Ang Lee's Hulk Appreciation Thread

[Lily Adler]

Discuss Ang Lee's Hulk starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly.

 

[Drunken Rider]

It's a Hulk movie....in a weird experimental way. The trailers hyped it up being the next Raimi Spider-Man. But in reality, the final product contains nothing but psychological imagery, childhood trauma, daddy issues, weird comicbook transitions, Jennifer Connelly's Betty Ross not giving a damn acting in her performance, Sam Eliot talking like if he was chewing a piece of steak while talking, the list goes on and on.

 

[Lily Adler]

It's a Hulk movie....in a weird experimental way. The trailers hyped it up being the next Raimi Spider-Man. But in reality, the final product contains nothing but psychological imagery, childhood trauma, daddy issues, weird comicbook transitions, Jennifer Connelly's Betty Ross not giving a damn acting in her performance, Sam Eliot talking like if he was chewing a piece of steak while talking, the list goes on and on.

A climactic battle where you couldn't tell what was going on.

 

[Captain Tired]

I love it. Hulk poodle for the win.

 

[whoknows]

yeah, i like this movie, but as was said, the ending was terrible, too dark and artyfarty, instead of the full on fight between hulk and absorbing man we should've got.
i never understood why people think the 'hulk smash' aspect was better in the marvel studios movie, there was hardly any hulk in that movie at all, much more hulk smashing in the ang lee film, apart from the ending, although the end fight with abomination was terrible too in the mcu version, a couple of punches and then swinging from a cgi helicopter, not a good one.

 

[Dr.]

A relatively recent (June 2023) retrospective and analysis.

'Hulk' Was Too Smart and Weird for Its Time

Twenty years after its release, Ang Lee's moody, decidedly non-spectacular comic book film is even more rewarding in the midst of superhero formula and fatigue.

www.gq.com

 

[Captain Tired]

Yeah you wouldn't get a movie like Ang Lee's Hulk, Burton's Batman Returns, or hell, even Singer's X-Men or Nolan TDK films nowadays. That we even got Reeves' Batman and Phillips' Joker, imo the only 'recent' superhero films that were idiosyncratic and reflective enough of the directors' vision that they could be considered analogous to those already mentioned, was a miracle born out of that perfect sweet spot moment where the DCEU had basically been given up on and left to drown, before WB ill-advisedly reached back in at the last second to give it CPR. Cinematic universes are the death knell for superhero films as personal, creative and unique as the ones mentioned already. Even both the MCU and DCEU themselves were both born out of fairly unique films that were never originally designed to be fitted neatly alongside other movies on an interchangable cavalcade.

 

[JoshB1980]

I liked some of the 2003 version, especially Nick Nolte's completely psychotic and selfish character, plus Jennifer Connelly's version of Betty Ross. But everything else just felt so mixed-up, on a lot of levels.

On a related note, I actually read the novelization by Peter David, around the time the film first came out. It was a lot better, actually, with much more humor. I remember at one point, General Ross and his daughter are having a conversation, and he asks her how she's getting people to cooperate with her. She responds with "Sexual favors", which prompts his response of "Betty!"

Seeing that kind of thing between Jennifer and Sam Elliot in the movie, would have been absolutely hilarious.

 

[AntonGobbs89]

I still remember seeing this awesome trailer in front of Spider-Man. Had no idea that a Hulk movie was coming. I was so excited at the time.

 

[AntonGobbs89]

Yeah you wouldn't get a movie like Ang Lee's Hulk, Burton's Batman Returns, or hell, even Singer's X-Men or Nolan TDK films nowadays. That we even got Reeves' Batman and Phillips' Joker, imo the only 'recent' superhero films that were idiosyncratic and reflective enough of the directors' vision that they could be considered analogous to those already mentioned, was a miracle born out of that perfect sweet spot moment where the DCEU had basically been given up on and left to drown, before WB ill-advisedly reached back in at the last second to give it CPR. Cinematic universes are the death knell for superhero films as personal, creative and unique as the ones mentioned already. Even both the MCU and DCEU themselves were both born out of fairly unique films that were never originally designed to be fitted neatly alongside other movies on an interchangable cavalcade.

Completely agree with you here. Superhero films just aren’t as interesting to me anymore when it’s entirely art by committee. 2000-2009 wasn’t a perfect era for superhero movies but every once and a while you got an X2, Spider-Man 2, or a Dark Knight. Films that pushed beyond the boundaries of what a superhero movie could be. I went to the re-release of Spider-Man 2 a couple of weeks ago and that movie has so much personality, and the drama at the center of it is genuinely moving and heartfelt. You only get that kind of a movie from a seasoned filmmaker.

I still don’t understand why in a world where superhero movies are making a billion dollars every other year there aren’t movies on the level of Spider-Man 2 coming out every year. They’re still a rarity for some reason.

 

[BobJM]

Lol I still like this movie. Would have loved to see the story continue.