The Official 'I Still Love Ang Lee's Hulk' Thread - Part 1

I still think TIH is much better in some ways,However.....I definitely think Ang Lee's Hulk is damn underrated and definitely should have had a direct sequel!!!
 
Totally misunderstood movie, ironically fitting seeing as how the very character the film is based on is supposed to be misunderstood.

By far and away one of the best, most intelligent, entertaining, well acted "superhero movies" I have ever had the fortune of seeing.

I could write a small paper on why I love Ang Lee's "Angry Man" movie. But I will spare you all. It's criminally underrated by a lot of people, who while I don't mean to sound arrogant, just completely don't understand the movie and in the same essence don't even understand the material of this character if they have problems with Ang Lee's HULK.

I think it would have been accepted if the movie was called "Angry Man" and not Hulk.

I think the liberties taken with the character took comic fans off guard and Marvel marketing a psychological fantasy as a popcorn flick through the rest for a loop.

I still think TIH is much better in some ways,However.....I definitely think Ang Lee's Hulk is damn underrated and definitely should have had a direct sequel!!!

Both had elements I liked and disliked. I thought TIH lacked the character depth I look for that Hulk had and TIH design was exactly what I wanted to see.
 
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You know I saw this film in theaters when it came out. I gave it like a 7.3/10. I thought it was good but that was it and I kinda forgot about.

However in the past few months, I just kinda felt like re-watching it. I was walking through Best Buy and found it on blu ray for 10 bucks. So I said what the hell, and bought it. I sat down and watched last week about 3 times, and I sat down and thought long and hard about it.

To this day I said that my favorite comic films were easily TDK, BB, and SM2. However after seeing this again on blu......I was more then blown away. I think this is the most underrated comic film, and maybe just over all a very under-rated film. Now I would tie it easily with SM2. I know it's unpopular to say that around here but I will say it. I thought the film was incredibly cerebral, powerful, emotional, and just good all around. This I think has potential to be a cult film like Blade Runner in the future. I like Marvel's films still, but I just think 2000-2004 they made their best ones. And I wish they would at least take one character with a serious tone again. Hulk was just that, and I think is very under-rated.

I wish that some how this cult thing got big and they could make a Hulk 2 with Bana and Lee but I doubt it will ever happen. Too bad because it could have been a great series. And I would have loved to see where Ang would have taken it.

Ya some of the SFX was not the best, but for the most part it was brilliant. Man and Elfman's score.....one of his best. I can't stop listening to it now. I honestly will say this may be my favorite Marvel film, and its too bad it may never see a sequel.

I rate this film now a 9.3/10

I love it when a film you did not care for that much.....then seeing it years later and loving it.
 
Solidus, I really respect people who can show appreciation for something they may have overlooked at first. When I first left the theater, I sat in my car for 10 minutes before leaving, trying to register what I just witnessed and I found myself conflicted. I just saw this extremely great movie that no one else in the theater really liked...that was supposed to be about my favorite comic character, Hulk, that left me wanting. When I got home 20 minutes later I realized what the problem was, the was not close to character that I had been reading for over 25 years. It had elements of Hulk but also things I loathed-

I didn't like the design, OK at best, but it wasn't the Hulk.

They messed up his origin, we comic fans take that serious.

He was too big, why did he keep growing.

All he did was growl. (so what he spoke to lines)

Not strong enough.

Nanomeds (the ####)?

Bana good in role but too big to play Banner.

But other than that the movie is fantastic. I loved the every aspect of it but it just was my icon on screen.
 
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Well lol I've been around here for a long while, and as a comic fan myself I understand how some don't like anything changed with their characters lol. And I do understand that.

I will be blunt and say I really don't know a lot about Hulk. I'm mainly a DC guy, and Batman and Supes were the ones I was closest with. So I see where your coming from with some of that.

I agree the body of Hulk I did not care for as much, and I thought some of the design was odd.

As for the other stuff I guess I don't know enough, but I felt that what origin they did create was a good one, I know making David the Absorbing man may have made some mad, but I really liked what Ang Lee has done.

Many of us Bat fans have talked about changes in film done to characters in comics. But I will say this one thing. Comics are mosaics, they are not as static as some want to believe. I think if the core of the character is there, they can change a lot of things as long as some of the core elements remain. Comic writers/artists in the Bat world have changed things, altered things and had different interpretations. I see film as no different. It may not have been exactly what fans wanted, but as you said it was a great film, and sometimes I enjoy change and it can give a different view of a character.

But again I don't know a lot about Hulk, though I enjoyed the movie immensely and would have loved to see a trilogy made around it. Maybe some day you will get the Hulk the fans really want and deserve. But for now I was just very very impressed with this film. I admit it got me choked up a few times, especially when he screams "Take it TAKE IT ALL!!!!" But yea good film though I'm glad I got it on blu now.
 
:woot:
This horrific movie was so Great, that it plummeted 60 percent in it's second week!! The Hulk was in danger of never having another film because of Ang Lee's disjointed psycho drama.


It was so frikkin' great that Paramount let Marvel have it back!! :woot: And we finally got the Hulk on track with the rest of the Marvel universe.

Yeah....great film!
 
We fans are a finicky bunch. I've been lurking around the Batman boards, and "minor details" that trouble the die-hard Bat fan seem like frivolous details to me, LOL, with the possible Lazarus Pit and all. (Nolan Bat films are incredible)

I understand that nothing is static, but when one is given a character that only resembles the one you came to see in look and namesake, but not in substance, then all connection you had for the character is lost. I know there will always be artistic interpretation and liberties taken, but I do believe that there is such a thing as straying too far.

I loved the "take it all" and "puny human" lines it made my hair stand up and I wanted more. Hulk is a psychological character who has so much to offer if given the chance to shine. He' really a unique character that has many internal conflicts going on, but so much character is lost when he's not able to voice himself. Ang's movie did gave a little glimpse of it. All in all, I loved the surreal as tone of some of the scenes and felt it was a really great movie.
 
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I think it would have been accepted if the movie was called "Angry Man" and not Hulk.

I think the liberties taken with the character took comic fans off guard and Marvel marketing a psychological fantasy as a popcorn flick through the rest for a loop.
The Incredible Hulk took more liberties, however.

Ang Lee's Hulk is closer in spirit to both the origin of the character, and the essence of the character and mythos as a whole from the source material.

You do realize that right?

Sure super ficial details might be different, but at the heart of things ... Ang Lee got more right than they did on the 2nd film which was marketed towards the action loving ADD community we now live in.
 
Ang's Hulk is much closer to the Hulk I remember reading.

The Incredible Hulk said "Hulk smash" and "leave me alone".

Err... and? See, superficial **** like that doesn't make a lick of difference to me. Ang's Hulk nailed the psychology of the character. Both Bruce AND Hulk. The "Puny human" scene sticks out. And the part where he is jumping through the air like some kind of amazed child. That's Hulk.

And not strong enough? Ang's Hulk would wipe the floor with TIH Hulk.
 
The Incredible Hulk took more liberties, however.

Ang Lee's Hulk is closer in spirit to both the origin of the character, and the essence of the character and mythos as a whole from the source material.

You do realize that right?

Sure super ficial details might be different, but at the heart of things ... Ang Lee got more right than they did on the 2nd film which was marketed towards the action loving ADD community we now live in.


I don't get your point about TIH taking more liberties than Ang Lee's Hulk. please advise?

As far as the origin in either movie they were far from the original Gamma bomb. As for Banner saving Harper in Hulk, I thought it was cool. However, you see...I know Rick Jones...and Harper here...is no Rick Jones! :cwink: You realize that...right? Rick plays a greater part into the Hulk mythos, more than just playing into the spirit of Hulk's origin, and both movies sorely missed out with this.

Please explain your last statement, so I can respond.

(Note - I don't think TIH is anymore of the Hulk than Ang's film.)
 
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Ang's Hulk is much closer to the Hulk I remember reading.

The Incredible Hulk said "Hulk smash" and "leave me alone".

Err... and? See, superficial **** like that doesn't make a lick of difference to me. Ang's Hulk nailed the psychology of the character. Both Bruce AND Hulk. The "Puny human" scene sticks out. And the part where he is jumping through the air like some kind of amazed child. That's Hulk.

And not strong enough? Ang's Hulk would wipe the floor with TIH Hulk.

This thread is about Ang Lee's Hulk film, so my focus is on his film. I thought that Leterrier's TIH took as many liberties with the character as did Ang's.

Who stated that just becuse Hulk said "Hulk Smash" or "Leave me alone" that it made Leterrier's Hulk more of a Hulk than Ang Lee's Hulk? I sure didn't.

If you read what I've been writing, you'd see I said I thought Ang did a better job on the psychological drama, but Hulk is not just about a psychological drama, rage, or primal anger.

And my desires are superficial, WOW. The Hulk jumping around was excellent in Ang's Hulk film, but jumping around does not make one Hulk. He's so much...More...You must have read the Abomination, he leaps like Hulk too, and Samson does too and She-Hulk and Red Hulk(Ross) and the Rick Jones Hulk from issues #325-327.........MAESTRO too.

Check out my posts, all my real beefs have to do with the Hulk characterization and not so much power levels.
 
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:woot:
This horrific movie was so Great, that it plummeted 60 percent in it's second week!! The Hulk was in danger of never having another film because of Ang Lee's disjointed psycho drama.


It was so frikkin' great that Paramount let Marvel have it back!! :woot: And we finally got the Hulk on track with the rest of the Marvel universe.

Yeah....great film!

I think you missed the part where this was an APPRECIATION thread! This is not constructive criticism, nor appreciation. Stop trolling.
 
This thread is about Ang Lee's Hulk film, so my focus is on his film. I thought that Leterrier's TIH took as many liberties with the character as did Ang's.

Who stated that just becuse Hulk said "Hulk Smash" or "Leave me alone" that it made Leterrier's Hulk more of a Hulk than Ang Lee's Hulk? I sure didn't.

If you read what I've been writing, you'd see I said I thought Ang did a better job on the psychological drama, but Hulk is not just about a psychological drama, rage, or primal anger.

And my desires are superficial, WOW. The Hulk jumping around was excellent in Ang's Hulk film, but jumping around does not make one Hulk. He's so much...More...You must have read the Abomination, he leaps like Hulk too, and Samson does too and She-Hulk and Red Hulk(Ross) and the Rick Jones Hulk from issues #325-327.........MAESTRO too.

Check out my posts, all my real beefs have to do with the Hulk characterization and not so much power levels.

Sorry, none of that was actually aimed at you, apart from the part about Ang's Hulk wiping the floor with TIH Hulk.

I was just speaking in general. I've seen a lot of people who trash Ang's Hulk as boring praise Leterrier's Hulk because he said HULK SMASH!

There is obviously more to the Hulk character than that. I feel Ang's Hulk was much more cerebral and "got" the character better. It just annoys me when people call it boring.
 
Sorry, none of that was actually aimed at you, apart from the part about Ang's Hulk wiping the floor with TIH Hulk.

I was just speaking in general. I've seen a lot of people who trash Ang's Hulk as boring praise Leterrier's Hulk because he said HULK SMASH!

There is obviously more to the Hulk character than that. I feel Ang's Hulk was much more cerebral and "got" the character better. It just annoys me when people call it boring.

Believe me when i tell you, voicing strong opinions. even when they are opposed directly to mine, does not bother me in the least. You have nothing to apologize for.

I'm not one who trashes Ang's Hulk film. I've watched it as many times as I've watched The Incredible Hulk, probably more. I tend to watch them back to back. As far as movies are concerned, I love both films tremendously and as films in general, when viewing them objectively, yet I have to admit that they both failed in delivering the character of the Hulk, that makes him so lovable, when the fanboy comes out of me.

As El Payaso stated above (Note - he's the only clown I respect), Ang's Hulk was a great film.
 
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It was so frikkin' great that Paramount let Marvel have it back!!

The Incredible Hulk TV show was a property of Universal Pictures.

Ang Lee's Hulk
was made by Universal Pictures.

2008's The Incredible Hulk movie was created by Marvel Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures.

So...what is your point about Paramount, exactly?
 
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The Incredible Hulk TV show was a property of Universal Pictures.

Ang Lee's Hulk
was made by Universal Pictures.

2008's The Incredible Hulk movie was created by Marvel Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures.

So...what is your point about Paramount, exactly?

LMAO...some people.....
 
:woot:
This horrific movie was so Great, that it plummeted 60 percent in it's second week!! The Hulk was in danger of never having another film because of Ang Lee's disjointed psycho drama.


It was so frikkin' great that Paramount let Marvel have it back!! :woot: And we finally got the Hulk on track with the rest of the Marvel universe.

Yeah....great film!

Sometimes good movies dont do the best at the B.O....take TIH...:woot::whatever::dry:
 
Sometimes good movies dont do the best at the B.O....take TIH...:woot::whatever::dry:

TIH dropped a good 58% after the first weekend and made merely 20 more millions than Hulk. Facts. And I don't see any TIH sequel being made.
 
TIH dropped a good 58% after the first weekend and made merely 20 more millions than Hulk. Facts. And I don't see any TIH sequel being made.

I think even ruffalo said theres not much of a future for the hulk, at least now.:csad:
 
I still think ILM's CGI blows the CGI from The Incredible Hulk out the water, even though it came out 5 years prior. I even prefer the build of the character in Hulk. Why? He's HULKING. He's a huge brute. I like the design being based more off body builders / world's strongest men type as opposed to the more lean, athletic, middle linebacker type physique of TIH. His muscle is realistic. Muscles don't stay flexed 24 / 7 ... they flex when being used. And yet still Angry Man was physically more impressive than The "Incredible" Hulk.

I mean he throws a tank half way across the desert. Rips a dog in half. Flexes his neck muscles to the point it breaks one's jaw. Swing a whole tree like a baseball bat. Gets taken into the stratosphere and survives a fall from the top of the earth. Makes a small earth quake in San Francisco. BODY SLAMS a commanche helicopter. And survives a nuclear blast.

That is Incredible.
 
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I still think ILM's CGI blows the CGI from The Incredible Hulk out the water, even though it came out 5 years prior.

I have to agree. TIH Hulk looked like a big, roided and sick pickle. Ang's Hulk looked like a big linebacker or freestyle wrestler. TIH Hulk got the facial expressions and anger down, but I think they went for a style too comic like. In the comics you could get away with all those muscles, but not so much in live action.
 
In the comics you could get away with all those muscles, but not so much in live action.
Exactly.

Ang Lee treated the material as a whole with a great sense of realism.

It's funny people didn't start appreciating grounded, intelligent realistic superhero films until AFTER Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Hulk was just a bit ahead of its time, and its core audience simply didn't get it.

Do I think it's a perfect film? Absolutely not. It has its own set of oddities, quirks, and aspects I don't like or agree with. But it is by far and away one of the best Marvel movies. Maybe THE best in my opinion.

It's so interesting. And then the complaints I usually hear are the most ridiculous to actually critique. Hulk Poodles? Ummm yea, Hulk dogs were in the comics too.

They also fail to mention how vicious said poodle actually was, then also fail to mention Hulk also fights a pit bull and mastif. Two of the most dangerous dogs on the planet.

And it's also a wonderful nod to King Kong. A character and movie Hulk shares a lot in common with. A misunderstood physical force of nature that is taken out of his element. For Kong its the prehistoric jungle, for the Hulk, he's taken out of Banner's mind and released on the world.

Hulks fight v.s. his father? Weak. Ummm no, it was psychological war fare ... and that was the entire point of the film. The daddy issues that are at the heart of what make Banner turn into Hulk.

Hulk is about REPRESSED rage. Not expressed rage. If Banner expressed himself, we wouldn't have a Hulk. It's the fact he bottles himself up to the point for so long, he essentially explodes.

"Hulk looks like Shrek" ... that started ever since the super bowl spot came out with noticeable un-finished CGI. And it was the same year Shrek 2 was coming out, so people wanted to make an issue out of it. The CGI for that film still stands up today. There are a few shots here and there that look awkward but nothing that takes me out of the film. He looks, moves, and acts real for the most part. TIH, straight up looks like a really well done video game.

Catering way too much to the fanboys visually. I get they were going for the more savage potrayl. But I prefer Ang's child like potrayl of Hulk. After all Hulk was created as a child with the repressed memories.

Why does Hulk look like Eric Bana? Well because this is a movie with real actors, and visually it makes sense and looks real. Why would his facial structure change to something primative? Hulk is Banner. So it should look like Banner. What works on a comic page, doesn't always work on screen.
 
One of the things I wished happen was to see Norton playing as Bruce in Ang's Hulk. Bana didn't do too good a job to me, and I think that Norton could have really knocked it out of the park with Ang's more psychological movie. He did really well in TIH, and that was a high point for the movie. Too bad we're not getting him in Avengers.
 
I really preferred Eric Bana as Banner. Norton was.... like water to drink. It's there, does the job when you're thirsty, but... it's just water.

Both films would benefit from the other, but I just prefer Hulk 03.
 

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