A number of people have lashed out against Hulk, claiming that the CGI efffects are lousy. As a certified (certifiable?) special effects junkie, I have to take issue with this claim.

The problem with Hulk, I think, is that the character is ridiculous to begin with. We are talking about a massive creature that not only is green, but also defies realistic body proportions. In short, he just looks wrong no matter how you slice it.

Compare him, for instance, to Gollum in The Two Towers. Gollum has been hailed as a breakthrough in computer animation, and I want to take nothing away from that -- the work in The Two Towers is nothing short of astonishing. However, Gollum had a lot going for him. He's realistically colored, a reasonable size and more or less proportionate. His natural skin tones help him to visually interract with his environment.

Hulk, on the other hand, stands out like a sore thumb. He blends in with his environment about as much as a pink elephant. As a result, our subconscious can't help but scream, "Hey! There's a big, green CGI guy on the screen!"

But if you look past the green, there's some really impressive and subtle work going on here. I know, I know -- what's so subtle about a 2-ton monster throwing a temper tantrum? But notice the way Hulk's skin twitches and quivers when he roars, or the little details of the veins in his neck pulsating. If this guy wasn't, green, people would be falling all over themselves to praise this accomplishment.

Enough about the effects, however. I was a fan of them, but, special effects do not a good film make. And that's the essential question: How is Hulk as a story? On this issue, I'm torn. Conceptually, the story is pretty good. At its heart, it's a tragedy of supressed emotions and their explosive release. On the other hand, Hulk is a comic book movie and on that level, the weighty themes may be almost too much of a downer.

The result is a film that is a lot of fun to watch, but somewhat depressing to think about and the dichotomy may put off audiences looking for little more than a fun ride on the level of Spider-Man or Superman.

Still, I much prefer this approach over having the Hulk wreak havok on the world out of simple mindlessness. At least here, the creature has a reason to be pissed off.

Bruce Banner (Eric Bana), as we all know, is the Hulk's alter ego. In this film, Bruce is the victim of an overbearing, and perhaps slightly (or not so slightly) maniacal father.

Banner's father (Nick Nolte) was a genetic scientist who had a propensity for experimenting on himself when faced with the possibility that his research may be too dangerous for legitmate pursuit. The senior Banner is horrified to discover that his own genetic experiments may have been passed along to the young Bruce. Vowing to find a cure for his son, he throws himself into his research with relentless and reckless abandon. When the military contractors for whom Banner works pull the plug on his research, he sees no other alternative but to destry his lab. He rushes home and a fight ensues with his wife. The subject appears to be young Bruce, but we don't know for sure as this is all Bruce is able to remember

Bruce is taken away and raised by foster parents, but his father's legacy has scarred the adult Banner both emotionally and genetically.

When we finally meet the adult Bruce Banner, he is just ending a relationship with his co-worker, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly). Bruce's past has made him emotionally distant and this is just a little too close to Betty's relationship with her own father (Sam Elliott) for comfort. Meanwhile, the two of them are working together on an experiment to potentially boost the body's ability to heal itself. The fact that this area of research is eerily close to the research conducted by Bruce's father is not lost on those around him, particularly Betty's father, an Army general who oversaw the research conducted by Bruce's father years ago.

Bruce has been having trouble sleeping. Nightmares seem to continually return him to that day when his father was fired. He seems to recall that something horrible happened, but the specific memory is gone. Following an accident in the lab that melds Bruce's genetic tamperings with those of his father's, it is these very same repressed memories and an unexpected reunion with the father that he thought was dead that triggers the first transformation into the Hulk.

Many films would immediately go on auto-pilot when the action starts, but not this one. Even in the midst of his most violent rages, there is conflict within the Hulk. You can almost sense a feeling of panic in the beast, as though Banner is in there somewhere, horrified at what he has become, but at the same time relishing the reckless power.

Furthermore, each transformation seems to liberate more and more repressed memories of Banner's childhood. When he finally learns the complete truth, rather than lose control once again, there is almost relief. His rage is spent and he vows to never again lose control -- until the military induces his transformation in an effort to study the Hulk.

Hulk maintains taught emotional tension for about two-thirds of the way through the film, but it all falls apart in the very last act. The story takes a bizarre turn when Bruce Banner and father are pit against one another and what I can only imagine was meant to be an epic battle. Instead, this sequence is completely disjointed from the rest of the film and laughably absurd. I give it credit for being bold, but it just doesn't work.

Ang Lee, who Hulk fans may recognize most for his wonderful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, directs the film and he brings a very unique and interesting style to the table. His choice for this material, based on a comic book, was to present it very much like a moving comic. He employs split screens and multiple panels and the effect is very cool and lends to the fun of watching the film.

Hulk also includes some pretty potent acting power. We certainly aren't talking about Oscar caliber dramatic performances here, but the actors give depth to their characters that is far more than expected for what is, ultimately, just a comic book movie.

All of this brings us once again to the big question: Is the film any good? On some levels, yes it is. But on others, particularly the over-the-top father/son climax, it's not even close. I have to admit that I did have fun watching it, which is really all that's important, but the film's last act very nearly kills it for me. The nice thing about the DVD is that I can always just skip past this section.