Hulk (2003)

Unleash the hero within.

Interesting seeing this again after just seeing the later The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton.

This film seems to be poorly received by some, but I prefer it, probably for the reasons others reject it. It is a much more ambitious film than than its successor, attempting, properly, I would argue, to characterise the Hulk as a physical representation of Banner's psychology, in Freudian terms, of his id, his anger, in the manner of the monsters in the SF classic Forbidden Planet. The director makes a pretty good stab at it.

Eric Bana presents a stronger, more robust Banner than Norton's perpetually damaged, timid, crestfallen, waifish portrayal. He's a strange choice in a way, as he doesn't have a particularly expressive face, thought perhaps that could be seen as an advantage, strengthening his resemblance to his animated muscular alter-ego.

Jennifer Connelly is very good in the role of Betty Ross, giving her the requisite attributes of intelligence, goodness, sensitivity, steadfastness, and extraordinary beauty. The power she has over the Hulk, because of his strong feelings for her, are credible, and reminiscent at times of Beauty and the Beast, or King Kong and the girl. Sam Elliott is perfect in the role of Betty's father, General Ross.

This film, being first, shows the origin story, which is interesting and credible enough, being updated from the original comic-book version to contain DNA and nano-technology. The mystery of the childhood nightmares of the two protagonists is intriguing and well-handled.

The only fly in the ointment is perhaps the somewhat confusing nature of the finale, with the character played by Nick Nolte, and the father-son theme, absent from the original comic-books as far as I recall.

My ten-year old son prefers this film to its successor. He loves the action sequences.

• Rating: High matinee
• When seen: 3 Feb 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Amendments: Added writer tags: "Michael France, John Turman, James Schamus"; actor tags: "Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Nick Nolte, Josh Lucas". Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.