They have finally done it. The heroes of earth have finally rid themselves of the dangerous Incredible Hulk, banishing him to the far reaches of space. As one world breathes a sigh of relief at the departure of one of their most dangerous threats, another yearns for the arrival of a prophesied warrior savior. The alien planet Sakaar is ruled under the iron fist of the "Red King" who rose to power after presumably saving the population from a parasitic threat called "The Spikes". Upon landing on this hostile world, the Hulk is taken prisoner and made to fight in gladiatorial combat for the Red King's pleasure. Along the way, he meets new friends, faces new foes and uncovers a conspiracy that would shake the very foundations of life on Sakaar.
Adapting material from the fan favorite comic saga(with a few minor changes), Planet Hulk is an adrenaline pumping hero's journey from slave to savior; following the hulk from his first violent encounter in the arena to his eventual rise to power against the Red King. The action never lets up as the movie rips its way across battle after battle allying the green Goliath with a motley gang of fellow slave fighters and pitting them against foes each deadlier than the last. Complemented by fluid animation and beautifully rendered backgrounds, Planet Hulk is a visual feast for the eyes only suffering slightly from a lack of art detail in the character designs themselves which bears a similar look to the previous "Hulk Vs Thor" animated feature. Boasting a Sleek, stylized and square-ish design aesthetic that allows more attention to be focused on the smoothness of the animation, the character's simple artwork sometimes clashes with the more detailed backgrounds.
Arguably, the Hulk himself is the least interesting of the bunch, but does have a decent amount of character development. On a planet where his fearsome and violent nature is not shunned but praised, the Hulk slowly overcomes his hostility toward others and finds a place among friends who accept him for who he is. The side characters are wonderfully fleshed out too, each of them outcasts with their own demons. Fallen priest Hiroim has to deal with his crisis of faith, Krog the stone Kronan tries to get over his guilt from killing his brothers, even the cowardly Miek slowly grows from a "hider" into a warrior. Voice acting maintains the same high standard that fans have come to expect from Marvel animated movies.
Like this show's portrayal of the Hulk, "Planet Hulk" is a smarter story compared to the blind savage "all action" fury that was "Hulk Vs". Though the story is derivative of so many other "Slave to hero" tales like Spartacus, it is a timeless classic told from a fresh perspective. The battles are a lot more violent than they look, constantly pushing the PG13 film rating(One of the characters gets their eyeballs popped out of their sockets for crying out loud!) and It is counter-balanced by a well paced, straight forward narrative with emotionally engaging characters.
However, some basic knowledge of marvel comics lore would enhance the viewing experience. For starters, it is never explained why the Hulk does not revert back to Bruce Banner when he calms down, nor is the character of "Beta Ray Bill" ever given a proper introduction other than the mention of his name. To viewers who are unfamiliar with the basics of marvel comics characters, Beta Ray Bill may come across as no more than "the horse god of thunder".
This animated Planet Hulk movie may not please the fans of the original Planet Hulk comic series as much due to its compression of a year's worth of story material into a mere 81 minutes, but by letting the film stand on its own merits without comparison to the original comics, it is a sure-fire crowd please. As the incredible Hulk finds a place he where belongs on the planet Sakaar after a shaky hero/threat career on earth, so too does he cement his role as Lionsgate/Marvel Animation's biggest star after an equally shaky history in live action movies and TV series.
Adapting material from the fan favorite comic saga(with a few minor changes), Planet Hulk is an adrenaline pumping hero's journey from slave to savior; following the hulk from his first violent encounter in the arena to his eventual rise to power against the Red King. The action never lets up as the movie rips its way across battle after battle allying the green Goliath with a motley gang of fellow slave fighters and pitting them against foes each deadlier than the last. Complemented by fluid animation and beautifully rendered backgrounds, Planet Hulk is a visual feast for the eyes only suffering slightly from a lack of art detail in the character designs themselves which bears a similar look to the previous "Hulk Vs Thor" animated feature. Boasting a Sleek, stylized and square-ish design aesthetic that allows more attention to be focused on the smoothness of the animation, the character's simple artwork sometimes clashes with the more detailed backgrounds.
Arguably, the Hulk himself is the least interesting of the bunch, but does have a decent amount of character development. On a planet where his fearsome and violent nature is not shunned but praised, the Hulk slowly overcomes his hostility toward others and finds a place among friends who accept him for who he is. The side characters are wonderfully fleshed out too, each of them outcasts with their own demons. Fallen priest Hiroim has to deal with his crisis of faith, Krog the stone Kronan tries to get over his guilt from killing his brothers, even the cowardly Miek slowly grows from a "hider" into a warrior. Voice acting maintains the same high standard that fans have come to expect from Marvel animated movies.
Like this show's portrayal of the Hulk, "Planet Hulk" is a smarter story compared to the blind savage "all action" fury that was "Hulk Vs". Though the story is derivative of so many other "Slave to hero" tales like Spartacus, it is a timeless classic told from a fresh perspective. The battles are a lot more violent than they look, constantly pushing the PG13 film rating(One of the characters gets their eyeballs popped out of their sockets for crying out loud!) and It is counter-balanced by a well paced, straight forward narrative with emotionally engaging characters.
However, some basic knowledge of marvel comics lore would enhance the viewing experience. For starters, it is never explained why the Hulk does not revert back to Bruce Banner when he calms down, nor is the character of "Beta Ray Bill" ever given a proper introduction other than the mention of his name. To viewers who are unfamiliar with the basics of marvel comics characters, Beta Ray Bill may come across as no more than "the horse god of thunder".
This animated Planet Hulk movie may not please the fans of the original Planet Hulk comic series as much due to its compression of a year's worth of story material into a mere 81 minutes, but by letting the film stand on its own merits without comparison to the original comics, it is a sure-fire crowd please. As the incredible Hulk finds a place he where belongs on the planet Sakaar after a shaky hero/threat career on earth, so too does he cement his role as Lionsgate/Marvel Animation's biggest star after an equally shaky history in live action movies and TV series.