I went to see Hulk a couple of days ago, and to my surprise rather enjoyed it. Probably because I was expecting it to be rubbish. I thought Ang Lee's direction was excellent, and I liked the split screens and comic-book feel he imbued in the film (though I can imagine lots of people will hate that). All the acting is solid, including Eric Bana as the troubled Bruce, and in particular Nick Nolte as Bruce's nutty father, David. I've no idea of the true genesis of the Hulk in the comic book realm, but it was a good choice by the writers to avoid the scenario of the TV series which would not have allowed a lot of scope. The SFX were incredible in places. In other places they was awful - but I though the bad sections were less conspicuous than, say, Matrix: Reloaded. The back story took a little too long to establish, but once Hulk turned up then the mayhem began at a ripping pace. There is nothing quite as satisfying as watching the Hulk bitch slap a tank with another tank, or catch a missile and then throw it back at the sender. And boy can he leap, and bound, and jump. You go green man! Ang Lee does his best to introduce some genuine emotional angst in the movie, with most of Bruce's rage coming from repressed memories of a serious childhood trauma. The image of the closet and the mirror are used throughout the film, with the Hulk being the symbol of Bruce's unconscious desires and emotions. The only person who can restore calm to the Hulk is Bruce's girlfriend, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly), which is a classic Beauty and the Beast scenario.

As the film progressed the analytical part of my brain woke up and I began to look at the very obvious Freudian subtext to the film. I must assume it's deliberate, because filmmaking is a constructed process in which every element is considered before it's put into the movie. In Hulk David Banner is the father against whom Bruce Banner struggles with over the love of his mother, and later for the love of his girlfriend. The father literally takes the mother away from the son, and this results in the creation of a jealous (green-skinned) monster who takes control of the son whenever he is overcome with rage at the remembered loss of his mother. David Banner later attempts to remove Bruce's girlfriend, but Bruce's newly-liberated monstrous Id prevents her death, and saves her for his Ego. Bruce also has to struggle against Betty's father, a military man who wishes to keep his daughter away from the manifestation of super-masculinity and emotional chaos.