You are aware according to everyone involved all Norton rewrote was the first act, and a few minor tweaks through the rest right? Therefore anything in the third act (which was fine, by the way) would have nothing to do with him at all...
Actually, I have read many of the drafts, so I know exactly who wrote what. I know that Norton wrote "You won't like me when I'm hungry." I know that he changes Quartermain to the female character in the movie. I know that Clint Barton used to be on the team sent to track down the HUlk.
I also know that Norton wrote almost nothing in the first act except the "hungry" line. That sequence was boarded, scouted and prepped by the time he came on.
In the earlier drafts, Blonsky changes more slowly, over the course of the second act. When he attacks Banner and Betty at Sterns' lab, Ross tells him to stand down and confronts him. When Blonsky refuses, Ross detonates a fail safe device he had implanted in him to make sure he didn't end up with another HUlk on his hands (that was a good moment, a big surprise and very telling for Ross's character) They think Blonsky's dead, so Ross has an argument with his daughter, then loads Bruce on the copter and flies away.
I forget all the details, but the third act was Blonsky going after Betty as a way to get Ross to give him more of the serum. Banner and Ross are in the helicopter when they hear that the creature is rampaging below. Ross is concerned about his daughter, but won't listen to Bruce, who knows exactly what Blonsky's limits are. Making a choice, Bruce jumps out the helicopter, knowing that Ross will never listen to him. He trusts that the HUlk will do the right thing, but he doesn't even know if the transformation even works.
Abomination is just about to catch up with Betty (whose car chase turned into those soldiers in the humvee we saw in the movie) when the Hulk shows up. There was a big moment where you think he has her cornered and the HUlk shows up to save the day.
I don't know why they changed all this, might have been money.
And I stand by what I said. With the scenes of Bruce trying to kill himself in the opening, the stuff of Betty and Samson trying to convince Bruce to confront himself, not just the HUlk, Banner also had a much deeper arc. It's still in there, pretty subtle some times, but its there. The editing might have hurt it too, but it was mostly the changes Norton made.
I know that goes against the public opionion here that Penn wrote the action and Norton wrote the deep, character stuff, but that's the truth. Norton wrote a lot of good dialogue, which he doesn't get credit for, so I guess it works both ways.
ANyway, I really liked the film, and I can admit that it isn't perfect without saying it sucks. Does any Batman movie have a real character arc? Superman, other than Superman 2?
