Now that Mark Ruffalo has basically saved the Hulk character from the laughing stock that the last two big-screen attempts had left him, we can all look back on those less-than-stellar efforts to adapt arguably Marvel’s most famous character pre-cinematic renaissance. The good folks over at Cinema Sin can’t resists the opportunity to chastise, so it’s no surprise that they’ve now laid aim at Ang Lee’s horrific Hulk mis-fire. So sit back, and prepare to get very, very angry.
Even though Hulk makes error after error on its way to being one of the biggest superhero catastrophes to date, I still feel the need to declare that I love Ang Lee with all of my heart. In fact, it pains me that he ended up butchering Hulk. But butcher it he did, and Cinema Sins does a superlative effort highlighting the areas where things got away from the two-time Academy Award winning director.
First things first, Hulk’s two leads Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly fail to create a "single spark" between them as the film’s leads Bruce Banner and Betty Ross. Which, considering the acting credentials between these two obscenely attractive individuals, is a travesty. Luckily for the pair, the same can really also be said of Ed Norton and Liv Tyler’s patter in The Incredible Hulk, Marvel’s attempt to reboot Hulk. However, Mark Ruffalo eventually proved that you can depict the Hulk being in love with someone in a heartfelt and emphatic manner in The Avengers, thanks to his blossoming bromance with Tony Stark.
Cinema Sins also revels in pointing out just how lifeless and downright annoying Ang Lee’s attempt is to try and panel Hulk’s scenes so that the movie resembles a comic-book. This, I think we can all admit, was a wild lapse in judgement from the usually visually arresting and calculated director. Why movies felt that it was so necessary to remind viewers they were watching a comic-book film back then is beyond me.
Meanwhile, Cinema Sins also makes the point that the introduction of the Hulk dogs by Ang Lee is as big a movie-mistake as Batman & Robin’s introduction of the Bat-nipples. And their clip makes a pretty convincing case too, because just seeing the maniacal pooches reminded me how laughable they were.
But Ang Lee’s horrific Hulk is merely a distant memory now. Mark Ruffalo has now more than made the character his own, and you can catch up with his incarnation of the apoplectic beast from Friday when Avengers: Age Of Ultron is released this weekend.
