Hulk (2003) --- "Guy Uses Pacemaker To Control His Big Green Alter Ego. It Doesn't Work Out So Good."

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Plot Summary

Eric Bana ("Black Hawk Down") stars as scientist Bruce Banner, whose inner demons transform him in the aftermath of a catastrophic experiment; Jennifer Connelly portrays Betty Ross, whose scientific genius unwittingly helps unleash the Hulk; Nick Nolte plays Banner's brilliant father, who passes on a tragic legacy to his son; and Sam Elliott portrays the commander of a top-secret military research center. (1)

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Review

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Hello, Movie Buffs! 

     I am not a comic book fan at all mostly because I just never really got into them but I do enjoy the film adaptations of comic books (i.e. MCU and DCEU). Their suits, gadgets/weapons, and/or powers are pretty awesome to see on the big screen. The Hulk is pretty cool because he is virtually indestructible, as seen in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and yet at the same time Hulk’s story is probably the most tragic of all his powers are more of a curse than a blessing. However, his attempt to dig deep into his own darkness doesn’t actually pan out in Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003), instead, it comes across as unexciting.

     The film itself is interesting and I admire Lee’s attempt in trying to do something a bit more interesting. The scenes with Hulk are exciting and enjoyable, though not much of a big spectacle and while the Hulk is a good special effect for 2003 but in the end, he is never more than a special effect. In other words, his action sequences are good but his close-up dialogue and character moments are lackluster, almost like he can’t muster up any sense of emotion even if it is anger or through his eyes. While he is technically amazing, on screen he did not exactly do what he needed to. Considering that the Director for Life of Pi (2012) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) directed this film, I must say that I was a bit disappointed.

     The ending of the film is a mess with father/son relationship issues, weird special effects explosions, and confusing scenes that are never explained. I guess they were holding out on the possibility for a sequel film to follow but from what we were given at this point it is clear that all logic was thrown out the window. Of course, this is my own personal opinion. I do like the idea that the Hulk is not only a giant, green, rage machine but he is also innocent and vulnerable like a child when he’s calm. He is kind of like a snake or a skunk, he only attacks when provoked, although he does become a mindless brute when he does attack. Almost like a child throwing a tantrum and sometimes you just have to let him wear himself out.

     Overall, Hulk (2003) is still a good film. The approach that Lee used was not necessarily bad I am not sure if this was done intentional or if it was due to how movies were made in 2003 versus 2017 but I can say that the film could have been done a lot better. I mean, personally, I don’t enjoy watching a film that uses the split screen technique, the kind you see in animated tv shows based off of comic book or anime. The special effects of the Hulk were okay but there was no realism to it. Again, I am not sure if that is because of the skill level of 2003 special effects but to me, he looked like a cousin to Shrek. But in the end, Hulk (2003) is still entertaining and it is above average for similar movies, however, Daredevil, Spiderman, and X-Men are much better. I suggest that you watch the film for yourself and come to your own opinion. Personally, I may not watch this film again but at the same time, I do not feel like I wasted my time watching it.

***Marvel Cinematic Universe (In order of how you should watch them)***

Iron Man (2008)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Thor (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Marvel's The Avengers (2012)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Ant-Man (2015)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Black Panther (2018)

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Captain Marvel (2019)

Untitled Avengers film (2019)

Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel (2019)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)

"Puny human."

- Hulk

Final Vote

Worth Seeing:  3 of 5 star

Worth Buying:  2.5 of 5 stars

I hope you liked this post, subscribe to my blog via email HERE, send in your comments, and watch Hulk (2003).

Movies Similar 

Ant-Man (2015)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Avengers (2012)
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers 3: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers 4: Untitled film (2019)
Black Panther (2018)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
Incredible Hulk (2008)
Hulk (2003)
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (2019)
Thor (2011)
Thor: Dark World (2013)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Cast & Crew

Directed by Ang Lee        

Writing Credits

     (Character) Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

     (Screenplay) James Schamus, John Turman, and Michael France

Produced by 

     Avi Arad                  ...      producer

     Kevin Feige             ...      executive producer

     Larry J. Franco      ...      producer

     Gale Anne Hurd    ...      producer

     Stan Lee                  ...      executive producer

     James Schamus     ...      producer

     Cheryl A. Tkach     ...      associate producer

     David Womark       ...      associate producer

Music by Danny Elfman

Cinematography by Frederick Elmes

Film Editing by Tim Squyres   

Casting By Avy Kaufman and Franklyn Warren        

Production Design by Rick Heinrichs           

Art Direction by John Dexter and Greg Papalia       

Set Decoration by Cheryl Carasik        

Costume Design by Marit Allen           

Cast:

Eric Bana                                    ...        Bruce Banner

Jennifer Connelly                    ...        Betty Ross

Sam Elliott                                  ...        Ross

Josh Lucas                                  ...        Talbot

Nick Nolte                                   ...        Father

Paul Kersey                                ...        Young David Banner

Cara Buono                                 ...        Edith Banner

Todd Tesen                                 ...        Young Ross

Kevin Rankin                             ...        Harper

Celia Weston                              ...        Mrs. Krensler

Mike Erwin                                 ...        Teenage Bruce Banner

Geoffrey Scott                            ...        President

Regina McKee Redwing        ...        National Security Advisor

Daniella Kuhn                           ...        Edith's Friend

Michael Kronenberg               ...        Bruce Banner as Child

David Kronenberg                   ...        Bruce Banner as Child

Rhiannon Leigh Wryn           ...        Betty Ross as Child