Sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing, and nowhere is that more evident than in Hulk Vs. Many who saw 2003's Hulk complained about its lack of action in comparison to the introspective character development the film emphasized. For these viewers, the animated Hulk Vs. will probably be a welcome treat, for it's pretty much 90 minutes of nonstop fighting, screaming, and brawling between the not-so-jolly green giant and two other Marvel Comics icons. However, while the idea sounds great on paper, it comes across on film as rather tiring and repetitive. 

Actually, Hulk Vs. isn't so much one movie as it is two mini-movies sharing the same DVD space. Running at about 40 minutes each, both shorts feature henpecked scientist Bruce Banner (voice of Bryce Johnson) trying to keep his destructive alter ego, the Hulk (voice of Fred Tatasciore), in check. In "Hulk vs. Thor," power-hungry god Loki (voice of Graham McTavish) snatches up the Hulk and sets him on a rampage throughout the mystical land of Asgard. Luckily, the almighty Thor (voice of Matthew Wolf) is prepared to face his greatest foe yet to save his homeland from ruin. The second short, "Hulk vs. Wolverine," sees the Hulk raising a ruckus across the Canadian border. Dispatched to deal with the menace before things really get out of control is Wolverine (voice of Steve Blum), everyone's favorite claw-wielding anti-hero before his X-Men days. When some unsavory baddies from his past enter the picture, Wolverine finds himself joining forces with his prey in order to escape and live to fight another day.

The rising maturity seen in comic book epics like The Dark Knight and Watchmen has extended to animated features as well. Simply check out Justice League: The New Frontier or the Ultimate Avengers movies and you'll realize they're anything but kid's stuff. Instead, they aim to deliver sound and fury to their viewing audience, and in that respect, Hulk Vs. succeeds with flying colors. Nonstop action is the name of the game here, with both shorts consisting almost entirely of extended beatdowns between the Hulk and the hero of the hour. Granted, I'm as game for some superhero showdowns as most comic book nerds, but when that's all you get, things become very repetitive, very fast.

With no actual stories to speak of or ruminations on traditional superhero themes, Hulk Vs. boils down to  80 minutes of screaming and fighting. One could argue that this mindset was aimed more at kids than adult fans, but with as much violence as it contains, the movie seems a little too much even for grade-schoolers to handle. The problems appear worse in the "Hulk vs. Thor" short. Both vignettes have a standard "bad guys trying to harness the Hulk's power" background, but throw in a mythos as complex as Thor's, and more than a few difficulties arise. I didn't know what was going on half the time, since the filmmakers get precious little time to bring those viewers unfamiliar with the Thor universe up to speed. Casual viewers may be equally lost, although some eye-catching visuals are served up. The "Hulk vs. Wolverine" segment fares a little better, thanks to some dark humor provided by both Wolverine and the motley crew of mutants he goes up against. But without much else going on besides fighting, it too quickly grows dull, ending with a cheap cliffhanger to end all cheap cliffhangers.

For many viewers, the very novelty of seeing three Marvel icons going at it in a pair of vividly-drawn grudge matches is enough incentive to check out Hulk Vs. Pound for pound, it's more entertaining than recent animated comic book adventures like Superman: Doomsday, although that one at least tried to squeeze a story into its teensy time frame. Hulk Vs. thumbs its nose at plot altogether, a move that may result in less clutter -- but it also makes things a lot less interesting. 

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Lionsgate and rated "PG-13" for animated action violence.)