He’s big, he’s green, and in less than ten years he’s been played by three different actors. Marvel Comics has spent the last decade trying to find the best interpretation for their green goliath and have yet to strike it gold. Ang Lee tried in 2003 with Hulk, and Louis Leterrier in 2008 with The Incredible Hulk, or TIH as I will be referring to it. Now Joss Whedon is supposedly expanding on what Leterrier did with TIH in The Avengers this summer, again with a different actor playing Bruce Banner. These last few days I sat down and watched both Hulk and TIH to try and figure out what went wrong, what went right, and why the hell is Jennifer Connelly so hot?
A director is a captain of a ship on the high seas, and without a good captain things can go aria. Lee seemed to make his adaptation into its own comic book with lots of screen splits that bordered on annoying, Meanwhile, Leterrier played it dark, and almost a little sinister. Both men seemed to be coming from different source material, Leterrier more the 1970’s TV series, and Lee a bit closer to the comic books, but not close enough in my opinion. Neither film had the character of Rick Jones in it, the boy who is basically responsible for Bruce Banner’s condition. Sure his name was flashed in TIH and Bruce saved a young man by absorbing gamma rays in Hulk, but the character wasn’t Rick. If these director’s can’t even get the basics of the character right I’d say there isn’t much hope in the rest of their delivery.
These films had different actors portraying the same characters, and like the films themselves, seemed to be completely different. I will first give a point to Hulk for having Talbot as a character, but must give TIH a point for having Dr. Samson in the film. Both are classic Marvel characters that are related to the source material. My pick for the best General “Thunderbolt” Ross went to Sam Elliot in Hulk. He looked the part spot-on, and William Hurt’s interpretation of the character was all wrong. In the comic books Ross isn’t evil, he’s just angry. His job is to take down Banner because he feels he poses a threat, not to dissect him for personal gain. But Ross does take it personally because the man he hunts is also the love of his daughter’s life. Jennifer Connelly and Liv Tyler played sisters in the film Inventing the Abbotts, and they sure do look the part. This could be a good thing. Similar looks make the audience feel more familiar with a character when played by a different person. While both actress’s I feel did a decent job I think again I’m giving Hulk the win; mainly due to the chemistry between Connelly and her Bruce Banner.
Eric Bana and Edward Norton both bring the brilliant scientist who becomes his own Frankenstein’s monster to the big screen. Bana plays him perfect for Lee’s vision of Hulk. Bana’s Banner is shy and unsure of himself. These built up feelings started a split personality that comes out once exposed to his own gamma radiation. However, if you were to put a picture of Banner in the comic books next to a picture of Norton they would look identical. They both look very skinny and weak, and while Norton’s portrayal does seem more confident, his character has lived with the beast inside him for years, while Bana’s is just coming out. Connelly’s Betty Ross also seemed more confident, which played well off of Bana’s timid Banner. Norton and Tyler didn’t make a bad pair, but I could never see them together off screen. So who wins the battle of the Banner’s? I’ll call this one a tie.
So now to the big guy himself, which SFX team was more incredible? As far as looks I’m going with TIH. Their creation has more definition, a little rougher edges, and he looked kind of mean; which is why I could see why people would be afraid of him. In Hulk he looked more like a green marshmallow. As far as movements I think Hulk hopped around too much, and TIH not enough. At least Hulk got the speed right. TIH did kind of show that the creature can be intelligent, like using cars and metal as weapons, hinting that Banner may still be in there somewhere. Hulk showed that the angrier he gets the bigger and stronger he gets, just like in the comics. But TIH had a much better fight with the Abomination than Hulk did with what, Electric Dad? And while we’re at it, who let Nick Nolte out of his cage long enough to act? Anyway,I think in a fight Hulk may have the edge in strength and speed, but TIH may beat ‘em out in smarts and agility.
TIH was meant to be a sequel for Hulk, but was shifted to its own story, but with a little editing it could easily be thought of as a sequel. My objective in this writing was to figure out which film I liked best. Hulk followed the comics more closely, but obviously TIH fits into the Marvel films universe like it was made to be. I don’t think I’ll ever make up my mind. But maybe Joss, or Master Whedon as I would call him if I ever met him, has something new up his sleeve to please me; which he usually does. Mark Ruffalo has stepped into the shoes of Bruce Banner for this next one, and maybe the third one is a charm. I hope they do find a way to start a successful green franchise because I would love to see grey, red, and the one with Banner’s brain.
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