Summer 2003 - This one ain't going down easy.Like I talked about yesterday with Tim Burton imposing his vision onto the Batman universe, the Hulk movie is another example--maybe the best example--of a director imposing his "vision" onto characters that can't support it, even with the Hulk's broad shoulders.
I get the feeling that Marvel and Avi Arad were so thrilled to land the Oscar-winning Ang Lee to direct their Hulk movie that they told themselves whatever he and co-screenwriter James Schamus came up with would be pure cinematic gold.
This souvenir magazine features interviews with all the cast--Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Josh Lucas, Nick Nolte, and Sam Elliott(whose role as Thunderbolt Ross seemed to consist of seventy-five variations on the phrase "Ok, boys, let's take 'em down!") plus Lee and Schamus.
There's also a nice piece on the Hulk in the comics(name-checking Lee, Kirby, Thomas, Trimpe, David, McFarlane, and Keown, and showing off some covers), the special effects, the Hulk video game, and even a talk with Lou Ferrigno!
During the special effects article, there are some preliminary character sketches and it's here where we see one of the places the movie went wrong:
All I can think of when I see this was seeing the movie with a group of friends on a Saturday. After the scene of the Hulk essentially beating the Gamma Poodle to death, there was a slight pause, and in the back of the theater you could hear the voice of a small child, worrily asking their Dad "did the doggie die?"
5 comments:
I'll put Superman IV up against the piece glowing green poo that is the first Hulk movie. At least IV had a coherent message and has the excuse of it's budget getting slashed as soon as production started. Hulk has no excuses to hide behind. It is a horrible mishmash of a movie. It's neither a Hulk movie or a psychological thriller that Lee was apparently trying for. The dog part disturbed me as well.
Heck I prefer Batman and Robin over this. At least it set out to be a campy romp, and did the job. Not the direction they should have gone (or even the one the film was advertised as) but at least its consistent withe SOMETHING.
Chris
Like you Rob, my dissatisfaction with Burton's overpowering stink on Batman Returns took some time to develop.
Not so with Hulk, I was PO'd in the theatre. Ang Lee tried to make a long allegory about fathers that if you took out the cgi monster would probably still work as some lame drama.
A Hulk movie can be complicated but it also should be fun, it is about a giant monster. Ang Lee should have gone for the Mary Worth movie.
the Gamma-poodle
You have summed up the crapage that in the Hulk movie in three words
Thanks foor writing this
Appreciate yoour blog post
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