Hulk

Released 2003
Stars Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte
Directed by Ang Lee

The Hulk is rare among Marvel superheroes in that his powers are a curse, not an advantage. When rage overcomes Dr. Bruce Banner and he turns into a green monster many times his original size, it is not to fight evil or defend the American way, but simply to lash out at his tormentors. Like the Frankenstein stories that are its predecessors, "Hulk" is a warning about the folly of those who would toy with the secrets of life. It is about the anguish of having powers you did not seek and do not desire. "What scares me the most," Banner tells his only friend, Betty Ross, "is that when it happens, when it comes over me, when I totally lose control, I like it."

Ang Lee's "Hulk" (the movie's title drops "the") is the most talkative and thoughtful recent comic book adaptation. It is not so much about a green monster as about two wounded adult children of egomaniacs. Banner (Eric Bana) was fathered by a scientist (Nick Nolte) who has experimented on his own DNA code, and passed along genes that are transformed by a lab accident into his son's hulkhood. Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) is his research partner; they were almost lovers, but it didn't work out, and she speaks wryly of "my inexplicable fascination with emotionally distant men." Her cold father is General Ross (Sam Elliott), filled with military bluster and determined to destroy the Hulk. 

Summary by Roger Ebert

I was disappointed with the "Hulk," but I think I might like it more if I watched it again. I did go back and watch a few scenes and found them more fun the second time, but there were some fundamental problems with the film. There are so many moments when Ang Lee pays tribute to the classic monster movies, "King Kong," "Frankenstein," etc., that it doesn't seem original. The other problem is was when the Hulk finally emerges, it quickly turns into a standard story about the military trying to kill a monster, but it's not much fun to root against the US military today. I was thinking my brother could be in one of those tanks, and he could be killed while following orders to protect his country. It's just bad timing for such a fight, so I didn't find the action exciting. Instead, I was cringing, wondering if the soldiers were going to get killed. To the movie's credit, the Hulk usually tried not to kill them, so probably only a few died. Still, I want a good villain, and I think it will be a long time before the US military becomes a good villain again. I wouldn't consider 3 hulk dogs good bad guys, either, since they're just doing what they were told to do (like the soldiers). His father, on the other hand, makes a good villain, but how fun is it to watch a father and son try to kill each other? Another big problem is the Hulk doesn't appear for 45 minutes, and that's way too long. Especially since the opening scenes are repetitive and not as emotionally charged as I expected from Ang Lee. I think he would have done a fantastic job with Daredevil, but unfortunately just a mediocre job with the "Hulk." --Bill Alward, November 1, 2003