Planet Hulk Blu-Ray Review – Win Yours Here

I have to confess that while I know my comic heroes fairly well, The Hulk is not one that I’m very familiar with. I was rather surprised when Planet Hulk kicked off its adventure with The Hulk on a spaceship bound for a remote planet, having been (apparently) exiled by Iron Man and others. From there, I obviously had to let myself go, and let things play out as they would, being that I was clearly out of my element.

Planet Hulk, apparently based on a specific graphic novel of the same name, is a unique story, and I mean that whether you have The Hulk alone in mind, or comic book heroes in general. With the one caveat that there is much unexplained, and thus the thing is perhaps a different entity for those familiar with the source, I am left truly baffled by the amazing achievements being put forward in animated comic adventures.

There is a far grander level of storytelling going on here than you find in most theatrical releases, and certainly more than the majority of recent superhero fare (leaving anything to do with Batman to one side). It’s a dark tale, and do not be fooled into thinking that this is for younger audiences just because it’s animated, but it is also rich and layered to a degree that is wholly surprising. While the final hurrah may be rather easy to see coming, it is a twisting, interesting road that leads us there, and it is rather forgivable for what we get out of it.

To be fair, there is quite a bit of smashing that will seem to some rather nonsensical (and fair enough, because a lot of it is), but it’s hardly possible to be a story involving The Hulk unless we find some way to get some crashing, pounding action.

I don’t even want to go into the specifics of what happens really, because I don’t want to give things away. I’ll stick with the official synopsis on that score.

He was a monster, impossible to control, too dangerous to ignore. So Earth’s mightiest heroes exiled him into outer space.  But now the Incredible Hulk crash lands on the distant planet Sakaar, ruled by the tyrannical Red King.  Sold into slavery, Hulk becomes the planet’s mightiest gladiator—but his new masters get more than they bargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhood with his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek, ruthless rock-man Korg, ex-shadow priest Hiroim, and the noble-born rebel Elloe.  Unlike Earth, the desperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is just what they need.  But will the Hulk be the one to save their world… or destroy it?

The release is also loaded with some great special features.

• Opening Sequence: Thor: Tales of Asgard – This is, obviously, the opening for the next feature, on its way next year, and it looks pretty solid from this. That crazy Thor and his big ego.
• Audio commentary by Supervising Producer Joshua Fine and Screenwriter Writer Greg Johnson
• Audio commentary by Director Sam Liu, Character Designer Philip Bourassa and Key  Background Painter Steve Nicodemus – both commentary tracks are winners, and though there is quite a bit more interest for me in the one which includes the Screenwriter, anyone who likes the feature at all is going to want to partake of both. How things were brought together from the source material is worth it for a start, but the storyline construction and obvious detail in the vision makes for solid interest in these tracks.
• “A Whole World of Hurt: The Making of Planet Hulk” featurette – There is a sense in which much of this is a repeat once you listen to the commentaries, but it’s a lot of fun to watch anyway. It’s somewhat standard for those familiar with a lot of Making Of featurettes, and this is probably best suited to those who know the graphic novel and want some explanation.
• “Let the Smashing Commence!: The Saga of Planet Hulk” featurette – Another spin on more or less the same idea, this one focuses more on the bigger picture of getting from graphic novel to final film.
• “Rise Up” Astonishing X-Men music video
• “Watch Your Step” Spider-Woman music video
• Wolverine and the X-Men: “Wolverine vs. Hulk” episode
• Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D motion comic – A bonus in the best sense of the idea, a full motion comic, and a very nice one at that. The idea of the motion comic DVD has progressed a bit since we first saw them make an appearance, and this is quite a good effort. You wouldn’t mind paying for this on its own.
• Astonishing X-Men: Gifted motion comic – Same thing again, only more and even better.

Both the Blu-Ray and standard disc versions also come with a digital copy.

Own it on DVD and Blu-Ray Today!

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