Don't worry, there was nothing wrong with Ang Lee's Hulk - it wasn't brilliant but it was far from terrible. That said, my favourite issues of the Hulk comic are from about 1984/85, when the Hulk was trapped in some otherworld/interzone place (by Dr Strange, if memory serves) fighting alien spores when he could be bothered and, mostly, contemplating his navel. Great stuff!
Adam Horovitz | Email | 06.19.08 - 2:23 am | #

I really shouldn't read this first thing in the morning. Instead of "MIKE'S SEXIST MOMENT," I was sure I'd read "MIKE'S SEXIEST MOMENT." Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course; I just wasn't sure how you were gonna pull that off in a movie theater watching Hulk. But you never know.
Chris | Email | 06.19.08 - 4:02 am | #

My family and I all enjoyed it. It hit all the notes a Hulk movie should. I never saw the Lee film, so I can't comment. I knew about the Stark cameo (and one of the trailers even featured it, after IM did so well), but my son didn't, and his eyes were wide when it happened. He leaned over to me and asked "What's Tony Stark doing in the Hulk's movie?"

When I explained the whole Avengers gig, I got a LOT of questions.

Also, I liked the appearance of Doc Samson as Betty's psychiatrist boyfriend. Nice touch.
WizarDru | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 5:55 am | #

My only problems with the Ang Lee film were that the family drama was just too complicated, and I think Banner works better if he doesn't have a lot of problems before becoming Hulk. Having him struggle to keep the Hulk down over everyday things (like a crowded subway) makes his anger issues more relatable to the rest of us, which is what Stan Lee was trying to do with him. According to Mallrats anyway.
Old Bull Lee | 06.19.08 - 6:03 am | #

The Ang Lee film had more of an artsy-fartsy indie movie house feel to it, which I thought was completely wrong for the subject.
CW | 06.19.08 - 6:16 am | #

Ang Lee's comic-book panel approach was, IMHO, ham-handed at best. He'd typically use it to show the same image in time from several different angles, which is not the way actual comic-book panels work at all. The impression I got was that he didn't actually understand how panels work as a storytelling device, which is just crazy since movie storyboards work exactly the same way; it should have been second-nature to him.
Josef K | Email | 06.19.08 - 6:25 am | #

Yeah, I read that as MIKE'S SEXIEST MOMENT as well Chris, don't know what this says about us...
captainskill | 06.19.08 - 6:29 am | #

He also took nearly three full minutes of screentime to show an unconscious Hulk being slowly loaded onto a helicopter, then flown hundreds of miles, then slowly loaded onto a truck, then driven hundreds of miles, then slowly brought down into the underground bunker which was conveniently located directly below his abandoned childhood home, and then slowly locked up. That's not "artsy," that's just a big ol' waste of time.
Josef K | Email | 06.19.08 - 6:31 am | #

I've alway felt that Lee's Hulk movie was a good movie, just not a good Hulk movie. Had he made it about another misunderstood nuclear n' rage powered monster, it probably would've gone over better.

That said, the new Hulk was a solid "good".
Jason | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 7:03 am | #

I'm so glad to hear I'm not the only one who liked the Ang Lee film. My wife (not a comic reader) liked it as well, which means it had something going for it. I watched the DVD again recently and it was actually a quite enjoyable.

Maybe we ought to start a support group of people who actually liked Hulk, Daredevil and Ghost Rider.

Truth to tell, I didn't hate Batman & Robin, either....
adam barnett | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 7:56 am | #

I enjoyed the movie -- I'd consider it a solid B popcorn movie.

In terms of Freeze-Frame Fun, I'd also like a look at the directory of other doctors at Culver University.

In terms of getting from Guatemala to Mexico to Virginia, I was amused at how the movie made a big deal about Banner buying extra-large blue jeans, then is shown in the next scene wearing khaki pants.
Polite Scott | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 8:09 am | #

I didn't HATE the Ang Lee movie, but I definitely didn't like it.

I did like both Daredevil and Ghost Rider, and I'm not ashamed to say I LOVED the Punisher.

Hate Batman & Robin though.

I don't have a link, but I read somewhere that while the Director and Liv Tyler were signed on for a 3 picture deal, Ed Norton only was locked up for the one movie. Based on his attitude lately (not helping to promote the movie, being a big baby in general) I doubt that he'll be back for the sequel or the Avengers movie. But who knows. Money talks.
Patrick C | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 8:10 am | #

Well, I'm another of the five who enjoyed the Ang Lee film, and I've never been bashful about admitting it. I don't suppose I'll ever understand why it has been the subject of so much really bileful scorn amongst comic book fans, but then again, I don't really read Hulk comics, so for me, statements like, "I think Banner works better if he doesn't have a lot of problems before becoming Hulk" seem weird, since on a personal level, when I try to justify the character, that's the _only_ way the Hulk works. I think Mark Millar understands that, which is why the Ultimate Hulk resonates more with me.
Justin Garrett Blum | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 8:11 am | #

I think you did a great job of summing up the good and bad points of the Ang Lee film, which I liked, didn't love. Like you, I really dug that desert battle scene, with the Hulk tossing tanks around. But I didn't care for the whole Nick Nolte angsty thing at all- I thought it just wasn't necessary.

Haven't seen the new one yet, probably won't until it comes out on DVD, so I'll just wait and see. Doesn't sound terribly promising, but you never know- I did enjoy the second FF flick after all.
Johnny Bacardi | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 8:15 am | #

I think one if the things that the new movie did was move the Hulk from the TV mythos to the comics mythos. There were a lot of (welcome) nods to the TV series from the start of the film, but by the end, we have arrived at the the windstorm-clap, the smack-the-ground, and the "Hulk Smash!" war cry, all tropes from the comics. I thought it worked very well to develop the character.

And I hope Norton stays on for any sort of Avengers movie, just because I'd like to see him share the screen with Downey as much as I'd like to see the Hulk and Iron man together!
Walaka | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 8:19 am | #

Personally, I think you're right on the money when it comes to the Ang Lee film. I'll never truly understand how people can dismiss that film as being too "artsy-fartsy" when it features the Hulk throwing tanks around and kicking gamma-irradiated poodles into trees.
jayunderscorezero | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 9:27 am | #

Subtlest easter egg in the film? The canister Ross takes the supersoldier formula out of is labeled as belonging to "Dr. Reinstein", the man responsible for Project: ReBirth and therefore Captain America.

I saw it yesterday and was actually really unimpressed with the movie. Ang Lee's film combined my favorite elements of the Hulk, the Hulk/Army conflicts in the southwest from the early years and the psychological aspects brought in by Bill Mantlo and built on by Peter David.

It seemed like whomever wrote Ang Lee's movie had actually read and loved the comics, whereas the new movie seems like it was done by someone who loved the TV show and had incorporated the typical Hulk personality from other media outlets, like video games or comic books.

Much like a novelization of a movie based on a book, it isn't quite as good as either source material, but likely more inviting to those who don't know the difference.
Mike Z | Email | 06.19.08 - 10:18 am | #

Personally, I think this is as good a Hulk movie as Iron Man was a Iron Man movie. I don't think I would have done anything different on either film. I like the formula they seemed to use in both scripts, at least for a origin movie. I agree it would get tedious if they used the same formulas on all super hero movies.

I have a very short opinion on this movie in my summer movie, reviews which is on my front page.

As for the Ang Lee movie.. I didn't hate it when I saw it. I didn't really like it either. I was also 14 at the time.. and I ended up with this horrible confusion over The Hulks origins, since I was of the mind that the movie was a direct translation of the comic material... What? I'm a DC guy...
Rocco | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 10:22 am | #

i can't really remember if i liked the original Hulk movie, i was 16 or 17 at the time and my appreciation of the finer points of cinema had yet to be refined. I have yet to see it since.

All i really remember from that time is Jennifer Connoley ftw (for the win!), and Nick Nolte's character kinda looking like that infamous mugshot us his...
kid chris | 06.19.08 - 10:32 am | #

this new Incredible Hulk is a lot more fun than the first one with Eric Bana; as usual Ed Norton has gravitated to a "split personality" role...
patrick | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 11:23 am | #

You won't get any flak from me for liking Lee's HULK. (Workin' on a review of it myself.) It's a bit of a shame that a more ambitious, thoughtful superhero film like that gets punished for NOT just delivering the right proportion of action setpieces- it kind of sends the message that you may as well not bother getting the plot or characters right, just blow up the right amount of stuff.

Still haven't seen this one and am looking forward to it.
Evan Waters | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 12:00 pm | #

In the top picture, is Hulk doing a Ferrigno-style leap like in the TV show?
Jon H | Email | 06.19.08 - 2:51 pm | #

I'm one of the ones who thought you'd said "SEXIEST MOMENT" too.

And I think I can top all of you guys: I liked the Dolph Lundgren Punisher film.

The thing about Hulk not having problems before he becomes the Hulk doesn't make sense to me, either. I was under the impression that in the comic, Banner's rage that comes out in the Hulk is rage against an abusive father, but that might've just been something tacked on later. The basic story of Hulk is Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and old Doc J. wasn't really all that great of a guy to begin with. If you go the psychological angle with Hulk, you've pretty much got two choices: that every single human being has a destructive monster inside them like the Hulk, or that the Hulk is some deep-seated part of Dr. Banner that's denied and unknown.

Frankly, either works for me. I prefer the latter because as much as I like grim and grittier heroes like Ultimate Captain America, it's depressing to think we could all be the Hulk. It does, I guess, fit Marvel's tendencies towards everymen caught in weird circumstances, but still.
Andrew W | 06.19.08 - 2:58 pm | #

I don't get it...why did Liv Tyler look weird?

I also read it as Mike's Sexiest. That's a sly "e".
Novice | Email | Homepage | 06.19.08 - 3:11 pm | #

In my opinion, the fatal problem with the Ang Lee movie wasn't the attempt to do an ambitious, thoughtful or psychologically-driven superhero move. It was the poorly conceived comic book panel graphics. It just seemed like Lee didn't understand comics. And since everything was filtered through this, it really killed the film.

Also, the hulk poodles were pretty bad.

On the plus side, it did have Sam Elliott, who was a perfect Thunderbolt Ross. And the whole tossing tanks then leaping through the desert in solitude bit was great.

Otherwise, the movie was big, ambitious misfire by a talented filmmaker. In my opinion.
SF | Email | 06.19.08 - 10:18 pm | #

Oh, just to confirm that I have no taste - I liked both Punisher movies, and can even sit through the Matt Salinger Captain America without blinking an eye.

Now, that unreleased Corman version of the Fantastic Four was painful.... I think that's my measuring stick for awful comic movies.
adam barnett | Email | Homepage | 06.20.08 - 7:33 am | #

Did you catch Dr. Samson as Betty's main beau after Bruce? When he was yelling at General Ross it really brought back memories of Doc Samson's relationship with the General.
Streaker | Email | 06.20.08 - 8:18 pm | #

Another easter egg:

Did anyone else think the "two hunters up in Canada" that Gnl. Ross mentions as possible Hulk attack victims were actually attacked by the Wendigo?
Enargy | 06.20.08 - 9:44 pm | #

Yeah, Ang Lee's Hulk movie was pretty sweet. It's all about the scenes in the desert. Peter David's novelisation was pretty good, too.
Rohan Williams | 06.20.08 - 10:22 pm | #

I finally saw this one and had a few thoughts my own self:

http://spatulaforum.blogspot.com...dible- hulk.html
Nik | Email | Homepage | 06.21.08 - 9:21 pm | #

I kind of liked the Ang Lee version too. I think folks were expecting a HULK as GODZILLA mass kaboomarama or something.
Todd Gray | Email | Homepage | 06.22.08 - 1:08 am | #

I like the AngHulk too.
I think I caught a cameo that no other commenter did. Paul Soles was Samuel, the old restauranteur where Betty first sees Bruce. Mr. Soles was the voice of Bruce Banner, Peter Parker and several other Marvel characters in the 60's cartoons. I wrote a little bit more about it in a href="http://mytwoyenworth.blogspot.com/2008/08/ hulk-smashed-on-friday-i-finally-got-to.html">my blog.
It was also neat to see Toronto landmarks such as Sam The Record Man and the Zanzibar Stripclub!
Michael-Sensei | Email | Homepage | 08.13.08 - 9:03 am | #

Aw, poop my blog
Michael-Sensei | Email | Homepage | 08.13.08 - 9:05 am | #