I’m sorry, but I have to agree, this “Ruffalo was SO much better than the previous actors who have played Banner” and “HULK and THE INCREDIBLE HULK sucked" stuff is nonsense.
There’s nothing terribly nuanced and layered to Ruffalo’s Hulk, because he wasn’t written to be a nuanced and layered character.
All the things you described him as...pretty much apply to Eric Bana and Norton's characters and performances. And no, his performance is not “very subtle”. Not in the least. He plays Banner as broadly as everyone else plays their characters. He’s just a little quieter, because Mark Ruffalo has a particular type of voice, that is quieter.
Previous Banner actors very, very clearly had the “dangerous, don’t mess with me” thing going on. They flat out said (or tried to say) “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” in various sequences.
"Edgy"?
The two previous Hulk characters and actors (especially Bana’s) had most, if not all, of these elements to varying degrees. They weren’t as “warm”, because they’re not Mark Ruffalo, who is naturally a warm guy. But to suggest that they didn’t come across as somewhat warm and gentle in multiple scenes would be silly.
And...I must have missed where being “warm” is a key part of Bruce Banner’s character in The Avengers comics, or in Hulk comics.
No, Norton played Bruce Banner. Quite well. What do you mean by “he didn’t add many dimensions” to the character? Norton displayed a range of emotions and motivations in TIH.
Bana very clearly emoted in HULK. Very clearly. Even as a character who was said to be repressing his emotions. Yes, there were points in the film (mostly early on) where he's more reserved, but if you think he didn't emote, I question if you even watched HULK. He was very much not just “there”. He was fully invested in the role, and motivated everything he did wonderfully. If you really watched HULK and came away thinking Bana is a terrible actor…maybe you’re terrible at assessing acting ability.
It makes those films look like amateur hour in what respect? Action? Having The Avengers in it? Because both the Hulk solo films had a better written Bruce Banner, that was more faithful to the comics, had a more interesting range of conflicts, and who was better developed than he was in THE AVENGERS. And both movies had Hulks that smashed. A lot.
I'll second the "Absolutely", in terms of 616 and Ultimates. He was very well cast.
Robert Downey Jr’s Tony Stark is basically himself.
Ditto Evans’ Cap to some extent.
Ed Norton suited, both visually, personality and actingwise, Bruce Banner about as well as anyone who has ever been cast in a superhero movie.
Ruffalo's take is a new one, which, as Wikipedia says, hasn't been seen since Hulk first appeared (In some comparably relatively poorly written and shallow stories).
The thing about Bruce Banner/The Hulk…they’re probably some of the most revamped, reconceived and therefore undefined characters in comics. Wikipedia says it pretty well:
The core of the Hulk, Bruce Banner has been portrayed differently by different writers, but common themes persist. Banner, a genius, is sarcastic and seemingly very self-assured when he first appears in The Incredible Hulk #1, but is also emotionally withdrawn in most fashions...
...Writers have also refined and changed some aspects of Banner's personality, showing him as emotionally repressed, but capable of deep love for Betty Ross, and for solving problems posed to him. Under the writing of Paul Jenkins, Banner was shown to be a capable fugitive, applying deductive reasoning and observation to figure out the events transpiring around him. On the occasions that Banner has controlled the Hulk's body, he has applied principles of physics to problems and challenges and used deductive reasoning. It was shown after his ability to turn into the Hulk was taken away by the Red Hulk that Banner has been extremely versatile as well as cunning when dealing with the many situations that followed.
This “separating an actor from the role” thing…that only works to a certain extent. I never once really felt like I was watching Bruce Banner during THE AVENGERS. I was watching Mark Ruffalo playing Bruce Banner, and he played it well, but he had the same old Ruffalo mannerisms he always does.
I don't think anyone was disappointed with the Hulk side of the character.
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