“Hulk smash little man.”
Twice the carnage and twice the fun, the Incredible Hulk takes on two other comic icons in this latest release from Lionsgate. First up is the mighty Wolverine and the results get bloody, then the Hulk is transported into Norse mythology to take on Thor.
Hulk vs. Wolverine:
Wolverine (Steven Blum) is brought in by the government when the Hulk (Fred Tatasciore) seems to go on a rampage across the countryside. Wolverine meets up with the green behemoth, but both are captured by the Weapon X team, Deadpool (Nolan North), Omega Red (Colin Murdock), Lady Deathstrike (Janyse Jaud), and Sabertooth (Mark Acheson).
When Wolverine awakens he’s in the clutches of the Professor (Tom Kane) who wants to use the Hulk in the Weapon X program.
Hulk vs. Thor:
In the mythical kingdom of Asgard the mighty Odin has to spend a winter in a state of sleep to recharge himself. In that time, his kingdom is vulnerable and all manner of evil beasts attack the city’s walls.
Loki (Graham McTavish), the god of Mischief, has always wanted to defeat his stepbrother Thor (Matthew Wolf). Only one time has Thor come close to defeat and that was when he fought the Hulk.
Loki brings the Hulk into the realm of Asgard and separates Dr. Bruce Banner from his green alter ego – taking control of the beast himself. However, when Loki looses the connection to the Hulk the beast rages rampantly through Asgard and sets his rage on the vulnerable Odin and sets a new Ragnarok in motion.
Both of the short films enclosed here are rated PG-13 so you might want to keep the smaller tykes out of the family room when viewing – there is some blood and brutality.
Fans will certainly go ape over the team up of Wolverine and the Hulk. I’d say that it’s the better of the two because of the coolness factor of seeing these two Marvel legends in battle.
That first adventure doesn’t get too bogged down in plot as it’s basically just the two doing battle. Thor on the other hand seems to suffer from an abundance of plot as well as the stilted King James dialogue the characters are spouting.
I’d also say that I was more familiar with Wolverine than Thor. Needless to say that both films had their good points, it’s just that I liked the simple smashing that the Wolverine episode offered.
Both features are presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) and are enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features for Wolverine include a commentary with producer/writer Craig Kyle and writer Chris Yost. There’s also another commentary with supervising director Frank Paur and animators Kevin Altieri and Butch Lukic.
Next is the 20 minute “This is going to Hurt” making of, the 8 minute “Fan Frenzy” look at the 2008 Comic-Con showing, and the 6 minute look at the “Wolverine and X-Men” series. Thor includes a commentary by Kyle and Yost again as well as a commentary from Paur and director Sam Liu and colorist James Peters.
The 18 minute “Of Gods and Monsters” looks at the making of the film, the 5 minute “Jack Kirby + Thor” is about the artist that first brought Thor to life, and a 4 minute first look at “Thor: Tales of Asgard.” Both discs feature trailers for other Lionsgate DVDs. ***image5:cetner***
Both films have much to offer, but I liked the simplicity of the Wolverine episode. You may want to watch Thor first because they appear to flow better together that way (I’d imagine Wolverine is first because of the popularity of that character). There are some great special features that top off this great package.
Hulk Vs. (Two-Disc Special Edition) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a Feb. 16th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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