In the early 2000s, Ang Lee was a superstar in Hollywood. With massive critical and box office hits like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Sense & Sensibility, and Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee was on a hot streak. Seemingly making movies that knew exactly what they should be tonally and visually, making him one of only a few chameleon directors in Hollywood. Not many of his films demonstrate exactly how great he was at shifting tone more than his flawed attempt to elevate the Big Green Goliath, Hulk.

After the success of Lee's mega-hit, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, he would take the leap towards what would soon be considered the biggest franchise of all time, Marvel. With the likes of Bryan Singer's X-Men and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man topping the charts and the duo of Stan Lee and Kevin Feige producing, Marvel was on the up and up of the Hollywood ladder. Although this was before the mostly streamlined way of tying all the superhero flicks together to create one massive story, Marvel Studios at the time was still becoming what many see today. Because the early Marvel films weren't canonically tied to one another, filmmakers largely give their own takes and interpretations to the modern myths of superheroes, creating what seems now as especially highly unique and creative, but perhaps not as creative and unique as Ang Lee's Hulk.

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Ang Lee fully embraces comic books in his Hulk film. From the sequences and cuts resembling comic book panels to the extreme mythical quality of the story, all of Hulk's glory is on the screen. Even the big guy is very much like his comic counterpart. He is much larger in this movie when compared to his MCU counterpart, whose size was greatly reduced to fit his fellow Avengers.

Hulk vs. Mutant Dogs

Now, truly comic book accuracy doesn't matter that much in the big scheme of things regarding what makes a good movie. Priorities are to encapsulate what the essence of the character would be, as well as the surrounding tone and put him in a compelling story that works for a movie. That's where this movie thrives, the essence and tone of the Hulk. Boosted by a fantastically mysterious score by Danny Elfman that just oozes science fiction, Hulk dives headfirst into the fantastical mixed with the traumatic with the Hulk and Bruce Banner dynamics.

The movie at times almost becomes abstract when showing Bruce's past with his father, and the rage that he hides deep inside himself, manifesting as the Hulk. It is deep inside science fiction, which for average comic movies, wouldn't necessarily work, but it is perfect for a character like the Hulk who is not the average superhero. He is science gone awry mixed with and manifesting in extreme trauma from the past.

The movie provides such a deep exploration of what the Hulk means to Bruce Banner and even to those around him. There's so much trauma at the heart of these characters that manifest into the image of Hulk, who himself is a representation of inner conflict and rage. The movie only goes deeper with the introduction of Bruce's biological father, David. David is introduced as one of Hulk's comic villains in the role of "the absorbing man".

Although this rendition of the character isn't very accurate, it works for what Lee is going for. It's this father/son conflict that is the driving force of the film. Banner's trauma is brought on by his father's own rage and sense of ownership over what Bruce has inside him. At one point, David calls what's inside of Bruce (the Hulk) his son and not Bruce himself. This conflict comes to a head in one of the most bizarre action sequences in any movie, and it is a perfect fit for the film. Ang Lee again leans heavily into the epic with amazing shots, showing almost mythical Greek sculptures in the sky of their final battle. It isn't just good guy vs bad guy, it's a battle of pasts and willingness to let go of what was holding him captive.

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Ultimately, this letting go is what allows Bruce to triumph by letting his father absorb all of him, his past hurts, trauma, and pain. He recognizes--correctly--it would be too much for David to hold. At times, this movie is almost impossible to describe because of the amount of mythic and science fiction qualities that it leans so heavily into, but that is the best part of the film. No other superhero film has let itself get lost so deep into the world it has created, allowing a uniqueness audiences hadn't seen before, and likely never see in an MCU film again.

But for all of its unique and creative aspects, the film still does not elevate to the level that Lee had hoped it would. Although it delves deep into the psyche of the traumatic past of Bruce Banner and those around him, the dialogue and acting come off as too robotic and vanilla at times for the flavor blast that the rest of the film is; and too shallow for the level of trauma being explored. It attempts to be a deep drama, but at times falls short, reaching instead the level of boring schlock that comes off as cheesy.

At the heart of it, the film is a double-edged sword. Its fantastical sci-fi elements are the best part of the movie, however, when they aren't matched in execution by the dramatics seen in the rest of the film, they only further highlight all the ways the attempt at a drama is lacking. While some have succeeded in finding this balance, most have not just as Lee did. It is a tight rope act that isn't easy to balance on. This is the issue for many comic book films, the attempt to do too much. Hulk just tries too much and goes too far at times, ultimately going off the deep end, not knowing when to pump the breaks.

Many comic book movie fans and especially those who love the MCU, have gotten too used to the very uniform and assembly line way of pumping out superhero movies. This is why going back to the films that brought fans here in the first place is such a treat. Not only are they the stepping stones that future movies walked on, but they are ultimately more unique and creative takes on the heroes fans still see today. Hulk is definitely a worthy re-watch and worthy of more praise than it has gotten since its release in 2003.

Perhaps studios like Warner Brothers and Disney should allow for deeper and more unique explorations of their characters like the Hulk. But until then, fans already have more Hulk on the horizon with She-Hulk coming to DisneyPlus, and maybe she too will be a fun and unique exploration for the Hulk to smash audiences' expectations of what has yet to come for the character.

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