Comic Book Movies 101: The Hulk

• 14th Feb 2011

Hulk (2003)

Having seen Ang Lee’s Hulk on its original release I have to admit that I found it poor to say the least. Happily I can report that this opportunity to re-investigate the film has resulted in a newfound appreciation for this much maligned entry in the Marvel catalogue.

The film centers on Dr. Bruce Banner and his ongoing experiments with Gamma rays and their ability to cure the sick. The opening of the narrative provides a back-story as we see David Banner (a radical scientist) actually experiment on his son, young Bruce, to prove his theory. After being arrested by Military Police the story moves forward to the now grown Dr. Bruce Banner and his on-going work in the same field. An accident involving Gamma rays results in Banner becoming somewhat problematic when enraged. The birth of the Hulk has the military tracking Banner for the secret to his transformation with an eye at its capacity in warfare. Banner is now a hunted man with his lady love Betty Ross’ father as his main adversary.  Sadly for Bruce his father is also back in the guise of The Absorbing Man who is looking to his son’s DNA to stabilize his own experiments on himself.

Originally I did not enjoy this version of theHulk, but having seen so many poor Marvel pictures since, I have to admire Ang Lee’s total dedication to capturing the essence of the character. As in the original comic series Bruce Banner does not ask to be a marauding green monster. The prison of his rage is something imposed upon him by circumstance and Lee attempts to capture this heartache with excellent results.

The addition of the insane father is handled well by the disheveled Nick Nolte. The mutated dogs and his transformation into the Absorbing Man, while well done, are sadly factually wrong as regards the Marvel universe. The brilliant Sam Elliot is as excellent as always as the non compromising General Ross which is simply not the case with the insipid Jennifer Connelly as his daughter Betty.

Eric Bana takes the role as far as he can as unfortunately any attempt to make the hulk post Lou Ferrigno will always be hampered by the CGI monster.  This computer generated Hulk does have its problems as the effects leave a little to be desired on the whole. But as the option of painting a mountain of muscles green really isn’t feasible anymore we are stuck with what we have.

The most admirable part of Ang Lee’s vision for this film is his attempt to replicate the feel and look of the panels that make up a comic book. He used wipes, split screen and dissolves that undoubtedly give the viewers the feel of moving your eyes across an actual comic book page.  I doubt this actually helped the overall appeal of this version with the average viewer who simply wants more footage of the Hulk throwing various objects.

Not a perfect film by any stretch, time has undoubtedly been a good thing for Hulk. The intelligence and commitment of the creative team behind this film is wholly on display.  Sadly Marvel has moved away from this more involved comic book process in recent films to a more accessible narrative for the masses.  This Hulk deserves a great deal of plaudits and for those like myself who dismissed this version on its original release I recommend you take a moment and try it again.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

After the poor reception for the Ang Lee helmed Hulk in 2003 Marvel decided for a straight up re-boot with this The Incredible Hulk. Replacing Eric Bana in the central role is Edward Norton, who was in fact considered for the part originally. The other critical changes are William Hurt and Liv Tyler playing the key roles of General and Elizabeth Ross. This time around the writers have gone for the Hulk’s greatest adversary in the shape of Emil Blonsky aka The Abomination played by Tim Roth.

The opening title sequence takes care of establishing the Gamma overload experienced by Bruce Banner as we see the experiment going wrong (with essences of the 80’s TV show). After transforming into the Hulk, his anger results in the unintentional injury of Betty Ross. Banner is then on the run as the action moves to him hiding out in the Brazlilan favelas. His life is now dedicated to finding a cure for his condition as he corresponds via the internet with a doctor in the USA. He has taken to attempting control of his anger by meditation and training with one of the legendary Gracie brothers.  But due to a mistake at work his location becomes known to General Ross who dispatches a team lead by Blonsky to ensure his capture and return. Cue the green wrecking machine entering the film and much destruction ensues. Emil Blonsky is consumed by his adversary and moves to have his own DNA altered to ensure he can match the Hulk in every way. Ultimately Banner is forced to unleash his anger in its Hulk form to save the world from the mutated Abomination that threatens to destroy everything in his path.

The introduction of Tim Roth as Blonsky is a masterstroke as he truly delivers in terms of the super-villain. Norton is not exactly perfect but his dedication to capturing the tortured essence of Bruce Banner is a plus for the film after the somewhat disconnected Eric Bana performance in Hulk.  Tyler is a huge improvement of the zombified Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt is fine as her father. The writers have this time stayed away from the philosophical approach to its predecessor, opting instead for a hybrid between the classic comic book Hulk and the recent Playstation version.

The narrative is acceptable as it moves along at a nice pace providing just enough character development with the usual action and destruction necessary.  The main problem once again comes courtesy of the CGI special effects. For the most part the Hulk CGI is better than the original but the final showdown between both computer generated monsters is visually poor to say the least.

Marvel has still to nail the Hulk down in film like they have with Spiderman. This installment like its predecessors has both good and bad in equal amounts. It remains very watchable but not as gripping as I hoped it would be.  The action is acceptable and they have also allowed for a possible sequel with Tim Blake Nelson becoming The Leader. Perhaps it will be third time lucky for the franchise but we will have to wait until after The Avengers where mark Ruffalo will become the third Bruce Banner in as many films for the big green wrecking machine.

 Aled Jones