Hulk vs. Thor

Hulk vs. Thor

The world of Asgard which is protected by the All Father Odin. During the winter for one week, Odin goes into a slumber called the Odinsleep and at this point he's vulnerable, and Asgard plunges into war when his son Loki attacks his kingdom. The attacks are always thwarted by Thor, but this time Loki has added a being with immense strength to his ranks, a being that has brought Thor to his knees once before, The Incredible Hulk. -summary

Hulk Vs. is a two part movie by Marvel that features one big slugfest after the other starring the green goliath. Hulk vs. Thor is the first movie in the line up and although more story driven than the second movie. It's still an all out brawl of epic proportions as the Hulk takes on not only Thor but the entire Asgard kingdom. Throughout the years, Hulk and Thor have clashed several times and it has always been a highly anticipated battle from comic to comic. If one would really look at it, it always has been and always will be Marvel's main event, because it features the two most popular heavy hitters in the Marvel Universe.

If this movie was compared to any of their battles from the comics then it ranks somewhere in the bottom; but as a movie it has plenty of very entertaining moments. It takes very little time for the fist to start flying and the two mix up pretty viciously. Even though the movie is action oriented, the story and plot are very strong. The god of evil Loki, Thor's step brother, uses his power to bring Bruce Banner to Asgard and he manipulates the Hulk through magic to do his bidding. There's never a dull moment and during this short feature there's a small amount of character development to the point where a casual fan will not feel lost. The movie also ends on a good note and nothing is left unclear.

Hulk vs. Wolverine

Wolverine is called in to investigate the country side of Canada where the Hulk was said to have been causing mindless destruction. He comes upon a distraught Bruce Banner. After smacking him around a little, Banner becomes enraged and turns into the Hulk. From there Wolverine finds himself fighting for his life.-summary

Wolverine has tangled with the Hulk in most of his incarnations. This battle pays homage to their very first run-in that took place in The Incredible Hulk #181 back in 1974, except this battle does not feature the Wendigo. Hulk vs. Wolverine is considered the best of the two movies by many, and it's mainly because of the no holds barred, bloody, and brutal action. This is by far the most violent of the two movies, as Wolverine is very vicious here when digging his claws deep into the Hulk. This story also features very familiar and popular faces from Wolverine's rogue's gallery in the forms of Sabretooth, Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, and Omega Red.

The animation is some of the best I seen from Marvel by the time this movie was released; but I do find it to be slightly inferior to DC's animated movies. The action scenes are very fast paced and almost everything is shown in full detail. The camera has its moments too and there are small comic book cover art homages paid during the Wolverine and Hulk fight that only a serious fan will catch. I didn't have many issues with the artwork except I thought Deadpool was way too scrawny, but I guess it was meant to add to his comedic side. The sound effects were very good as well. Hulk vs. Thor I think stood out in this area a little better. It was pretty cool hearing Hulk take those hammer shots from Thor.

The voice acting was spot on for the most part. Graham McTavish got too into his role as Loki and he delivered a fine performance. Steve Blum whom is also well known for voicing Spike Spiegel of Cowboy Bebop was very good as Wolverine, and Deadpool's comedic side was captured well by Nolan North.

I did enjoy both movies, however there was something that kept nagging me. Despite the Hulk supposedly being the star, he felt more like a side character or a plot device. He was only meant to push the plot during Hulk vs. Thor. While in Hulk vs. Wolverine, he could have actually been left out of that story altogether, and with a few adjustments, that could have been a full fledged Wolverine story because his background was explored, and it was his rogues gallery as the main antagonist.

Another thing that bothered me was that the Thor fight seemed a little too one sided at times. I know Hulk is very strong, but Thor's rogues gallery consists of some very powerful beings. Plus he has been able to do things I doubt Hulk could ever do; such as drive off the world devourer Galactus and kill a Celestial. Then again, it all depends on who the writers are and they seem to be very pro Hulk.

These are small gripes I doubt many would care about though. The two movies are still very entertaining, and will more than likely please fans of the characters. I find it hard to believe that an action fan will come away disappointed. The movie has an 82 minute run time. Recommended.

Pros: Non stop action, bloody, and violent

Cons: Hulk feels like a guest star, if that.