Hulk Movies

Hulk certainly had problems. Far too long a build up. We had all that stuff exploring his childhood at the beginning that wasn't really needed and then even more protracted stuff with him as an adult. The last fight was weak too, but the rest was pretty good in my opinion.
I'm not sure why people make fun of the gamma dogs, stupider things have shown up in the comics and Hulk dogs seem to be in line with stuff that gets thrown at the Hulk.
I also really enjoyed Incredible Hulk, it spent far less time messing around and just got straight to the story.
I felt Hulk seemed stronger (although, not as resilient) more like a force of nature you couldn't stand against, but Incredible Hulk's fight scenes were better and he seemed to be truly angry, not caring if he happened to kill them, unlike Hulk who specifically was shown to go out of his way not to kill.
My only problem is that Incredible Hulk didn't have that force of nature feel, he was strong but not so much that he couldn't be overcome, he only won because of skill, so to speak, rather than because of pure power.
Which I can understand for Abomination maybe, since he's meant to be stronger than the Hulk (until the Hulk gets really mad) but against the army it was a little odd and to have it twice in one movie just made the Hulk seem weaker that he should have.

I've seen both movies,own the latest one and I have to say I enjoyed both of them. Then again Hulk is one character I'm not that uptight about when he's changed for film. (I grew up on The Incredible Hulk Reruns and tv movies afterall! )

I liked both for different reasons, but the first film had about 3 seconds of footage that impacted me more than anything else in either movie. At the time, I was a new father. At the end of the movie when there is the climactic battle going on, they show a scene of young Bruce's dad tucking him in at night and giving him a kiss. That moment was like a slap in the face and I just felt it. I got emotional and thought to myself: this relationship is just so...damaged. That one tiny scene made everything else terribly tragic in my mind. I never forgot it or the impact it had.

The first movie had it's moments, but as a whole, the second is superiorly structured as a film to display the Hulk.

There is a reason the Marvel Studios movies have been doing well, and it isn't just that they are taking time with budget. It is their own content that they know intimately.

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Originally Posted by JayboH Yep, I have some similar thoughts. The first movie wasn't designed for fans of Michael Bay unlike the second.

That's just insulting. And I mean that.

Hulk vs. Incredible Hulk...hmm

I agree with another poster HULK seems to be Director wanted this Studio wanted That. Story wise I have to say I am bias from the point of view of a person who has *coughs* Daddy issues *Cough*. I relate to this Banner more and even now after many many years there are days I want to just HULK out and bash something just to smash. Could it have been done better yes. But was the movie bad no, the ending I agree SUCKED the battle in the clouds what lost me there. The Hulk poodle I don't agree with either why? Not because they Hulk but what makes the Hulk HULK is Rage. So why were three dogs so angry they Hulk but yet so controlled by there Master they didn't just attack him? That basic idea just makes it seem the Gama power what makes them Hulk not the emotional dam braking. When the movie and idea, that yes he has this power but it's the release of the emotional stress that triggers the change. Such wouldn't be the case for the Hulk dogs.

Incredible Hulk I think wasn't made for a more Bay feel but geared for a Younger group. The Target audience I think was more for children so the Heavy emotional issues were lightened up. If taken with that view it's understandable to more Mature Viewers that Incredible is less story and more HULK SMASH.

All in all Hulk was story telling about a Man with Issues and weak on a true Action Climax (thought I do like how he bashed the tanks). Incredible is about Action and a lighter story for younger targeted demographic to boost sales of Movie related Items (Toys).

Well, I own both the movies to date and I always find it a shame that they can't keep a consistent lead actor for the role. If Edward Norton hadn't been reportedly so very difficult on Incredible, I would've been very pleased to see his Banner go to the big screen again.

But there's plusses and minuses on both films. On Hulk, the plusses are the visual style and the obvious thought given to the character of not only Banner but those around him. Betty is elevated to a scientist character, General Ross is a military man but not a brute, and Talbot is an ambitious guy whose greed exceeds his reach.

The Hulk himself is superb. Capable of real emotion and excellent physicality (my personal highlight will always remain the leaping through the desert scene, it's just perfect Hulk for me) and he fights dirty with the Hulk dogs. Eric Bana plays his sense of repressed rage brilliantly and Nick Nolte in rare form as his foil is just wonderfully unhinged.

On the minus side of things, we have the Hulk Dogs (really unnecessary) and just a real lack of resolution. Having the Hulk's rage manifest in Absorbing Man/Banner was anti-climactic. The comic book panel style of storytelling was a distinct visual choice to make and it works sometimes, it doesn't work others. The major problem here was reinterpreting the character's roots and trying to make it a properly adult movie, which is fine, but even Christopher Nolan realised you needed a Batman Begins before you could do a Dark Knight.

Overall, Hulk is a flawed and ambitious movie, but when it gets it right, it gets it perfectly.

Incredible Hulk sort of goes the other way. The casting is a huge plus; Ed Norton is the Banner I think many people have in their minds' eye. Vastly intelligent, tortured by his power, wanting to get rid of it rather than harness it. No massive repressed childhood trauma, just a guy who can get really angry, and the gamma affecting his amygalda in his brain is a simple and effective explanation. Liv Tyler is a great and passionate Betty, and John Hurt's desperate General Ross is effective. Tim Roth almost steals the show as Blonsky/Abomination. He throws himself into that role and it shows, all the way.

The minuses are primarily to do with the Hulk. He seems limited, really. The tenacity, the signature powers (especially the Hand Clap, which is a favorite of mine) and the 'angrier getting stronger' theme are there, but I think the CGI Hulk suffers a bit from Norton's insistence to do all the motion capture himself and inject 'character' moments into the performance. It threatens to break the immersion of the Hulk being something a bit seperate from Banner for mine. But you can level this at Ang Lee, who also did the motion capture instead of Eric Bana, which I thought was a mistake.

The CGI here is lacking, really. He's bursting with veins and is all very 70's Hulk (take a look at how he was drawn back then and you'll see what I mean) but you don't have to overdo it, especially considering how he'll appear in The Avengers against the cleaner lines of Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Take the original 2003 Hulk and give him a little more definition, and I think you'll have something very good. If ILM gets to come back and render Hulk, then we'll see something good.

Incredible lacks depth as a story, unfortunately. But then by and large I've felt all the Marvel Studios movies to date do as well, with the exception of Thor which was deftly and subtly handled by Kenneth Branagh. We race through the origin story in the credits of Incredible, rely on lots of nods to the tv series, and then it gets capped off by Norton and the studio unable to come to terms for any further work together.

That's what really hurts both movies in the end; Robert Downey Jr. gets to flesh out and have fun as Tony Stark; Chris Hemsworth gets a chance to be charming and heroic as Thor; and Chris Evans has proven he's got the charisma to stand out as Captain America. Even Scarlet Johansen gets to show she has layers to Black Widow. What Hulk doesn't get is an actor who gets to explore the evolution of the Banner/Hulk dynamic, and Mark Ruffalo is really just there to wait until he Hulks Out.

Maybe Joss Whedon can give him some moments, I am hoping so. But someone needs to come to the Hulk property as an actor and have the passion that Norton did but not the ego.



S.