Hulk Vs – Blu-ray Review

Hulk smashes Wolverine, Thor, and several other Marvel Comics characters in this double feature Blu-ray – which includes Hulk Vs. Wolverine and Hulk Vs. Thor. Just as the title sounds, this is a straight forward animated throw down with a couple of Marvel Comics’ biggest stars.

Both films look good and follow the same style of animation that have been in "Marvel Animated Features" straight to DVD releases – such as Ultimate Avengers, The Invincible Iron Man, and Dr. Strange. Both stories have some faults, but comic fans will enjoy seeing the Hulk do what he does best, and seeing the added Marvel characters thrown in his path.

Hulk Vs. Wolverine:Hulk Vs. Wolverine is the bloodier of the two PG-13 rated movies. I mention that first because I made the mistake of watching it with my five-year-old son who loves Hulk, Wolverine and Thor. While it is never extremely bad, parents should be prepared to see arms getting cut off, blood spraying across the screen, and lots of Woverine slashing into people with his claws. It also has several dark moments where Wolverine is created into a killing machine by the people at Weapon X.The film’s plot basically follows Wolverine on an assignment to stop the Hulk and getting caught by a band of Weapon X mercenaries (including Deadpool, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Omega Red) that have been tracking the green monster. It seems Weapon X wants to use Hulk, and the fact they get Wolverine back is just a bonus.When Wolverine wakes, it doesn’t take long for him to break loose and remind the program how dangerous their little creation was. Matters go from bad to worse when Wolverine lets Hulk out to join the party.The 37-minute feature is filled with action and at times focuses more on Wolverine and his Weapon X past than the Hulk. Fans of the comics will find plenty to love in the film (Deadpool steals the show), and it does a good job at getting Wolverine junkies ready for his big screen origin film that arrives in May.

Hulk Vs. Thor:Hulk Vs. Thor is as action packed as the other Hulk feature, but has less blood flying around the screen. Parents might find it a bit safer for the little ones to watch – although my five-year-old found it boring about halfway through the movie and lost interest. Like Hulk Vs. Wolverine, the story is pretty straight forward. Odin is having his rest time leaving Thor to protect the realm of Asgard. This normally sees Thor and his pals taking on trolls and other mythological bad guys, but not anything that can truly challenge them. Loki has other plans and captures the Hulk to use as the weapon that will destroy his brother Thor and put him on Odin’s throne. Loki uses magic to gain control of Hulk (ripping Bruce Banner out of the green monster) and then sends him on a path of destruction that ends with an epic showdown with Thor.The 45-minute movie isn’t as good as Hulk Vs. Wolverine, but will still please Marvel fans. It left me hoping Marvel Comics can get the live-action big screen Thor adventure off the ground and done right.While still not as impressive as some animated releases, the two films are in line with what "Marvel Animated Features" has done with Marvel's classic superhero characters in the past and look great on Blu-ray. I don’t think there is anything special that would make you want to pick the Blu-ray format over the cheaper DVD version, but you won’t be disappointed with the format’s picture and sound. Both films come with commentary by the creators and “making of” features. Although both films have some problems and could have been better, Hulk Vs. are two fun movies that comic fans will enjoy. The movies’ creators know fans are going to watch for the action and make sure to pack plenty of punches into each story. Overall, I enjoyed the movies and would recommend them to anyone who liked past "Marvel Animated Features" releases.