Review: Hulk vs Wolverine

Directed by Frank Paur
Written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost
Animation by Madhouse Ltd.
Run Time: 37 mins
Rated PG-13 (Special Features Not Rated)
Widescreen (1.78:1 Ratio)
English & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English Subtitles
Special features: Audio Commentary by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost; Audio Commentary by Frank Paur, Kevin Altieri and Butch Lukic; "This is Gonna Hurt: The Making of Hulk vs. Wolverine" Featurette; "Fan Frenzy: Hulk vs. Wolverine at the San Diego Comic-Con" Featurette; "First Look: Wolverine and the X-Men" Featurette; Trailer Gallery
IMDB Page


Overview: What you see is what you get, essentially, and that's definitely not a bad thing. Kyle, Yost and Paur deliver a story that captures everything you'd want in a Hulk vs. Wolverine story. Solid voice work from the cast and fantastic animation from Madhouse (that's probably mind-blowing if you get the Blu-ray version), the only real problem I had was that the flashback stuff gets a little confusing if you don't know your Wolverine history and the Hulk vs. Wolverine battle really is only about ten minutes of the whole film. The special features are pretty much run-of-the-mill, but still relatively informative. The Making of is a lot more in-depth than I would have expected, but the Comic-Con featurette is pretty much pointless and the First Look at the Nicktoons series is a glorified commercial (Not that I can blame them for doing it, there's just not much to it). The Kyle/Yost commentary track is fun, equal mixes of MST3K kind of humor and geek-trivia, while the second track falls more on the tech side of things with supervising director Frank Paur and story board artists Kevin Altieri and Butch Lukic. All in all a pretty good package for a great movie.

Here's where I'm gonna plant the geek flag and let it fly. Also, spoiler warning! So, if you don't want to know anything more about the story, off with you!

In-Depth: I've enjoyed all of the Marvel/Lionsgate animated movies so far, but this one raises a bar I don't think they can ever clear. From the opening scene of Wolverine coming too and resetting a broken arm (or maybe a dislocated shoulder, not sure), this movie is bad ass from beginning to end. Like I said, the Wolverine/Hulk figh treally isn't much of the film, but it does cover the first ten minutes or so. From the under water fight to the Hulk slamming giant rocks into Wolverine's head (which he just shrugs off), it watches like a "Best of" collection of Wolverine/Hulk moments from the comics. Then we get into the meat of the story as the badasses of all badasses enter the picture, Weapon X- Deadpool, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Omega Red. They take down Wolvie and Hulk and bring them back to the Weapon X compound and we're treated to a bunch of Logan's back story (including fantastic nods to Barry Windsor Smith, it's like his designs stepped off of the page). Deadpool and Lady Deathstrike easily steal the show after this point. If they captured the essence of any Marvel character to their core, it's these two. Deadpool's wit is spot on, and you definitely get a feel of the insanity that runs rampant in his mind, and Deathstrike is just plain old evil. There are nods to the past her and Wolverine share, and her confrontation with the Hulk leads to one of the best moments in the film as she seemingly is getting the best of him...until he rips her arms off. Omega Red and Sabretooth both feel true to their comic book forms, but I think that's part of the problem I had with them in the film, they're very two dimensional. So, it's hard to say anything really negative about them or the way they end up portrayed. Omega Red does have a nice little scene where in the background he's pummeling Wolverine as Hulk dispatches the rest of Weapon X. It's hilarious and violent all at the same time. Like I said, though, Deathstrike and Deadpool steal every scene they're in, and Deadpool almost steals the entire movie. According to Paur in the commentary track Nolan North, who does Deadpool's voice, ad libbed almost all of Deadpool's dialogue, which is just amazing, he really gets what the character is all about. From beginning to end this little movie is an amazing piece of animation. It sets out to do exactly what it inteded to and makes no bones about being a 37 minute slugfest. I do want to mention the main title sequence, done by a studio called Perception, which apparently put the thing together in about three weeks, and it's absolutely stunning. You can actually watch it over on their site here. Thomas and Joel Moser also did a great job on the end titles, which showcases tons of images from not only Wolverine and Hulk history, but Weapon X comic covers and panels as well. In fact the entire movie has consistent nods to the more famous Wolverine/Hulk comic book panels, as well as Kyle and Yosts own X-23, they even got Kaare Andrews to design the DVD covers. Guy Michelmore returns to score yet another Marvel animated project, and does a great job, the music is extremely effective. The voice cast was stellar, and Madhouse did their usual unbeleivable job with the animation. This is definitely worth the bucks to buy, I've watched it three times already and will probably get in a few more viewing in te next week or so. I'd recommended it to any fan of the comics, or if you're looking for something that is just action packed and hilarious. 9/10