The Hulk For Grown Ups Bruce: You found me.
Betty: You weren't that hard to find.
Bruce: Yes I was.
Wow! Just, wow! This short exchange after The Hulk transforms back into David Banner after a rampage against the US military conveyed so much depth of how Bruce gets completely consumed when The Hulk takes over.
If anyone has ever let their own "Hulk" take over even once in their life, you will know the feeling. Whether you've smashed your keyboard to bits, or destroyed that "easy to assemble" flat pack furniture with the incomprehensible instructions having spent an entire day trying to put it together, or gone into uncontrollable road rage, in the moment, your rational self is gone. The Bruce Banner in you who knows that you're only harming yourself, that you could hurt someone, or frighten your loved ones, or end up injured or in jail is long gone because when you completely lose control and as a result your rational self is locked away, it.....just.....feels....good, to lose yourself in the rage. It's like an out of body experience.
And when the mist has faded away and you see how counter productive your rage really is, then comes the regret, the self reflection and the realisation that as good as it feels to totally lose control, you should never allow that to happen.
For me, this is the essence of why The Hulk is one of the most beloved characters in superhero mythology especially in more adult comic book fans. The Hulk is a truer representation of our struggle with our inner self than any other superhero.
Ang Lees 2003 Version for me showed the pure, visceral, intense rage of The Hulk on one hand, and the calming effect of Betty Ross on the other. The back story and trauma behind the rage of the Hulk was portrayed sympathetically.
On the other hand the MCU gives us a truly moronic lullaby, and a Hulk making cocktails and taking selfies. As much as She Hulk dunks on the character of The Hulk, Waititis Thor: Ragnarok is for me the worst MCU offender out of the lot. Ragnarok is where The Hulk is turned into a total clown, a truly pathetic joke, a laughing stock. No wonder he got slapped around by Thanos within minutes. Hulk had already been beaten into submission by Marvel Studios long before Thanos got his hands on him.
Don't get me wrong, I started out really liking Mark Rufalos Hulk. The first half of the first Avengers movie was pretty much perfect. The Hulks rage just bubbling below the surface. The intensity of Rufallos "DON'T LIE TO ME" and the look of fear in Romanoffs eyes who just a few scenes before single handedly took apart a bunch of crooked Russian military personnel. The other Avengers apprehensive and fearful of The Hulk being unleashed. But Marvels need to turn every single storyline into a child friendly lighthearted joke just led to the gradual clownification of The Hulk. Over subsequent installments of the MCU I was just left shaking my head and by Endgame I despised his version intensely long before She Hulk came along. She Hulk only dumped all over The Hulk as a result of the preceding dumpfest already initiated by Marvel.
Even though Marvel were unable to release a Hulk Move due to distribution rights issues with Universal Studios, they nevertheless had a Hulk story arc running through the MCU movies. Almost a movie within a series of movies which showed the Hulk in a pretty pathetic light. In a way I am thankful that Marvel were unable to release a standalone Hulk movie as I shudder to think of the abomination they would have produced. No pun intended.
So I, and it seems many other Hulk fans have done a full circle, and returned to watching the 2003 and 2008 movies having realised that the Hulk we'd been waiting MCU to come up with was dead on inception.
I have now come to appreciate both the 2003 and 2008 versions even more than I already did. For me though Ang Lees version has always been my personal favourite even when 20 years ago everyone seemed to be trashing it.
The acting was top notch by all. The action scenes were fed in small, yet extremely powerful doses and showcased the raw savagery of the Hulk. Just compare the 2003 Hulks hammer throw of the tank across the desert to the first Avengers Hulk punch of the Leviathans. One exuded power, ferociousness and realism, the other looked unrealistic and cartoonish.
Even the SFX which were lambasted at the time look far more fluid. I may be wrong but it feels as though the MCUs Hulk was pure animation whereas Ang Lee himself did the Hulks action scenes which were motion captured.
The music by Danny Elfman was haunting yet beautiful and just stands out from the typical action hero generic soundtracks.
Is Ang Lees 2003 Hulk a perfect movie? Of course not. But what I'm giving this movie full marks for is the effort by Ang Lee and the respect shown to not only the character of The Hulk, but also the fans.
Having watched Mark Ruffalos interviews, I'm also beginning to think that either he never got The Hulk, or he just capitulated to whatever the studio wanted or he perhaps actually despises being typecast as The Hulk and secretly resents the role. Eric Banas' Bruce Banner has far more intensity than Ruffalos Hulk as did Edward Norton who was a true Hulk comic book fan. Waititi definitely doesn't get the Hulk and I doubt I'll ever watch his Jo Jo Rabbit version of the Hulk ever again.
I've already watched Ang Lees Hulk many times, and will do again in future.