THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The 2000s was the most experimental decade for the superhero genre as studios were trying to figure out what would stick. Warner Bros. has Superman & Batman of DC Comics, 20th Century had X-Men and Sony had Spider-Man, but Universal stirred up the pot with the first theatric adaptation of one of Marvel’s most popular characters, the Incredible Hulk.
PLOT
The 2003 film shows genetic researcher David Banner working for the government to improve human DNA. He goes against protocol by doing human experimentation, particularly on his wife Edith (Cara Buono) and their son Bruce. When Colonel Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross discovers what he did, he immediately shuts down his research. David retaliates by rigging a gamma reactor to explode. When he gets home, he has a mental breakdown believing his son to be dangerous. He tries to kill him, but Edith intervenes and loses her life in the result of the stab wound. He would then get arrested and sent to a mental hospital, whereas his son would be adopted by a woman named Mrs. Krenzler (Celia Watson), taking her surname and suppress the memories of his life before adoption, believing his parents had died. 30 years later, Bruce would be working as a scientist at the Berkeley Lab with his girlfriend Betty Ross, Thaddeus' estranged daughter. He doesn't have a liking towards former colleague Glenn Talbot, who wants to use their research for the military industrial complex he works for. One day at work, Bruce becomes exposed to a massive dose of gamma radiation, which does not kill him like prior test subjects. Surprisingly, he feels healthier rather than sick. Late at night, he meets David for the first time in years, whose was able to infiltrate his life by working as a janitor. He does share to him of his real surname and suggests he has power within. He leaves him with nothing else to tell after already taking DNA samples from him, which he would use for animal experimentation. Once Bruce is checked out, he releases all the pent up anger and tension, resulting in him transforming into a giant green behemoth, a hulk. As the big green, he destroys the lab and even threw the gamma generator outside the building. When he returns home and reverts back to his normal self, wearing only a damaged pair of pants, he remembers nothing. Since the now General Thaddeus was overseeing the research in the first place and discovered that Bruce was the last person at the lab, he seizes the lab and puts him in house arrest. Betty does meet David for investigation purposes, since Bruce admitted he was there too. He does share what he told his son before asking her to leave his home. This would be his ruse as he stole her scarf. He intends to have her killed by his trio of dogs that he mutated with Bruce's DNA. He later calls Bruce at night, telling him what he did in order to coax him. Just after this call, Talbot confronts Bruce about the lab. Since Thaddeus ordered him to leave him alone, this would be his greatest mistake as him attempting to attack Bruce unleashes the Hulk. The monster inside breaks free after injuring Ross' MPs and Talbot. This gives him the chance to get to Betty in time and save her from David's 'gamma dogs'. When he reverts to normal again, Betty calls her dad the following day. Bruce would then be sedated and taken to Desert Base in New Mexico. Thaddeus has strong worry that he's following his father's footsteps, but Betty pleads to try helping him with his condition. His superiors then decide to place Bruce in Talbot's care, in hopes to understand how he becomes the monster within, hoping to later weaponize it. When Betty returns home, he is confronted by David, whose now gained the ability to meld with and absorb the properties of anything he touches after intentionally exposing himself to gamma radiation. He offers to turn himself in with the request of seeing hid son one last time in exchange. Bruce eventually breaks out of Desert Base after hulking out again and breaking free of an isolation tank, killing Talbot in the progress. With Thaddeus resuming command, he tries to hunt him down, but barely slows him down as he understands that he's returning to his home in San Francisco in hopes to reunite with Betty. His daughter convinces him to let her go to him, knowing that he'll calm down once he sees her. Once they reunite, he is placed under arrest again. By night, Bruce and David have their last conversation at a private base. With his new powers, David unleashes his megalomania persona when he tries to convince his son to use his power against his enemies. When he refuses, he bites into a high voltage cable. When Ross tries to incinerate him, he only absorbs the power. He then fights his hulk of a son at a secluded lake, hoping to absorb all of his power. Bruce surrenders his power to him, knowing it would be too immense to take all at once. His father explodes once Thaddeus orders a Gamma Charge Bomb to kill them bomb. Both Banners were presumed dead, but Bruce surprisingly survives the impact. A year later, Thaddeus keeps Betty under surveillance due to multiple Hulk sightings. Bruce is shown to be a medical camp doctor in the Amazon Rainforest. The film ends with him being confronted by pro government soldiers who try to steal his supplies, preparing to unleash Hulk once again.
THOUGHTS
As a kid who read many comic books and watched a bunch of superhero animated shows, I was bound to come around with this film. Despite having high expectations, I don't exactly hate nor love it. There are many things I do enjoy like Danny Elfman's exciting score and the way it's edited by Tim Squyres. The latter masters the feeling of a comic book atmosphere by creating actual panels throughout. Aside from that, the reason that I have respect for it is because Director Ang Lee delivers the most powerful dynamic of how we accept our power within and that the sins of the father do not always pass on to the offspring. Seeing both generations of characters, hero and villain, are able to be perfectly shown as two different sides of the coin. When we first see David Banner, the young Paul Kersey portrays him to be extremely passionate with his work, only to be riled up when it's taken from him and unleash the inner beast. The veteran Nick Nolte would then portray the older version of the character as one who admits to be demented from the get go. The second he found out how powerful his son was, he was only concerned of wanting it for himself, hence becoming the Absorbing Man in the process. It was downright disturbing that he had no regret for his actions and saw his son more of an object than a person. So when he gets himself destroyed, there is no shame in not feeling bad about it because he clearly never deserved any of the power. Considering how he insane he shows himself to be, it is a sweet relief that Bruce is nothing like that. Eric Bana does a great job at portraying him as a good hearted man who does not enjoy the damage he creates. He's not even an official hero in this story since he's not trying to be, but carries that instinct of selflessness at all times. And that becomes the greatest difference between him and his father. Of course, this movie wouldn't be so interesting without the monster everyone knows. Thanks to Lee providing motion capture, I was in awe every time the Hulk was onscreen. What this movie does different compared to what the MCU would later do is properly show the dynamic of him and Bruce being the comic book equivalent of Jekyll and Hyde because while the former wants to avoid harming others, the big green is so hot headed and dangerous that it will do what's necessary to be left alone. Whenever this beast was in action, you knew you were in for a treat. Whenever he fought the gamma dogs, tried retreating from Thaddeus, or just fucked shit up out of anger, you're still intrigued when also intimidated of what he can do. He does do the right thing when defeating his father, yet you still feel bad for him because you know he deserved a better beginning. Whenever we see the final flashback on how David tucks in a young Bruce, you just wish that happiness lasted forever. Nevertheless, it is good to know that despite the circumstances, Bruce will continue to show his good heart as a protector to those in need. While the good and evil dynamic between both Banners are keep me invested throughout, we still have a solid supporting cast to amp up the interest. I straight up love Jennifer Connelly for making Betty Ross the best girlfriend anyone can ask for. She is downright terrified of what Bruce became, but knew he never intended it to happen. She does her best standing by him because she knows how innocent he is in his situation and knows he deserves better. She loves him so much because she sees all the good within him and not the beast. Bruce loved her back because he admired the respect she displayed towards him. Although it may appear that they'll never reunite, I believe she is at peace knowing he's out there. With respect to William Hurt, I believe that Sam Elliot was way better at playing Thaddeus Ross. Aside from looking the part dead on, he makes a good impression by not making him the villain people would mistake him for. This is a guy that is worried of history repeating himself. He feels bad for Bruce and worries he'll make the same mistakes, but his endless worry is what makes him selfish. He has all the best intentions, yet hardly chooses to look at things in another perspective. And that is what drifted him apart from his own daughter. Seeing him act like that easy to hate him because he acts one dimensional with the situations he's involved with. If he does find Bruce, I'm sure it'll be another mess of a fight coming each other's way. Lastly, it was a treat to hate on Talbot because Josh Lucas does a great job making him beyond stingy with what he tends to do with his own experimentation. With the unspoken animosity he had with Bruce before he hulked out on him, he was already ruthless and only afterwards he had an excuse to show it off. I honestly laugh when he gets himself killed because that's what happens when you control things that are beyond comprehension. I give this movie more credit than it deserves, yet it still had a bunch of moments that held it back from being better. During the opening, it is interesting for David to notice that Bruce's skin briefly went green when angry, but how did Edith not ever notice? It's not like either parent taught him to control his emotions. I then wonder how has David been able to infiltrate Bruce for so long? I know his son doesn't suspect him to be around at first, but you know you're gambling when he's catching you watching him outside his home before you even intend to reveal yourself. And how was he allowed to have all three dogs come to work with him? Even if it's a night shift where not many would be bothered, and they appear to be trained, you're still risking that they could make a mess on accident. I know we need an excuse for Bruce to become the Hulk, but why would fellow scientist Harper (Kevin Rankin) work on the electrical field of the reactor without locking out. He's supposed to be a highly trained scientist, so he should've known that he unnecessarily put himself on the line. It was pretty convenient for Bruce to turn back to normal when going home after hulking out for the first time, but how did no one hear him or even spot him? Considering that he broke the door to get in, it's hard to imagine every neighbor ignoring the brief ruckus. I have said that I don't blame Thaddeus for believing Bruce to be a suspect, but how does he expect him to remember the death of his mother at age 4? Suppressed or not, that is a challenge to remember a memory so distant. Even I don't remember memories at that age. It makes for sense for Betty to call someone to help Bruce, but why her dad? The guy was suspicious of him from the get go and even if she convinced him to give it a chance, she should've reached out to someone who wouldn't have second thoughts. It is cool that Hulk got slowed down with containment foam, but why didn't they keep using it? The military would've saved themselves some bullets if they kept using the foam to time when to tranquilize/sedate him again. They could've loaded them onto the helicopters, but of course Thaddeus was more concerned of neutralizing him at this point. If there was anything Talbot was smart with, it was the foam. They even waste more bullets when shooting at David when he absorbs the electricity. Either these soldiers are trigger happy or just choose not to understand that you can't shoot at the invulnerable. Ignore this stuff and I believe you'll still be able to enjoy what's shown. In short, 2003's Hulk should be considered a cult classic of the superhero genre for being the most experimental at the time of its release. If you're a general fan of this genre, check it out when you can. If you didn’t like it, then I hope you enjoy the character’s evolution in the MCU.
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