Your Turn: Readers formulate the perfect Hulk movie

Posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 3:33 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

The reaction to my Hulk vs. Hulk story was much greater than I anticipated. In it, I surmised (with very little evidence) that both the 2003 and 2008 Hulk movies "failed" because Hulk just wasn't an interesting character.

Yeah, well, it turns out many of our readers do like and enjoy the Hulk. Lots of you guys came to the green guy's defense. We received a lot of logical, well-reasoned answers for the films' disappointing box office performance as compared to other hit Marvel movies.

Let's explore some of those theories -- as well as a few of those readers who want to smash me for dogging on Bruce Banner's alter ego.

I think the Hulk has failed to be a better movie or even compete with the other super hero movies is due to too much CGI. The Hulk looks cool, but by no means looks real. Spidey, Batman, Ironman, X-men and so on all are real, but even the CGI looks real. It can be hard to tell the difference in those movies. In the Hulk its easy.

-- Mike in TX

Yeah, if Jar Jar Binks showed us anything, it's that audiences don't care a lot for purely characters existing solely as CGI in a live action movie.

I think we all can agree that the 2003 Hulk sucked. That being said, if you ask me why The Incredible Hulk with Ed Norton didn't do better, I would say that it's because the two movies were made so close together. Most moviegoers probably had too much of a bitter taste from the first Hulk left in their mouths to go see another one. I do agree, that there isn't a whole lot you can do with the Hulk character (story wise), versus Spiderman, Batman, etc. I'm not sure how the DVD sales will do, but I know that I enjoyed the movie when I saw it in the theatre, and I would love to check it out on Blu-ray.

-- Matt in MN

Yeah, you'd think everyone would agree on the epic failure of Ang Lee's version. But you'd be wrong.

Overall, I think I preferred the 2003 version. It was a little more inventive and the effects didn't look as soft as the Edward Norton film. However, I wouldn't say I'm really a fan of either.

-- Nathan in CA

See?

No one, really not even fans on the Hulk, know of any Hulk villains. The Hulk is big and strong and can jump but that is really all anyone knows of him. Everyone knows Superman has Lex Luthor, Batman has countless villains we all know, X-Men have Magneto plus others. There are some superheroes that I fear will just never have good movies due to the fact that people know the character but have no villain to boo and hiss at. Other characters who will suffer the same fate on the big screen: The Punisher- I love the character but unless they make a modern day Deathwish type movie that makes liberals scream at promoting that level of vigilante the Punisher will never have a villain that will make a movie. Thor- who does he fight? Daredevil- all he has is the Kingpin who is a fat crime boss (kind of boring for movie crowds) Flash- ? Green Lantern- we all know the ring and the color but who does he battle?

Just about every comic book hero has this fate because most people know the icon but nothing about who they battle and most don't really care.

-- Jason in AL

This is an excellent point, Jason. The 2003 movie had General Ross as the villain -- not so exciting. The new movie's inclusion of Abomination helped but that character was not well known.

2008 hulk had to deal with the bad buzz of the first one. I think after DVD and cable viewings it will build on its audience just as Batman Begins did. It won't be on the same scale but they both have the same thing in common (poor previous film). The new Hulk was far superior to the first one. They need to give it one more chance in a few years and I think they will be able to build on the box office.

-- Steve in NJ

Yeah, I think Marvel did get it right this time and they've set things in the right direction for Hulk's inclusion in The Avengers, coming in 2011. However, I still wonder if they'll include him in that movie for this reason...

Being a Hulk fan, I know that the two Hulk movies fail to impress because the Hulk does not talk! As a teenager, I loved reading the Incredible Hulk comic because Hulk is hilarious! He has a Tarzan dialogue with a childish understanding of any situation. The only thing he understands is to smash everything when all else fails! However, his dialogue is so funny! For example: Hulk will say something to Iron Man such as, "Hulk know tin man! Tin man try to hurt hulk with stupid ray! Well, Hulk show tin man that Hulk can hurt back!" Or Hulk will say to Thor, "Hulk remember long hair! Long hair think stupid hammer can hurt Hulk! Hulk smash long hair and his stupid hammer!" Or Hulk will say to the Submariner, "So, water make fish man strong! Hulk show fish man that Hulk don't need water like fish man to smash him!" Hulk's dialogue is great for humor! Comic book fans and movie fans should have a ball laughing at Hulk's funny dialogue! Why the screenwriters don't understand this is puzzling!

-- Dean in CA

If they do include Hulk in The Avengers, how will he interact with his team? Will they include him just for comic effect? I doubt it.

I have not seen either, and one of the biggest reasons is for me is I want a hero not a villain, and a happy ending! Spiderman is the poor guy who does win in the end-gets the girl and the villain.

-- Walter in NJ

The Hulk doesn't do well at the box office because the public wants a nice guy, romance, and to see the superhero fighting crime. The Hulk is my favorite. I do think the 2003 Hulk looked better than the 2008 Hulk, but the 2008 film overall is better.

-- Erasmo in ID

Walter and Erasmo concisely sum up what I was trying to say in my original post but failed to do so. Hulk is an anti-hero and therefore not a good subject for a movie with mega-money expectations.

Your perception of the Hulk is limited because your only an "80'S" comic fan. I'm 46 , I have thousands of comics and hundreds of action figures. Like so many of you 'youngsters', you don't really do your homework and base your ideals on things from the 'middle' instead of the 'beginning' thereby missing out. The Hulk was more than just about him saying " hulk smash". Check out his very earlier books. The Hulk had some very exciting stories. He had mad crossovers that were Epic! His first encounter with Wolverine, as well as his next were both classics. However, not just because of Wolverine ( whom I do love) but because of the power, the nature the sheer presence of the Hulk!

I think he's difficult to market to this generation, because, like so much else, you lack true imagination. You need to have everything explained, You need the Hulk too 'fit', it's sad really. My advice to you?,,Do more research on your comic history before you diss the Hulk!

-- Wendell in VA

Ouch! You really put it to me there, Wendell. I'll have to visit some of those early Hulk issues.

the reason why the 2008 hulk didn't do more is the 2003 version left a bad taste in the peoples mouth--hopefully now that the 2008 version is out and coming out on dvd in future maybe it will help the next hulk and give it a boost knowing that the 2008 version is better than the other one

-- Larry

My theory is a simple one. The fact that Ang Lee's Hulk was so so so so so so so bad really drew away the audience from willing to spend the money and try to watch another one. I for one took the chance only because I had a free movie ticket. 2008 Hulk was much more enjoyable and fun to watch. I will be buying it on DVD for sure.

-- Derrick in SD

Larry and Derrick, let's call this the fear factor. The 2003 movie was so universally panned that it was simply too soon to expect moviegoers to go back for another Hulk movie. Many were probably asking themselves, "Wait, what? Didn't they do a Hulk movie a few years ago? That one sucked so I'm afraid to spend money on this one too."

OK, to sum it all up for you in Hollywood, here is the correct formula:

• Make the Hulk a real guy as the green monster (Lou Ferrigno, are you listening?)
• Give him an enemy with whom everyone is familiar. I vote for Darth Vader or the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz
• You lighten up his character. Perhaps have him rescue a few kittens from trees.
• You make him say some funny things like "Puny Sith Lord! Don't try to frighten Hulk with your sorcerer's ways!"
• And you release it a decade or so after Ang Lee has made his final movie

You follow these simple instructions, you'll have a monumental success on your hands. Guaranteed.

If for some reason it doesn't work, go see Wendell in VA.