I’m gonna be honest with you; I remembered this movie as being kind of terrible. So imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch it, only to discover that it’s actually quite good. Ang Lee’s Hulk trades in the basic green-eyed monster shtick for the psychological horror influences that have defined many of the best Hulk runs in the comics. It’s visually dated in some respects, but also benefits from Lee’s novel visual storytelling. It’s overall one of the stronger superhero movies to come out of the era preceding the 2008 superhero boom.

Story of Hulk

The Hulk isn’t exactly an obscure character. I would wager that many people have at least a passing familiarity with the Jade Giant due to the tv show alone.

In fact, I’d imagine most people reading this know many of the basics: a seemingly-weak scientist, a gamma-powered accident, and an emerald monster powered by rage. And all of that is present. So are many other classic elements of the Hulk mythos, such as love interest Betty Ross, and an antagonistic military unit led by her father, General “Thunderbolt” Ross.

But Ang Lee’s Hulk isn’t overly interested in those familiar trappings. Instead, it asks “Why?” What creates a “monster” like the Hulk? To understand the answers to that question, the audience has to look back in time, into the past of Bruce Banner.

Themes of Hulk

Hulk is an allegory on trauma-based mental illness.

This film expands on why anger causes Bruce to become the Hulk. Betty theorizes that it isn’t the anger itself, but rather how anger is triggering a reaction based in repressed traumatic memories. The Hulk is a response to PTSD (or something related) rooted in childhood trauma, not a simple rage monster. In Ang Lee’s Hulk, mental trauma is no less real than physical injury, equally capable of creating the physiological reaction that brings forth the Hulk.

This is supported by the Hulk being tied to a specific door in Bruce’s psyche. Beating Bruce up or trying to incite anger isn’t enough. The Hulk only comes out to play when Bruce is cornered in such a way that he flashes back to that one particular day and one particular room. The Hulk was born specifically from David Banner’s murder of Edith Banner (his own wife and Bruce’s mother), not general anger.

We also get some commentary on family abuse and childhood trauma. Bruce’s father never acknowledges his culpability in creating the Hulk. Even when he reveals the real story behind that terrible day, he’s centering his own feelings regarding the evil he perpetrated. He still reflects on his conviction that Bruce was a monster, even though every element of the Hulk traces back to David’s actions exclusively.

Even General Ross touches on the topic, acknowledging his own culpability in failing to help the younger Bruce when he sent his father away. The Hulk represents a failure of society, a product of old trauma compounded by subsequent neglect. Ultimately, the solution to the Hulk isn’t to fight it, as that only magnifies the underlying problems. Instead, it’s to engage with the Hulk as the underlying person on a human level.

Cast of Hulk

Bruce Banner

I don’t actively dislike Eric Bana as Bruce, but he’s a TERRIBLE physical match for the role. Bruce Banner should not be a conventionally attractive, 6’2 leading man. It really messes with the juxtaposition of Banner and the Hulk when the nerdy scientist already looks like an action hero.

Setting that aside, Bana does okay in the lead role. He’s not reaching much beyond “milquetoast scientist with anger-management issues” though.

Betty Ross

Jennifer Connelly gives the single strongest performance in the film, partially because she gets a lot more to do than most of the other characters. She balances determination, curiosity, and vulnerability. Betty is a very active part of the narrative, hunting down Bruce’s origins while also juggling her own family problems. Her actions drive several major points of the film. Hulk may be about Bruce, but Betty is a much more active participant in the plot.

Thunderbolt Ross

I’ll never not enjoy Sam Elliott. Even when he’s playing a generic military man who can only see military solutions to problems. Ultimately, this iteration of Ross is much more sympathetic than many others. His actions are generally more rational and understandable, even if they’re often wrong.

David Banner

Look, if it’s 2003 and you need an aging father figure/mad scientist, Nick Nolte is going to be top of the list. It’s the Nick Noltiest of roles. But that sells the performance a little short. Nolte’s balancing act incorporates scientific acumen and sincere concern for Bruce, but with an underlying rage and entitlement. It enriches what could be a very generic villain.

Glenn Talbot

Josh Lucas is playing a fairly one-note character here. As a sleazy avatar of the military-industrial complex, he works, but he’s not given much to do outside those parameters.

Production Quality

Visuals

Hulk is one of the best looking films to come out of the pre-MCU era superhero genre. And it’s not really the visual effects work, although that has held up surprisingly well. Rather, it’s Ang Lee’s grasp of editing, coupled with cinematography, that lends the film its unique flavor.

Lee employs a lot of quick cuts, zooms, and split-screen shots in this film. This mimics the panel layouts of actual comic books, tying the film to the source material in ways beyond the subject matter.

I don’t mean to say the effects work isn’t good. There are places where it is. But there’s a weak link, and it’s unfortunately a rather big one; The Hulk just doesn’t look very good.

Surprisingly, it’s not the CGI model that’s the issue. It’s a little too green, and not quite as realistic as later films would manage, but it’s fine. The bigger issue is the animation of the CG model. It’s stiff and unrealistic. The model looks fine at rest, but it isn’t rigged for realistic muscle movement. Everything looks as though it’s being flexed to maximum tension all the time, which really throws off the viewer even if they don’t realize what exactly is happening. This is only blatantly obvious in the Hulk’s first scenes, however. Subsequent sequences look MUCH better.

Oh, and the CGI dogs look terrible.

Music

I actually really enjoy Danny Elfman’s score for Hulk. It feels similar to his contemporaneous work with Sam Raimi for Spider-Man, but with an appropriately darker edge. The main theme incorporates atonal note progressions that drive home the unnatural nature of the proceedings. It’s fitting for the story, but also relatively memorable.

Conclusion

Ang Lee’s Hulk released too soon. It happened in a world that wasn’t quite ready to treat a story from a comic book as a serious commentary on important issues. Earlier films to attempt this always still had at least one foot in the fantastic or camp (e.g. Blade, X-Men). But Hulk goes all in on the drama.

It may not have been appreciated in its time, but it’s worth reconsidering now. It still stands as a relatively unique take on superhuman entities, and it develops its central metaphor well. The CGI May be dated, but the overall visual style sets it apart from most of the subgenre. Ultimately, the age holds Hulk back from elite status, but it’s still ranked surprisingly high on my list.

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