of Planet Hulk (2010) Here
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.
I highly recommend Planet Hulk as a great exploration for Hulk's character, and Marvel Animation's best film to date.
Want Planet Hulk (2010) Discount?
So I finally got my hands on Marvel's newest animated feature, "Planet Hulk," and I must say, HULK SMASH!! Now I've noticed after watching the film that Hulk has been in almost every Marvel Animated feature except "Invincible Iron Man," and "Dr. Strange." The Green Goliath is certainly in demand. And even though the last release, the double scoop of gamma goodness that is "Hulk Vs." had him heavily featured, it seemed more like he was a guest in Wolverine and Thor's story. "Planet Hulk" is all Hulk, all the time. Before I get into the review I should mention that this is Marvel's first actual story adaptation since "Ultimate Avengers," and I have to say it's the best one to date, and that includes DC/Warner Premier's adaptations as well "Superman:Doomsday," and "Justice League:New Frontier." That said on to the review.I'm going to try not to go overboard but it's really hard for me. When "Planet Hulk" hit the comics stands back in 2006-2007 I was very excited to see this new take on the Hulk and this new adventure he was on. The basic premise is Hulk meets "Gladiator/Spartacus." After years of trying to keep the total destruction caused by the Hulk to acceptable levels, some of Earth's smartest heroes decide to exile him to a remote planet where he can do any harm but can live free of torment, and live the life of solitude the Hulk always craves. But as always his rage gets the best of him and his struggle to free himself alters the course of the ship he's in sending him through a wormhole and crash-landing on the planet Sakaar. It is here the story truly begins.
The film itself hits all the right beats, and has most of the major action set pieces from the book. It also looses a lot of the context and subplots that are woven throughout the year long story line. This is the biggest issue I had with the film. I know it had to be done, and most of it isn't missed if you've never read the source material, but if you have it's glaringly obvious. The comics had a running subplot of political upheaval and xenophobia. Though hinted at in the film it's not a topic at all really. Another major issue I had with the film is it's handling of one of the supporting characters in the story. **SPOILER WARNING** Skip the next paragraph if you want to go in to the film with no knowledge of the story other than the basic premise. This won't be super spoilerific but it's gonna give some of the changes away as a warning to those who've read the source material.
I read reviews of the film before I got to see it and I'm glad I did. They were all favorable reviews but they gave away plot info and had I not gone in knowing this stuff I may have disliked the movie. In the story Hulk "befriends" some other gladiators, and after the death of one of them in their first arena battle, they become "Warbound," brothers and sisters in survival. Each gets to tell their story and how they came to be where they are now. It was a touching scene in the books, but was only glossed over in the film. Understandable for time constraints, but they cheated by doing a fade out when they get to the third story, so though we may not see it, it does play out. In the books Hulk tells his story and actually joins in their newfound bond, but in the film he's played as a loner. In the books, Miek, an insectoid native of Sakaar, who is an outcast for not having a hive of his own, goes from timid weakling, to courageous underdog, to fullgrown insectoid King. Yes King. To say more would ruin things. None of this happens in the film. Again time constraints, but it was a much missed aspect of the story and the character. Finally some of the changes that were made for licensing issues that didn't bother me at all were to minor characters that show up in the story. The heroes that send Hulk into space in the books are Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange and Iron Man. Because Mr. Fantastic and the FF are currently owned by Fox they weren't used (though his silhouette is unmistakable), nor was the Silver Surfer who shows up halfway through the story for a serious slugfest. His replacement did just as good. Beta Ray Bill is an alien who actually stood toe-to-toe with Thor in a fight, and whose heart was so noble he was able to lift Thor's hammer Mjolnr. Odin was so impressed he gave him his own hammer, "Stormbreaker," and the rest is comics history. He's awesome and it was great to see him show up.
All changes aside I stand by my claim that it's the best adapted story to be animated yet. Great action, dialogue ripped right from the comics, and a story that though truncated and condensed, is still compelling. The film ends earlier than where the comic did but it's forgivable. Even with it being a PG-13 film, with lots of violence and several bloody scenes, the writers wanted this to have a self-contained and upbeat story. The comics end with Hulk heading back to Earth for revenge. That would have been awesome, and could even still be possible, but I definitely get why they ended it where they did. Most of the stuff I wanted to see in this film was there. The gladiator combat, the Warbound, the crazy monsters, and the Marvel Universe references. I got more in the film than in the comic, as several of Marvels cosmic characters show up in the crowd scenes at the arena.
Like all Marvel Animated features their special features far outweigh Dc's with two documentaries; one a making of and the other a look at the comic arc it was based on, an episode of "Wolverine and The X-Men" featuring the Hulk, two motion comics (Spider-Woman and Astonishing X-men) and two music videos for them, and lastly the opening scene from the upcoming "Thor:Tales of Asgard" animated film. So should you see this movie? HELL YES! Should you buy it? If you're a Hulk fan, action fan, or comic fan then MOST DEFINITELY! It's well worth it even with all the lost material.
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