Doc Samson
Superhero Psychiatrist
- Joined
- May 23, 2007
- Messages
- 5,624
- Reaction score
- 369
- Points
- 73
t:
And you raise my hopes too. Not just the big screen...that TV show didn't help the Hulk's image any. The big screen Hulk continues to have to battle the perceptions fostered by the TV show (no leaping, no talking, Banner is the real character)
I've always thought the Hulk will never truly catch on at the box office until he is portrayed as a real character. So far he's just been a guest star in his own movies/TV show who somehow loses his vocal cords when he transforms. They had an excellent opportunity in TIH to flesh out the Hulk character when he and Betty were in that cave...but instead the Hulk just stared at her and roared at the lightning storm. What a waste.
That's why Gollum in Lord of the Rings was accepted so readily as a true character and the Hulk continues to be viewed as a walking special effect. One was a real character and the other only shows up to provide "smashing". But of course Gollum doesn't have a human alter-ego played by an actor who is the "real star of the movie" to deal with. Let's make that "alter-ego" with "ego" in bold, shall we? We know going in who is going to be the focus of the story...gotta get face-time for Bixby/Banna/Norton/Ruffalo. So tired of HarpoHulk..
Ok...my hopes just went back in the toilet.
While I agree with the Hulk needing to be fleshed out, I completely disagree with your assessment of Banner. IMO, the films haven't worked better precisely because the audience hasn't cared about Banner enough.
The one thing the TV show got right was the depiction of Banner, particularly in the Pilot, so that by extension, the Hulk-outs meant something more than just a regular set piece. You weren't just marking time until he transformed, you were invested in his story, so when he finally does go ballistic on that car, it was more dramatic. If anything, in an ensemble like this, both Banner & Hulk will wind up scaled back considerably in screen time.
