Script Review: The Incredible Hulk
Written by: Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
I like this opening for two reasons. The first is that, intentional or not, this scene is an homage to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The novel begins and ends at the Arctic Circle, where Victor Frankenstein has pursued his fiendish creation, committed to its destruction. Both Bruce Banner and Victor Frankenstein venture to the Arctic Circle to destroy their monsters, but Banner's monster lives inside his own body. The remote, frozen setting also recalls John W. Campbell's Who Goes There? (later immortalized in both film versions of The Thing) and The Blob.
But let's get back to Frankenstein. The themes explored in Shelley’s novel – the dangers of science and mankind’s hubris at playing God – have never been as obvious in any previous incarnation of the Hulk that I know of, but they are touched upon in this scene, and elsewhere in the film as well; more on that later. The second thing I like about this scene is that it’s a pretty dark way to begin a comic book movie. I can’t recall another superhero (though Hulk is really more an antihero) that has attempted to commit suicide, and there certainly haven’t been any that have done so on film. It’s a great way to establish the tragic nature of Bruce Banner’s situation, and I can see Norton really selling it in this scene. Enough about the first five minutes, what about the rest of the film? Let’s take things one at a time and look at how they’ve changed from the comic to Hulk to TIH.
- Origin Story – In the Silver Age of comics, before genetic mutation became the hip way for people to get superpowers, Bruce Banner’s initial transformation was the result of exposure to gamma irradiation*, specifically he was caught in an explosion of a gamma bomb. Hulk updated this by having Banner get exposed to a combination of experimental “nanomeds” and gamma irradiation. In both cases the exposure was inadvertent, and the result of Banner attempting to save someone else in harm’s way. TIH turns the origin story on its head somewhat. Though only related in conversation and the discordant memory flashes of the Hulk, we can surmise that in TIH Banner intentionally exposed himself to gamma irradiation, as part of a last ditch effort to save his work from withdrawal of funding (sort of like Norman Osborn in Spider-Man). This is another example of where I think TIH is thematically similar to Frankenstein. And just to make sure that horse is good and dead (this is a summer movie after all) there’s even a bit of dialogue where Banner decries his own arrogance at attempting to “better” the human condition through science. Disclaimer: Though there are numerous examples of ordinary people gaining extraordinary abilities as a result of radiation exposure (Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider, Daredevil was exposed to radioactive waste, the Fantastic Four was bombarded with cosmic radiation), all that will happen if you expose yourself to radiation is sickness if you’re lucky, a nasty death if you’re not. Now you know!
- Villain – Because Hulk has remained an anti-hero throughout much of his existence, in the comics he’s faced off against superhero and supervillain alike. As I’ve stated Lee’s Hulk focused primarily on Banner’s relationship with his father, going so far as to turn David Banner into a non-canonical Absorbing Man (who is a pre-existing villain in the Marvel universe named Crusher Creel) making him the primary villain. In TIH, there are (as seen in both the comics and Hulk) multiple confrontations between Banner/Hulk and the military, led by the familiar General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. But as has already been announced, the major villain of TIH is Emil Blonsky/Abomination. Whereas in the comics Blonksy was a Soviet KGB agent, here he’s a member of a Special Forces outfit under General Ross, sent to capture Banner. Norton must have taken a page from another patriotic Marvel superhero, because General Ross has an experimental “Super Soldier serum” that he gives Blonksy to try and even the odds after an initial failed attempt. Just before the climax of the film Blonksy (as he does in the comics) intentionally exposes himself to gamma irradiation and turns into what becomes known as the Abomination. Rivaling the Hulk in size, strength, and durability, he’s described as having a reptilian appearance and revels in destruction. That climax is going to be everything fans disappointed with Hulk are going to want to see, two monstrous titans battling in the middle of New York City.
- Love Interest – Like many superheroes, Bruce Banner has a love interest that fate and his nature are keeping him from being happy with: Betty Ross. She’s something of a constant, present in the comics, Hulk, and TIH. The only major change in TIH is that while Bruce has been off in self-imposed exile, she’s moved on and begun a relationship with Samson Adams (Doc Samson). She was fairly uninteresting in Hulk, and she remains so in TIH, so let’s move on.
- Bruce Banner/The Hulk – Of course, the other constant is the scientist turned monster. However, even he has undergone a great deal of change. Within the comics there have been multiple incarnations of the Hulk from the classic Savage Hulk and later Joe Fixit, to The Professor and the most recent (and most dangerous) form called the Green Scar. Banner, too has seen an evolution of character. Originally portrayed as a fairly average person whose normal frustrations and negative emotions fueled the Hulk, Banner was later retconned* to having suffered extensive child abuse at the hands of his father that resulted in severe mental problems that contributed to the Hulk’s genesis. Hulk embraced this more damaged Bruce Banner, and as I’ve said Lee made analysis of Banner the focus of his film. Perhaps sensing this was one of the major disappointments of Hulk, TIH spends almost no time on Banner’s history or background, and his is not the only persona to see change. The Hulk seems to be more savage and possess a greater propensity for rage than Lee’s portrayal of him. In Hulk, his first instinct seemed to be to run, and my impression is that he wanted to be left alone more than anything. In TIH, once released the Hulk rages and rampages at the slightest provocation. This is explained in a rather interesting way by having the Hulk possess on almost hypersensory perception. Lights and especially sounds assault and pain him; in one scene the Hulk roars futilely at the flashes of lightning and peals of thunder during a storm. Instead of running from insult, he responds with aggression, and in TIH the Hulk’s rage has real consequences. (Side note: What does retcon mean? Retcon is short-hand for retroactive continuity, and refers to the deliberate changing of previous facts in a serialized work of fiction. Because many of the most popular comic book characters have been around since the 1960’s, retconning has been used more in this medium that probably any other in order to keep these superheroes fresh and relevant.) I’m fairly certain in the past that pains have been taken to ensure that the Hulk is not portrayed as killing anyone. His bouts of rage result in a great deal of collateral damage, and some people may get injured, but I don’t think anyone dies by his hand, certainly not any innocent bystanders. But in TIH, the Hulk is a murderer, and at best Banner is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. His initial transformation results in the deaths of two graduate students, Betty’s injury as well as injury of her father, General Ross. During his repeated confrontations with the military, he kills numerous soldiers in some fairly gruesome ways. I haven’t decided if this is good or bad, but it definitely is a bold decision. It will be up to the individual viewer to decide if they like this more savage Hulk.
The Hulk isn’t the first comic book character to get a feature film adaptation, and this isn’t the first time studios have called a mulligan and started with a fresh slate. It happened most notably and successfully with Batman and Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins.
But, take this as you will, TIH is no Begins. As I said at the start of this article, TIH is much more in the vein of Transformers. Or to stay in the realm of comic books, it has much more in common with Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand, than it does with the vastly superior X2: X-Men United or Begins (IMHO the best comic book adaptation to date). TIH knows what it wants to be: a big, flashy summer blockbuster, but it’s as if Norton wrote this script in a paint-by-numbers fashion.
- Cheesy one-liners? Check. TIH has them in spades, and as just one example, how many times do you think Banner plays upon the line, “Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”? By my count, at least three. At least we don’t hear “HULK SMASH!” every five minutes.
- Clichéd characters? Check. Literally within about five minutes of each other we have an over-the-top, “Harlem Loudmouth” clearly wondering why monsters don’t attack white neighborhoods (hey, can they get Anthony Anderson for this role?) and an over-protective, “Upper East Side Mom” lecturing her kid about the dangers of going above 96th Street (just how pretentious can they make her sound?).
- Paper-thin plot? Check. While searching for a cure in South America, Banner pays the rent by working in a soda bottling plant. He inadvertently alerts General Ross to his location by cutting his finger and shedding a drop of his irradiated blood into an open bottle of soda that ultimately gets into the hands (and gullet) of a suburbanite mom in middle America. Huh?
- Action? Check and check. TIH has three major action sequences, the first two involving botched attempts to capture Banner by the military, leading to the Hulk’s manifestation and decimation of the armed forces, and the final climactic showdown between Hulk and Abomination.
This clash of titans is ultimately what has me interested in this movie, and it is what is going to sell tickets. Probably lots of tickets. But financial success does not always equal a good film. With The Incredible Hulk, the people involved are seeing green, and unable to see the distinction.