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I always hate it when people call superhero movies comic-book movies.
On a formal level, theres nothing comic book-y about them.
But theres one superhero picture I absolutely feel comfortable calling a comic-book movie, and thats Ang LeesHulk.
I was expecting to write a piece about how its a forgotten masterpiece.
By the time the Hulk startedfightingenormous mutant CGI dogs in a forest, I gave up on that mission.
However, one feature kept popping up in my notes:the panels.
Lee made a bold, potentially disastrous choice when he craftedHulk.
Each bordered section is its own shot, coexisting in time and space with the others.
Comics Arent Just for Kids Anymore!
Perhaps its the overall earnestness of the movie, but the panels dont feel condescending at all.
Indeed, theyre a fantastic, admirable formal experiment that should be studied by every superhero filmmaker.
Hulkdidnt invent the split screen, of course.
you could find split screens in all manner of mainstream flicks, fromWoodstocktoWhen Harry Met SallytoMean Girls.
Im not a confident enough cinephile to claim thatHulkprovided the all-time best example of the technique.
An example is in order.
Lets start with a (relatively) straightforward one.
But thats sort of the point.
The panels create a visual maelstrom in a moment when we need to feel as though chaos has arrived.
Plus, it just lookscool.
Theres an excitement in novelty, and you rarely see that sort of visual insanity in tentpole pictures.
The panels can augment action sequences in other ways.
Ross orders a lockdown and we shift to a six-panel grid of the process initiating.
Lee and his collaborators are engaging in an experiment and were the guinea pigs.
Such chutzpah on his part!
Who else takes risks like that in this populist genre?
The panels even work in quieter moments.
Thats a concept familiar to anyone whos ever drawn or analyzed a comic-book page.
Were not insects we cant see in multiple dimensions on our own.
In other words, the movie declares,Bam!
Comic-book movies arent just for visual blandness anymore!Those in power would do well to listen.
