E Y E W A N N A B E

Comic Film Reviews: Planet Hulk

Reviewed by: Ryan McLelland

Taken from my post over at Ain't It Cool News

While PLANET HULK may certainly be covered over in Harry's DVD section I thought to do a quick write-up for the @$$hole readers interested in how the comic translated. I'm going to cover a bit of the story so if you haven't read PLANET HULK and are going to be viewing the DVD for the first time you may want to skip on ahead.

Firstly I'm not a fan of the Marvel direct-to-DVD films. They certainly come off subpar to their DC Universe counterparts in story, animation quality, and voice acting. Put GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT up against DOCTOR STRANGE and the DC flick will nearly always win that vote.

Secondly I'm a huge fan of PLANET HULK. If you haven't read the story and are still reading this, a big treat for yourself would be to go out and purchase the graphic novel. Greg Pak's tale of the Hulk on a gladiator world is not only one of the best Hulk tales ever told but perhaps one of the finest Marvel has put out in their sixty-plus years of publishing.

I was certainly surprised when I read that PLANET HULK would be the next Lionsgate direct-to-DVD release. The thought on my mind is, "How bad will they mess it up?" Will the violence play out in the release? Would the Silver Savage (aka The Silver Surfer) be in the film since the rights to the character are over at Fox?

The answers are simple: PLANET HULK is an incredible DVD release - one that Lionsgate finally can be applauded over. The animation itself looks like it continues to improve on some of the shoddier releases like IRON MAN, ULTIMATE AVENGERS, and DOCTOR STRANGE. While no major voice talent is in the movie it perhaps helps to not deter from the storyline.

The story remains intact: Hulk is sent out into space by the Illuminati and lands on Sakaar where he's forced to participate in arena death games. Hulk's entourage remains intact from the story and Miek, Elloe Kaifi, and Korg are here to fight off whoever may want to kill them.

The Silver Savage is NOT in the film. He is wisely replaced by Beta Ray Bill who also is introduced with a bit of back story of how he wound up on the planet. I love seeing Beta Ray Bill up on the animated screen and he is one hell of a replacement for the Silver Surfer.

PLANET HULK also does not cover the entire storyline. The film finishes once Hulk has helped kill the Emperor and is seen with Cieara as the new Emperor of the land. No death of Cieara or annihilation of Sakaar here - though it would have made a great way to hype up a sequel story. Hopefully PLANET HULK sells well enough to invoke some sort of sequel, though the Marvel Universe is directly hindered by so many properties not being under Marvel's umbrella.

The changes are completely minor and the PLANET HULK release finally sees a must-own DVD from the Marvel DVD Universe. It's a great retelling of the story and one that deems watching over and over again.