Hulk too long, hard to watch

Marvel Comics returns to the big screen in its latest action-packed thriller, "The Hulk." The film joins "Daredevil" as the latest failed attempt to draw off the successes of "Spiderman" and the "X-Men" films. The movie is about scientist Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) and his brutal life of torment stemming from both a childhood DNA experiment conducted by his father David (Nick Nolte) and a lab mishap of his own, in which he absorbs a dangerous amount of gamma radiation. The mixture of the two creates Banner's alter ego: the Hulk, a personality that is fueled by his inability to control his anger. Jennifer Connelly plays Banner's former love interest and fellow scientist Betty Ross. Their failed relationship leaves Betty trying to understand Banners' confusing past and his new altered being. She is the only one that truly understands him both personally and scientifically and tries to save him throughout the movie. Sam Elliot plays Betty's father, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, the same man who locked up Banner's father for going against government orders in performing the DNA testing. General Ross plays the caring father and tries to keep the Hulk away from his daughter, while trying to destroy the Hulk in behalf of the government. Josh Lucus plays rival researcher Glenn Talbot who tries to take advantage of the Banner's misfortunes, by taking his DNA to form a drug that repairs wounded soldiers on the battlefield and thus creating a fortune for himself. The movie plays out with the Hulk trying to survive the ego inside of him, as well as fighting off military presence, the evil intentions of Talbot and those of his father. This plot is hard to watch, and even more so to write about. Director Ang Lee does a great job transitioning between scenes by showing multiple angles and different graphics to give the movie a comic book feel. The actors really make the movie and draw attention away from a very confusing and jumpy plot line. The graphics and fight scenes are above average, but close-ups of the Hulk make him seem more like an animated figure instead of the realistic being the movie portrays. The movie is entirely too long at a little over two hours and leaves you scratching your head at times. It does a good job of satisfying comic book and action fans, but isn't worth theater costs. Grade: B-