Hulk Smash
Looking over my last few posts, there hasn’t been much of a pattern with regard to my topics of choice. From food binges in Japan to collecting toys. haha. Well, not to disappoint, let me talk a bit more about superheroes (In a sense, this is related to the previous post since I did talk about comics and superhero toys).
Anyway, I think I’m one of the few who actually enjoyed Ang Lee’s version of The Hulk. The Banner character wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either – i.e., I didn’t think Eric Bana’s Banner hindered the progression or feel of the movie. If anything, Ang Lee (and the CGI team he used) did a really solid job at capturing the Hulk. Rather than an angry, smash it up sort of character, I’ve always thought of him more like a confused, extremely strong child (of course, this depends on which comic arcs you’ve read). I thoroughly enjoyed the movie’s approach, and appreciated their attention to the subtleties. Take, for example, his escape from the military confine – as he was running away, they had him tripping over his own feet, and then his reaction when he realized he could jump extremely far was very well done.
My biggest complaint about Ang Lee’s Hulk was Nick Nolte’s character towards the end, when he took on super elemental powers. I also didn’t really like that Banner’s transformation was due to something his father did to him as a child. Does it always have to be some genetic thing these days? It worked as a slight modernization in Spiderman, but was it necessary for the Hulk? Wasn’t really feeling that. That aside, Hulk is a popular character and the angst Banner has to deal with being essentially a modern day Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde has always intrigued me.
In a recent announcement, looks as if Edward Norton is going to helm what they claim to be a revamp of the Hulk. I like the idea of taking the character in a new direction, but I’m even more stoked about Edward Norton playing Banner. He’s arguably one of my favorite actors, and clearly has skills when it comes to portraying characters with mental/internal/emotional struggles.