The Ang movie didn't need more Hulk, it needed a better Hulk. Un-heroic, baby-faced, Stay-Puft Hulk just didn't cut it. Only a few brief moments during his total screen time in that entire film approached the true power that is The Incredible Hulk. And contrary to what you say, I believe too much Hulk is a bad thing. I don't want to just see the Hulk run around and smash crap for two hours. Overkill; familiarity breeds contempt; seen it, etc., etc. I can get that fix playing Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.
I think much of the delight in seeing the Hulk destroy things comes from the build up of the tension in and around Banner beforehand, leading up to that 'last straw' - when he loses control and the beast within him erupts like big green volcano. Don't get me wrong though. I can't wait to see the Hulk destroy some major sections of real estate and whoop some badguy ass, but too much is too much. Like a cake that's all icing and no cake.
I think your theory that sticking close = success is thin ice, at best. The first two 'X-Men' films were major box office smashes, yet Singer & Co. took HUGE liberties with practically all of the characters in various ways: origin, time-line placement, dress & uniform, etc. Same exact thing with every other superhero film, really. Even the beloved Reeves 'Superman' made tweaks to the source material. The difference in success vs. crapola is in the way it's approached. It must: 1) treat the source material with dignity, 2) play it straight rather than going for cheap laughs, and 3) make the characters 'real' rather than 2-dimensional caricatures. If it can do all this in a way that can still appeal to non-CB fans then it should do well financially and critically, and please the less-hypercritical fanboys among us.
BTW... any time an existing non-comedic character (comics, TV, etc.) is played for laughs it should send up an instant 'red flag' that the folks involved either have no clue, or no respect... or both.
I honestly don't think that a 100% faithful adaption would EVER be well received by anyone other than CB junkies. There's just too much stuff to cram into a single picture or even series/trilogy. Unless you know it like the back of your hand, you're lost in seconds. Hardly a way to achieve box office success and ensure a long-running franchise. Like it or not, no matter how widespread we think we are, the fact of the matter is that non-CB fans make up the vast majority of the movie-going public, by a wide margin. If you can't adapt a CB hero and his/her backstory into something that anyone can follow and appreciate, you're sunk. You'll walk away with the most faithfully-adapted flop in history.
Take the FF movie Corman did in the early 90's. Folks who've seen it (not me) say it is much more faithful to the core concepts of the FF than the two recent adaptions, but I doubt it would have done well. (Although that would be more Corman's fault for trying to commit such an ambitious idea to film for $1.98 than for pure heart and good intentions.) And regarding 'X-Men,' despite what a lot of haters say, I think most audience members (non-CB fans) would have broke out in gales of laughter if Wolverine had stepped on screen in his traditional blue & yellow skintight costume and mask. What looks great on a bright, four-color comic panel often looks goofy on-screen.
There are exceptions of course. Reeves' Superman looked much better in his bright tights than the depressing maroon & Thalo blue suit Bryan Singer gave him. Same goes for Spidey. I think the suit tweaks looked okay, but weren't really needed. On the other hand, Ang's Hulk looked too green. Bright day-glo green looks nice in a comic and on Kermit the Frog, but not the Hulk. The LL version seems headed back in the right direction by adding gray to the green, and making it a darker hue.
The really sad / crazy thing about all this is that no one will be totally happy no matter what the film is like. Some will be ga-ga over it; others will decry it as celluloid diarrhea. The majority will probably like some parts and not others... and all of these impressions from watching the exact same movie!
Every fan has a perfect version of the movie in their head, and most likely everyone's 'brain film' will resemble very little of what we see next June, so there are bound to be haters & complaints. I fear I may become one of these, as the Hulk is my fav hero, and so I go in with high expectations and mental "must-haves" that probably won't see a frame of film, just like I did with Ghost Rider. As long as most of what's on screen jingles my bells, then I'll forgive the rest and like (or love) it. However, if I see more wrong than right then I'll be back here screaming to the Heavens.
I just hope I'll be crying tears of joy next summer rather than tears of sorrow.
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