By Stephen Pytak 

     A great interpretation which isn't just about 
smashing things.
     Ang Lee's "Hulk" is a story about anger and 
chemical abuse, disfunction and extremes.
     It's also one of the best edited comic book films 
of all time. I never saw a film with frames and fonts 
so closely resembling the art form.
     But it stands out as unique for other reasons.
     It's very different than"X2: X-Men United," an 
ultimate popcorn flick which offers amazing action 
sequence after amazing action sequence.
     "Hulk" is an engaging drama and contains, 
perhaps, the richest performances in any comic 
book based film.
     It's been reported that the box office take in the 
U.S. wasn't incredible. Perhaps that's because it's 
not like every other comic book movie coming 
down the pike. 
     But summer movie crowds don't often 
appreciate something that stands on its own.
     The first time I saw "Hulk" I came out praising 
its vision, but I recall saying it was "weighty."
     The first hour is story heavy. 
     During it, I stopped to think about the 12-year-
old and the toddlers who were sitting behind me. I 
couldn't hear a peep. Were they awake?
     But for people who like a good story are in for 
a radioactive dose of angry weird science.
     Without running down the entire storyline, I'll 
go over the real highlights.
     The first is the character of "David Banner."
     He's nothing like the humble, soft-spoken 
character Bill Bixby created in the old TV series. 
     This guy is an obsessed time bomb who sets out 
to harness the powers of regeneration and strength 
with whimsy.
     The actor who plays the young "David" is 
named Paul Kersey. Funny. That's the name of the 
"Death Wish" vigilante. Interesting. 
     The film starts out showing him experimenting 
on starfish, monkeys and himself in a military base 
somewhere in California.
     He doesn't tell his wife he's injecting himself 
with junk, even though he impregnates her and 
passes his infected cells on to his infant son, Bruce. 
     When the kid's a toddler, David starts giving 
Bruce injections of God knows what when mom 
isn't looking. 
     But wait. It gets better.
     When the military finds human blood samples 
in his lab, David goes off. He sets off a gamma 
bomb and tries to kill his family. And the military 
puts him away.
     Thirty years later, he reemerges older and 
crazier, like Nick Nolte in "Affliction (1997)." Wait 
a minute. That is Nick Nolte!
     Out of the booby hatch, David goes on a quest 
to find "his son." And he kills, impersonates others 
and causes all kinds of chaos until he finally comes 
face to face with his creation.
     Nolte really steals the show. He emotes and 
cries and yells and preaches with conviction. It's 
a performance that really stands out. It's just as 
good, if not better, than the special effects.
     The other actors don't disappoint either.
     Whereas Nolte's performace will invite a shiver, 
Eric Bana's often inspires a chuckle. The guy's fun 
to watch.
     His Bruce is an average guy with extra-
ordinary problems. 
     He has to work with his ex-girlfriend. He has a 
troubled past he can't remember. He is hit with a 
ton of gamma rays in a lab accident. He survives. 
He can't understand why. And he has a temper.
     Bana handles all of this kinda well and it looks 
like it all comes pretty naturally to him. He takes 
some of this stuff and runs with it.
     I liked the scene in the cabin where he talks 
about what it feels like to be Hulk.
     He says "It's like…Boom…Boom…Boom."
     What's he talking about? Who the hell knows. 
But it's funny.
     And the little bit of humor he injects into the 
role is what he'll ultimately be remembered for.
     The special effects, meanwhile, bring to life on 
screen an excellent representation of the creature 
from the comics.
     It was really something to watch Hulk book 
through the desert, fight helicopters and ride to 
the top of the Earth on a jet.
     It left me wanting more and I'm hoping 
Universal or whoever owns the rights to this 
franchise considers a sequel.
     If Universal wants box office, perhaps they 
should consider "Hulk Vs. Wolverine."