In 2003, Universal Pictures released Hulk, which was based off the Marvel character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Unfortunately, the film was not as successful as Marvel would've liked. Widely panned by fans, and simply 'meh'd' by the general public, it was a modest box office success. Despite these problems, Marvel and Universal still wanted to make a sequel. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the production was not started in time, and the filming rights reverted back to Marvel. Now that they had the character back, it was decided to reboot the franchise with a new director, cast, and a new direction. After convincing Louis Leterrier to direct, they set off trying to convince Edward Norton to play the title character of the movie, The Incredible Hulk.
Originally worried that no film could do the character he had loved from childhood justice, Norton was unsure. However, when he met with Leterrier and read Zak Penn's script, he agreed to join the cast, on the condition that he would get to rewrite large portions of the dialogue. After casting Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, and William Hurt, the movie was set for production.
Eventually, it was released on June 13, 2008, about a month after the release of the surprise smash-hit Iron Man. It was announced that both films would share the same universe, something no comic book movie franchise had ever done before. It opened strongly, but died down as the weeks went on. Over all, it was a moderate success, in that it made back its budget, but didn't exactly set the world on fire. Personally, I think part of the reason for this is too many people were confused on whether or not it was a sequel to Ang Lee's Hulk. The people who didn't like it were afraid to go see this because they were worried it would continue from a bad movie, and the people that did like it were afraid to go see this because they didn't want a reboot. It didn't help that Marvel was intentionally vague on the subject, with one of the producers going as far as to say it was a 'requel'. Another problem is that while the Bill Bixby show may have been popular, nowadays people aren't as into the Hulk as they once were. Hulk certainly didn't help, probably convincing people that the story would be too complicated for them. Now, a lot of this is just speculation on my part, but I think there's some ground to it. If you don't, that's fine, this is just me theorizing why the movie made such a small wave.
The critics weren't big fans either, as it got a 67% on Rotton Tomatoes, and a 61 on Metacritic. So this is basically a film where everyone has said "It's okay, but it isn't special." So what did I think of it?
I'm gonna be in the minority here, but I think this was the best single-hero film of Phase One. I know, it may seem weird, but hear me out. Let's start with what it does wrong, and get that out of the way.
The military is given a pretty negative portrayal here. Now I know a lot of people don't like the military, but as the son of a former soldier, I think I can provide a unique perspective. The military hates war. As strange as that may sound, it's true. No soldier wants to go into combat and kill people. All they want is to protect their country. Yes, they may not always have the right idea, but it's the American people who are foremost in their mind. As such, the idea that they want to capture Banner to use him to make weapons is a very poor script decision. Now I could buy that the military would go after him because they believe Hulk is a threat to public safety, but the idea that they want to make Hulk a weapon is both uninformed and underutilized. If they want him as a sort of deterrent, that would make sense, and be somewhat understandable. Sure, not everyone agrees with the idea of nuclear deterrent, but it would make sense. But we have no idea how they intend to use the Hulk. As such, it makes the military look like warmongers, which couldn't be further from the truth.
I will say that the film doesn't focus on this too much, and you do get the sense that part of the reason that Ross is hunting Banner is that he hurt his daughter, and probably made him look bad to his superiors. There's a lot of subtext there, but we may have to wait until the sequel to see it confirmed. Also, I think it's worth noting that after the fight with Abomination, the military gives up hunting Bruce. I think that once they saw just what they were getting into playing God, they realized it would be better to step away.
Now that I'm done with my soapbox, let's get to what makes the movie good. Edward Norton. Oh my goodness, what a perfect casting choice. This guy absolutely gets who Banner is, and what it's like to be in his position. It probably helps that not only is he a life-long fan of the character, from the comics to the show, but he also helped write the script. The guy just gels in every scene he's in, and from just the first 15 minutes, we have him completely figured out. The rest of the cast doesn't slouch either. Liv Tyler's chemistry with Norton is absolutely palpable, and she clearly is willing to do anything for him. Tim Roth is the bad guy you love to hate, and yet still understand. He wants to beat the ultimate challenge. He wants to stand toe-to-toe with the impossible and conquer it. That's not necessarily a bad trait, it's just aimed improperly, rather like the Hulk himself. Another neat thing was the way the movie acknowledges Hulk's history in pop culture. If you look for them, their are a lot of nods to Bill Bixby's show, whether it's the obvious 'Don't make me angry' joke, or the little tweaking of 'The Lonely Man' theme, or even just some visual nods, it's clear these guys wanted to take what made the show successful and run with it. I also love the nod to the Hulk: Ultimate Destruction video game when the Hulk rips apart a car and uses it as boxing gloves. But what about the big, green monster himself? He's actually given a very interesting portrayal here, as while Banner doesn't remember being the Hulk, it is still a part of him. The Hulk still wants to be left alone, and even more importantly, he still loves Betty. The problem is not that the Hulk is an uncontrollable monster, the problem is that Banner continues to fight him, and thus the Hulk remains uncontrollable. However, by the end of the movie, he transforms voluntarily to fight Abomination, and the Hulk doesn't harm anyone else (unless property damage counts). When he accepts it as a part of himself, the Hulk is able to do good. And of course by the end of the movie, he's figured this out and begins trying to transform, embracing the fact that he and the Hulk are two sides of the same coin. Then the movie ends with him wanting to transform, and succeeding. This was a brilliant character decision, and it was definitely the biggest reason the movie was as great as it was. This film was absolutely a stroke of genius, and it's a shame it wasn't more successful. Until next time with Iron Man 2, I'm James Picard and this has been another look back at Phase One.
Trivia:
Stan Lee cameos as the man who drank from the bottle that Banner's blood spilled into.
The military secretly revived the super-soldier experiments used during WW2, but with gamma radiation being tried as a substitute. Bruce Banner was brought onto these experiments, believing them to be attempts at reducing or negating harmful effects of radiation. These experiments instead turned him into the Hulk.
Stark Industries designed the sonic cannons used against the Hulk. Tony himself appears at the end of the movie, talking to Ross about building a 'team'. The short contained on the Captain America: The First Avenger DVD, 'The Consultant' reveals that Agent Coulson sent Tony in an attempt to sabotage his superiors plans to recruit Abomination.
Dr. Samuel Sterns may become The Leader, a popular villain from the comics known for his gigantic head, and equally large intellect.
S.H.E.I.L.D. allows Ross to use their databases to track down Mr. Blue.
Edward Norton was asked to play Banner in Ang Lee's Hulk, but turned it down after reading the script. He was interested in playing Banner in The Avengers, but contract negotiations fell through.
Lou Ferrigno, the actor who played the Hulk in the Bill Bixby show, returns to voice the character. He also cameos as the security guard Banner bribes with pizza.
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