Post by Lord Death Man on Sept 9, 2019 23:41:24 GMT
I experience the opposite effect from you when considering Hulk and TiH. TiH barely registers for me in terms of memorable performances or moments. William Hurt, a fantastic actor in his own right, is - by far -no Sam Elliot. Liv Tyler's doe-eyed vacancy doesn't match Jennifer Connelley's searching intensity and quiet pensiveness. Eric Bana, while not perfect, conveys a man who is trying to understand and cope with a bizarre disability. Norton is so busy remembering to breathe and looking at his G-Shock wristwatch that he forgot to turn in a performance. I cringe every time I think of him lifting his head and smiling into the camera with CG-ed electric green eyes --- while meditating.
TiH fails in my mind because it was a reaction to Hulk. The fans said, "we don't like the chubby Hulk character design." ILM responded with a design that is negative 30% body fat. Fans said, "we want more smashing and more destruction." TiH was promptly scripted to have the Hulk level an entire city block. Fanboys said, "we don't want any psychobabble or internal reflection from the character." TiH dutifully features none of that. There's nothing wrong with giving fans what they want but, I think TiH should have tried a little harder to be more creative and less generic.
I prefer a film to take significant risks and fail rather than deliver on precisely what I requested. A lot of people claim to feel the same way, but when push comes to shove, they'd prefer a safe success like TiH (as is the majority feeling in this thread). And, people say as much with their wallets on opening night (which is why the MCU proceeds as it does).
I think Norton was so enamored of Bill Bixby's thoughtful and "level" take on "David Banner" that he forgot to open up a Hulk comic book and read it. My guess is he likely considered the TV show superior to the comic book material.
I think it's less a reaction to Hulk in some parts and more just Norton's muscle flexing, he did like a full rewrite of the script of something because Marvel foolishly gave him that power to get him to star in the movie, but him maybe being enamored with Bixby's take is right, or he just didn't care about the comics in general or the character, this was before the boom of the cbm's when only Spidey was really making significant waves as a property, a lot of people also were kind of like eh comics at the time, that's all different now thankfully in a lot of situations.
Hulk and TiH are excellent barometers for discerning the two basic types of comic-book enthusiasts; those who are in it for the action and violence and those who enjoy character and story.
I don't judge either way but, if I run into a hardcore TiH fan, I generally know what they are all about and how best to communicate with them.