User Reviews

I've just finished watching PLANET HULK for the second time; this time with the commentary track by Joshua Fine and Greg Johnson. The second audio commentary by Director Sam Liu, Character Designer Philip Bourassa and Key Background Painter Steve Nicodemus is only on the 2-Disc Edition DVD and Blu-ray disc. I find this to be a very satisfactory movie--one of the best animated films from Marvel so far. I can't comment on the changes from the original 400-page story since I haven't read it; although, many of the changes are discussed on the commentary track and in the "Making of..." featurette. Substituting Beta Ray Bill for the Silver Surfer seemed a bit strange, but I understand the reasons for it and the change works pretty well. I agree that ending the movie on a high note was probably for the best. Further developments can always be explored in a sequel.

The introduction for, and opening sequence to, THOR: TALES OF ASGARD has me jazzed for that movie too. It's a shame that it won't be released until next year, with no other Marvel animated DTV movies announced yet.

"Planet Hulk" is an adaptation of a storyline from the "Incredible Hulk" comic book, in which Hulk is exiled to outer space by a bunch of other super-heroes, because he is such a menace on Earth. Of course, things don't go as the heroes plan, and, due to a wormhole in space, instead of being sent to the idyllic, tranquil planet that the heroes intended, Hulk is instead sent to Sakar, a divided world, ravaged by hostile monsters, and ruled by the cruel monarch known as the Red King.

The "Planet Hulk" storyline from the comics was huge, and there was no real way to adapt the entire thing into a movie, as a result, you get a much scaled down version of the story. There is a depth to the comic book which you just don't get in the movie, but the movie never feels rushed, or overly edited, so it scales down the comic book well. The two biggest changes from the comic to the movie are: 1) The Brood character is not present as a member of the Warbound, and 2) Silver Surfer is replaced by Beta Ray Bill as one of the gladiators that Hulk fights. In watching the "Making of" segment, apparently they didn't have the legal rights to use the Silver Surfer (possibly tied up with the company that currently is controlling the rights to the Fantastic Four), so they used Beta Ray Bill instead. He was a good choice, but he (basically an alien version of Thor) is kind of a silly character, who wouldn't be known by anyone but real hardcore Marvel Comics fans.

The movie goes right up to the point where the Red King is defeated. People who have read "Planet Hulk" know that this is not where the storyline ends. Again, the creators explain this in the "Making of" segment, saying that they wanted to make the film self-contained. The end of the comic, ties directly in to "World War Hulk" the next Hulk storyline. Also, the comic ends on a much more depressing note.

All in all, I enjoyed the movie, but really hope they make a sequel that adapts "World War Hulk."

Animated films like this one are the reason why Marvel is king. Honestly, most agree that the Marvel Universe is the richest, most entertaining fictional realm ever imagined by man. Now, it's good to see live action and animated features that can match or at least come close enough to the magnitude of the books. While not as complex as the reads themselves, these animated features carry their own level of satisfaction. Just like "Hulk VS" before it, this film delivers the goods. It's more than fun to see Hulk in a gladiatorial setting. It's a blast to see Beta Ray Bill pop in from out of nowhere! When you compare these animated films to their only real competition, it clear to see that Marvel still has the advantage. Planet Hulk makes Green Lantern: Fist Flight look sick by comparison. Hulk VS outclasses the mindless Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and so on. When the foundation is stronger, the things built upon it will be stronger as well.

Hulk is the strongest there is... and so is Marvel. Bring on the Thor animated project!

I really, really like the Hulk. I grew up on the Bixby/Ferrigno series. I collected the comics. I watched the cartoons. Hell, I even think I had the underoos. Despite all of this, "Planet Hulk" left me feeling extremely disappointed and highly doubtful about Marvel's overall strategy for their DTV line. But first, here's what I liked.

The story had respect for its audience and didn't hold any punches when it came to the violence. When beings made of solid rock got their hands on creatures that weren't, bodies were pulverized. People who were felled with bladed weaponry actually bled out and died. The Hulk even got a hole punched in his chest, which is always cool to see. All of this culminated in us seeing a child burning to ash in a woman's arms—really heavy stuff that pushed the boundaries of a PG-13 rating.

Thankfully, all of this bloodshed was beautifully rendered by Studio Madhouse. As a fan of animation, I can't ask for anything more than a production to be detailed and move fluidly. And, in this, "Planet Hulk" delivered in abundance. I especially noticed this during the two scenes involving the Spikes. The way those creatures were drawn and the way those things were animated rivaled anything H.R. Geiger has ever put out.

Lastly, I liked the running time. Be it D.C., Marvel, or Dark Horse, animated DTV's tend to run from 60 to 75 minutes. This one was 80. Now a five minute difference may not seem like much. But, to me, it's a major step towards approaching proper feature film length. If the majority of the viewing public is ever to take these projects seriously, they need to measure up to live action films in length. Yet, there was one thing…one major thing about "Planet Hulk" that left a bad taste in my mouth.

I didn't much care for the Hulk. I realize this is based off a 2006 comic storyline, but this isn't a comic book. This is a movie that has to appeal to a larger base than the fans who follow a title from month to month and year to year. And this wasn't the version of this character to do it—at least not for a Hulk fan like me.

The iconic version of the Hulk is nothing more than Bruce Banner's reaction to danger. He comes out, smashes the threat into grease, and then, once the coast is clear, turns back to Banner. Yet, in "Planet Hulk", comicdom's other famous Bruce is nowhere to be seen. And, to find out why, you have to watch the film with the commentary track. Now, while I thought the explanation was solid, it should've been covered in the film. No, this wasn't the only omission.

The iconic version of the Hulk has the mindset of a child. When he talks, he utters simple phrases like "Hulk smash" or "leave Hulk alone". Yet, here he throws out a few complex sentences like "walk out that door and you're all going to die" and "good, now I know who to smash". Worse, this film gives him the capacity for abstract thought. One instance is when, instead of attacking the immediate threats, he waits until the guy calling the shots is revealed. Much, much worse, it's never covered directly in the story or indirectly in the supporting materials why or what has increased his intelligence. And no, I'm not done detailing what was left out.

What the hell is an Old Strong? In this film there's a woman who, while no larger than a normal human, is just as strong as the Jade Jaws. The only explanation given for this is that she's an Old Strong—for whatever the hell good that does.

Then there's the lack of dramatic tension. The Red King, the major baddie, doesn't want the Hulk subdued, captured, or bent to his will—he wants him to be executed. Well, simply put, you can't kill the Hulk. I've seen his head chopped open by helicopter blades, his middle run through with a two foot thick shard of rock, and his body reduced to little more than a skeleton. He usually makes a full recovery before the page is up. The recent movies have also put this unequaled healing factor on display as well. So when the Red King wants the Hulk to be killed, it doesn't up the ante. It doesn't add to the suspense. It just makes the major antagonist seem inordinately delusional.

"Planet Hulk" feels more like a cut and paste job than a true film. In this case, Marvel Films cut out the Hulk and pasted him onto a scenario which could best be described as Spartacus in Space. However, they took a version of their character most will not be familiar with that doesn't really have any longevity. Then the creative team failed to explain the numerous changes to the Hulk's status quo from his more iconic depiction. I wanted to like this movie, and planned on buying it. However, now that I've seen it in all of its lackluster glory, my money will go towards something else.

Oh, and on an aside, regarding the upcoming "Tales of Asgard"—WTF. The fans of the Mighty Thor comics aren't going to want to see the Odinson as a teenager trying to find his way. The more casual fans, who may not be as familiar with the character, definitely won't. In both cases, they'll want to see the helmet, the cape, and, without doubt, the hammer that serves as his trademark. If Marvel Films can't figure that out, then maybe they should leave the DTV market to D.C. and Dark Horse.

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.

This animated movie casts an exiled Hulk as a reluctant gladiator/hero-cum-Messiah on a distant planet.

The story itself is cobbled together from bits and pieces from all over the place, and contains no surprises, although it is delivered perfectly satisfactorily. But the story does take second place to the action. Much of it is combat and, for a cartoon, this is quite violent although this is reflected in the certification of the DVD.

The Hulk is relatively de-powered at the start in order for him to be sufficiently in jeopardy, although it is clear that he recovers as the film proceeds.

I quite enjoyed it, and I may well get the book.

I have been a Hulk and Marvel fan for many years and I'm always excited to see a new Hulk title hit the screen. Perhaps it is my decades of 'fandom' or high expectations, but for me this title just fell into the same category of unfulfilled expectations as other Hulk movies and DVD's have done in the past. I gave this title a mediocre 5/10. This may be good in comparison to other titles of the genre, but it is still a far cry from what an animated Hulk title should be.

*** Spoilers, Spoilers, Spoilers *** The Good 1) The concept of Earth's heroes exiling the Hulk is fun and makes sense based on his history in the Marvel Universe.

2) The shadow warriors possessed interesting chi-like powers, a pseudo-religious faction and a legend of a savior. Their involvement didn't develop nearly as much as I would have liked even though that had more potential to move the story forward than another plot device, the "spikes".

The Mediocre 1) The weakening of Hulk via wormhole travel. I realize there needed to be a mechanism to support the Hulk being able to fit into a "Gladiator" rip-off, but this was entirely random and never explained as the movie developed. You could never tell when or if Hulk recovered from the effects, especially since he was able to be injured badly throughout the film. Making super heroes less super to fit a lack of imagination can never be excused.

2) Beta Ray Bill's inclusion in the movie was fun, but his exit was silly. "We're not tied to the world" and then he flies away. Unlike Thor, Beta Ray Bill came from a horrible background that would have motivated him to stay to help the enslaved people of this world. Instead he bailed and Twilight Hulk stuck around. At the very least it was an odd exit for someone worthy of wielding Mjolnir.

The Bad 1) Little bugs should not be able to stab the Hulk with a spear and nearly cripple him, no matter the weakening effects - it's as bad as having Hulk revert to Banner in mid-fight. There's just no excuse for this. None.

2) Hulk just wasn't that mad. This is possibly the worst part of the movie. Hulk wasn't the rage machine many of us love, he was brooding... I'll watch the Twilight series if I want brooding. I watch the Hulk for unstoppable rage. The Hulk can be angry and still be able to speak. It was just not included in this movie.

3) The emperor wasn't a worthy villain and the arena concept was cliché and a weak device. The Hulk should have Apocalypse level villains. This was a guy in a bad Iron Man suit. This was another reason the movie didn't allow Hulk to be at his 'Hulk Smash!' best. If Hulk would have really reached his smash potential, this villain would have been done in 15 minutes.

An animated version of Ragnarok? At least in Hulk's plot I guess!

Earth's heroes, unable to cope with the Hulk, send him to another uninhabited planet but en route he destroys the vessel and crash lands on a different world.

An interesting premise. Unfortunately everything afterwards is the most cliché ridden stuff you'll ever see in a superhero film. I've not read the original comic, so I don't know whether it is quite as bad as this.

First off, the main bulk of this is set in a Roman-style arena, something we've all seen a zillion times before in comics and with a stereotypical cast list of fellow gladiators including the meek one, unimaginatively called Miek (obviously this is the same school of script writing that gave us Unobtainium).

Next we have a series of fights, arranged in presumably ascending order of difficulty, but to me, the fights are in diminishing levels of interest. In the first, one of the inmates has the dilemma of having to kill his brothers. These brothers (and later Beta Ray Bill) are controlled more tightly by the slave discs than the Hulk or the rest of the gladiators for some unexplained reason (the reason being that it fits the plot) After this, The Hulk kills the next monster with one punch. And, on the second day, the supposedly superior monsters all turn out to be robots and not very impressive ones at that.

Then there's Beta Ray Bill.

Despite the prophecies that the Hulk will save the world, it is actual Beta Ray who destroys the slave discs on everyone. (And why is it that when these discs, which appear to be translators too, are destroyed, that everyone can still understand each other, including the Hulk?)

More importantly why does Beta Ray Bill just fly off in the middle of the fight? Why upon seeing a group of oppressed and outnumbered people does he just choose to go home?

Clearly Beta Ray Bill is just there as a plot device, once that is fulfilled, he has to be gotten rid off quickly.

The remainder of the film is equally obvious. The Hulk is too eloquent and intelligent throughout and has several unconvincing duels with Caiera, a woman whose entire body mass is equivalent to one of the Hulk's arms, yet manages to fight him to a stand still. The Red King rather stupidly tells Caiera that he arranged the destruction of her village (the sort of thing that only bad movie villains do). And. out of nowhere, a romance between The Hulk and Caiera unconvincingly appears right at the end, although unhinted at before.

This movie was really awesome and action-packed, the movie is a very successful movie. It was nice to see Canadian voice actors and American voice actors working together.

Overall good film but I wish Fred Tatashiore was The Hulk instead.

This film is based on the "Planet Hulk/World War Hulk" story lines in Marvel Comics, except it is somewhat sanitized for a kiddie audience.

The other comic book superheroes, getting pretty tired of Hulk's BS, decide to shoot him into space onto an uninhabited planet where nothing can make him mad. He instead lands on a planet full of gladiators where everything ticks him off.

This is not the IQ challenged Hulk we've all come to know and love from our childhood. This Hulk is aware of his surroundings and capable of making moral choices. He eventually becomes involved in a rebellion against the Emperor of this world, some pretty good action scenes follow and we even get some romance.

Animation is of not great quality, and for some reason, they felt the need to include "Beta-Ray Bill" (one of the sillier Marvel super heroes) in this movie instead of the Silver Surfer.

Firstly, I have to say: I don't like the Hulk. The character, to me, is an angsty scientist who goes mental. I like the whole Jekkyl/Hyde element, but, past that, he just seems dull. I am aware of the character, seeing the 2003 snoozer by the name of 'Hulk'. I also saw the enjoyable 'Incredible Hulk', that made the character do pretty much all the character does on Earth. So, out of the three films, 1/3 isn't a good track record (I'm not counting 'Avengers Assemble', since the character is not the main focus). The story starts well, on a spaceship where we learn that the Hulk is being sent to an uninhabited planet filled with vegetation. At the same time, an alien with green gravy granules prays for the 'Sakaarson'to come to the planet. Coincidently(?) the Hulk flips out, veering the ship off course, into a wormhole that leads him to the planet Sakaar. He is then forced into slavery by the Red Dude. He becomes a gladiator, fights off the Thing on a diet, only there are about 6 of em, along with a giant technology monster(?) (that is never expanded on)killing off gladiators the audience have no emotional attachment to. The Red Dude then starts fighting Hulk in a big ba-blinding golden robot suit. (I'll admit...that was kinda awesome, or, at least WOULD HAVE BEEN if the didn't have a fight scene with strange creatures every TEN MINUTES!)

Blah, blah, blah, plot, blah, blah, blah, back-story, blah, blah, blah, how can the Red Dude control the alien zombie-making creatures, and make them fall from the sky? Blah, blah, blah, about four story arcs, and none of them are interesting...

This film includes things, like aliens and robots, which are interesting. Unfortunately, these things are not expanded on. There are characters introduced to be personalities (even that's a stretch) and they could have become interesting the the audience if a couple of fight scenes were shorter. Actually, this film is 80 minutes, but feels like 2 hours because the main story elements are clichés, the fights scenes, while being visually impressive, are too long and too many. The characters are dull, the plot's dull and why did the Hulk not become Bruce? And why did the Hulk's blood make plants grow? And why did the Hulk automatically become the leader when the Red Dude died? Was there an election? Was there a monarchy? Does this make sense?

The backgrounds were very well done, along with the fight scene animation. The rest of the animation was just...okay. Not bad, but not particularly good either.

Plus, who was the horse guy with Thor? What was his story? Why do people like this film?

Marvel Animated Features has done it again. They've taken one of their greatest creations and successfully adapted one of his most well-known tales for the TV screen. Planet Hulk features the green legend in his finest form – huge, angry, and violent as you always expect him to be. There's no David or Bruce Banner to be found here. He's just a raging green behemoth let loose on a warring planet he mistakenly gets in the middle of.

This, once again, is an animated feature done right. It gets straight to the action, while not completely sacrificing story and plot. Why Hulk is being sent in a spacecraft from Earth by the other Avengers is explained quite thoroughly in a span of about 30 seconds and you never question that motivation again through the rest of the 80-some minutes of non-stop forward motion. Come on, what comic book fan isn't going to like this? It has Hulk battling robots and alien monsters in a coliseum atmosphere with swords and brute strength. What's not to like? They even fit in a special appearance of buzz-hero of the hour Thor for good measure.

The animation is good old-fashioned 70's and 80's style, while still being improved upon and current. There's no CGI here – at least not noticeable. It definitely is more in the style vein of Spectacular Spider-Man and Super Hero Squad than the dreadful looking Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

The voice cast has some great talent involved, but no one that is widely known or any big-name actors. The Hulk is voiced by relatively unknown Rick D. Wasserman. It also features voice talent from Kevin Michael Richardson (Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, The Spectacular Spider-Man, The Batman), Liam O'Brien (Wolverine and the X-Men, Afro Samurai: Resurrection), Mark Hildreth (V, Wolverine and the X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, X-Men: Evolution), and Lisa Ann Beley (Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Transformers: Galaxy Force, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Dragon Ball Z).

Overall, this is a great straight-to-DVD entry to add to your collection of Marvel's animated movies. It seems like it's being positively received by comic book fans from what I've read around the net, but there's always going to be the one or two die-hard fans that will complain about it not being completely true to the year's worth of written / drawn story. It might be a bit violent for some youngsters, so don't be tricked by the "Not Rated" marking on the packaging. This is definitely in the PG-13 or at least PG realm.

At the time of writing, there have been 16 reviews of this film on this site. The best of them was alanrayford's, who is now among my list of friends. I recommend you to check his insightful reviews. He was the only one to mention the burnt child that Caiera was unable to rescue.

Sorry for not repeating the plot points in order, but I'm not here to do that. I haven't read the Planet Hulk comics, so I had no expectations that way. But I have seen the dreadfully funny All Star Superman(1 star). These two movies share the same director. I'll be very surprised if he manages to make a good movie in his career.

If you like action scenes, especially those of comic book movies, you still may or may not find those in this film engaging. There is a lack of imagination, variety, suspense, and pacing. But there's a lot of action, I concede that.

There's a hint of inter species romance-or more?- between, firstly the Red King and Caiera and then at the very end, between her and the Hulk, where they almost share a kiss. In that same extract, the Hulk closes its eyes, brow furrowed. Quite quaint. I couldn't get the logistics problems of Hulk getting serviced by a humanoid alien race out of my head. I'm off to write a fan fiction in this regard. Marvel please don't sue me.