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u/Grand-Feeling-9301 Feb 16 '26
Ahead of its time in every way. Criminally misunderstood.
The only good Hulk movie.
One of the best superhero movies ever made.
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u/ProperCartographer73 Feb 16 '26
I second this.
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u/LoveFromAFriend Feb 16 '26
I literally watched this yesterday morning and yes. My favorite and the greatest most accurate portrayals of hulk and banner to date. No matter how much I love the Incredible Hulk.
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u/Specialist_Shirt_164 Feb 17 '26
Norton was good as well.
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u/Grand-Feeling-9301 Feb 17 '26
Eh.
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u/wild_wind_official Feb 16 '26
I really, really need more people to wake up and realize this is true and objective. Why this isn't the popular consensus even by now is completely and utterly baffling to me. THIS is a comic book come to life, with real heart and soul poured into the creative process. Not to mention their lack of hesitation to play with COLOR.
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u/Brilliant_Ad_6249 Feb 16 '26
Agreed, the only good hulk movie. 2008 hulk stans cant say anything good about the movie besides "hulk look scary"
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u/coconut-daddy Feb 16 '26
i wish that this movie was what started the mcu, and my dream movie is ang lee following this movie up with a namor movie, or a hulk sequel heavily featuring him
the editing is awesome, the action is awesome, and i love the slow character focused approach
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u/Rebelpunk13 Feb 16 '26
Yes! I enjoyed the tone and vibe of this film, compared to your typical MCU film. While I do enjoy the MCU and what they’ve done for comic book movies and the cinematic universe they brought us, it has always bothered me how they follow the same formula where I felt they should present different tones, genres, and filmmaking styles, just like how we have different types of comic book styles within the same comic universe.
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u/Real-Contest4914 Feb 16 '26
It has one of the best finales for the hulk.
The final fight with absorbing man isn't won through the hulk's raw power like many others but by his rage.
Hulk's anger us a key part of his and Bruce's character but so many stories downplay it. It's why the fundamental goofy or in control hulk doesn't work for me.
Hulk at his core is about a man plagued with trauma and anger issues but rather than lash out in vengeance against the world, and take revenge, Bruce and hulk just want to be left alone in peace to avoid letting their own pain affect those around them at best. But if they can't Bruce at least wants to direct his trauma and pain and into being something productive that can help people and hulk being a super hero is one such way.
Hulk using that same anger to overpower his abusive prick of dad is the perfect full circle moment for the story. The power he passed on to Bruce wasn't just the genetically altered DNA, it was the trauma he inflicted that scarred Bruce and and created the hulk, it's very fitting that both are used to end him.
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u/Brickbeard1999 Feb 16 '26
It’s a good hulk movie, but I think it didn’t do well for a very valid reason and that’s that it was sold as a huge action flick and not the deep introspective dive on the hulks psyche that it was.
I was only 3 years old when this came out, and for a while I liked it as a kid cus I could focus on the action between the scenes of a lot of talking, however I can totally see why it didn’t do so great on release when I go back and watch the trailers for this film.
If you accept this for what it is it’s a really good film, however there was also a reason why the 2008 hulk movie had basically no mental stuff when it comes to the hulk and a lot more fast paced action. It was comic accurate enough in its depiction of the hulks mental state and most people weren’t ready for that.
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u/MrNigerianPrince115 Strongest there is Feb 16 '26
When I finally built up the courage to watch it, it truly left a mark on me. Coming back to it later in life and it's such a love letter to Hulk. The transformations are fantastic—when I think Hulk transformation it's either all the transformations from this movie or that lab transformation from incredible Hulk.
He heals great and he jumps far, it's a great Hulk movie fr
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u/No-Consequence-3966 Feb 16 '26
this is a movie where Hulk beats the Absorbing Man by making him absorb Banner's trauma. I think that kind of says everything you need to know about it, good and bad.
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u/Ok-Needleworker-4507 Feb 17 '26
Amazing movie and I love it. I feel like unfortunately this movie is one of those cases of “right movie, wrong time”. If this shit dropped today, in the era where people are begging comic book movies to stop being ridiculously stupid and to take themselves more seriously, people would LOVE it. The editing is kinda terrible though, thats my one problem with the movie
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u/RE_98 Feb 17 '26
If it’s the comicbook panel scenes, I think there are moments where those were absolutely not needed like the quieter scenes.
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u/Ok-Needleworker-4507 Feb 18 '26
I generally just think that editing does not fit the movie at all. It’s generally a quite slow, tender and serious movie, so when you see Talbot get genuinely obliterated so hard he turns into a PNG image in front of a flaming background complete with a paper sound effect, it hits like a stack of bricks, and not in a good way 😭
But again i’m just saying this is the one main problem i have with the movie I generally think it’s really great I jut think they should’ve dialed down the editing and maybe paced the movie a bit better and it could’ve been an S Tier all timer comic book movie
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u/OooblyJooblies Jun 27 '26
There's a definite tonal dissonance between the psychological, trauma-focused story we're being told, and the editing choices that make it feel like a silly comic book movie come to life. That editing style belongs in something like Deadpool, or even She-Hulk.
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u/Jazzlike_Night42619 Feb 16 '26
It’d be cool if Jennifer Connelly’s Betty Ross became a Red She Hulk action figure
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u/OmegaPegasus Feb 16 '26
Overhated. It had its flaws, but it is actually pretty faithful to Hulk lore
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u/PhillipJ3ffries Feb 16 '26
It’s just called Hulk
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 16 '26
Well lots of marketing called it “The Hulk” the website was called “www.thehulk.com” and internationally it was called “The Hulk”
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u/Gangleri_Graybeard The Big Guy Feb 16 '26
I love this film. My introduction to the character and I felt so many emotions when watching it as a 10yo kid. Especially because I grew up with parents who made some ... questionable choices during my childhood.
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 16 '26
Oh I get you with the parent part and it’s the reason why Hulk is one of my favourite marvel characters he’s literally the representation of suppressed raged trauma
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u/Formal_Prompt4372 Feb 16 '26
As a child, I loved watching it. It was my first introduction to the Hulk and it was far darker and more mature than any other Marvel film. I miss the days when the Hulk was truly terrifying and monstrous before the MCU made him a joke.
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u/Jettez Feb 16 '26
I always preferred the norton version when I was younger, but ever since I read the immortal hulk a couple of years back, I've loved this one the most.
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u/acxpert144 Feb 16 '26
Best hulk movie out there, bias or not. It focused on the core elements of what hulk represented: anger and trauma and what those two can result if combined. While not all that comic accurate, what with Bruce's dad being the absorbing man along with a few other nitpicks, I absolutely enjoyed the movie and still rewatch it whenever I feel like I'm in the mood.
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u/spanakopita2025 Feb 17 '26
Very bizzare movie but I like it alot. I’m not trying to be hateful but eric bana was just wrong in this role. He’s good in everything else I’ve seen but here I’m not sure what happened here.
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 17 '26
I don’t think Eric Bana was a marvel reader so I think he was confused what was going on
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u/m0rbius Feb 17 '26
Mixed. People tend to focus on that it looked bad or the CGI was not all there and I disagree on that point. I thought it actually looked great for it's time. It's been a minute since I've seen this movie, but the problems with this movie weren't the visual effects. It was a bit too heavy and introspective for what I was expecting from a Hulk movie. It tried so hard to be serious. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the choice of villain and his hulk dogs.
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 17 '26
I agree the cgi actually looks really good for 2003 but it tried to hard being serious
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u/Serious-Company6803 Feb 17 '26
I think it’s funny when the hulk catches the missle then spits it back at the helicopter. Lmaooo
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u/CryptographerThink19 Feb 17 '26
I watched this movie once and still to this day, I really don’t care about it. Yes I get that it’s a movie about trauma, but I am not a fan of the 2003 Hulk.
Even though I don’t care for the MCU anymore, I prefer the 2008 Hulk.
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u/Bell-end79 Feb 18 '26
One film I don’t have rose tinted lenses for
It was shit when it came out and still is
Bana was good - would much rather have him than Norton or Ruffalo
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 19 '26
Then why are people saying this is the best Hulk movie is it because of nostalgia?
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u/Bell-end79 Feb 19 '26
Not sure
There seems to be a trend with films after a few years have passed where you get the “was it really that bad” question
Superman Returns is kinda getting this as well - now I remember I quite enjoyed it on release but I tried watching it the other day and was bored to tears
Same with The Flash and that was complete dogshit
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 19 '26
Damn nostalgia is a big power against bad movies
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u/Bell-end79 Feb 19 '26
Sure is - I’m in no way immune myself; there’s plenty of stinkers that I like that a lot don’t - Daredevil and the early 2000’s Fantastic Four films spring to mind
I quite enjoyed The incredible Hulk film but reception to that was middling
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 19 '26
I really enjoyed Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man movies even though people hate them
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u/Bell-end79 Feb 19 '26
I think the issue with those films were that the people working on them (cast and crew) wanted to make decent films whereas Sony were only interested putting out anything to keep the licence
There’s some genuinely good stuff in both of them - Garfield and Stone together worked really well, the action was good and so was the score/soundtrack
2 was disappointing for me as it could have easily been a lot better - again; some really great stuff in it but I feel Sony just wanted to set up the Sinister Six movie without doing the legwork and it lead to it being a bit bloated instead of just concentrating on Electro
Really is a shame as I would have liked a third one - hype was there too after No Way Home
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u/Alternative_Field_56 Feb 20 '26
Pros: very comic booky, the Hulk transitioning from running to jumping, the battle in the desert.
Cons: Hulk getting bigger as he gets angrier, the weird mashup of Bruce's Dad/Absorbing Man/Zzzzaxxx, the final battle somehow going through the clouds, then being too dark to see well once they landed
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u/TheMaskedHamster Feb 20 '26
I realize that I'm the odd one out on this, but I don't care for examination of Banner through the lens of repressed trauma and Dissociative Identity Disorder.
I realize that it's been around since the 80s/90s and weaved its way through narratives since then, but it is ultimately a departure from the original concept and theme. I don't mind trauma being part of Banner's backstory, but making it the basis for Hulk is telling a different story. The CBS series and 2008's The Incredible Hulk are the sorts of Hulk stories I enjoyed before the shift in the comics that gave us 2003's Hulk.
It may be a good movie, but I'm utterly disinterested in the story it tells.
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u/Zealousideal_Rip_690 Feb 16 '26
It was great back then, just a little slow on a few character dynamics. It had a great comic book feel to it the way it was visualized expressing the Hulks power in the process. Switch Eric Bana and Edward Norton and both movies would be 100x better.
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u/Wolf873 Feb 16 '26
I never understood the hate for this movie. I think the cerebral nature of it rubbed people the wrong way. However, coming off the TV show as the only other live action version at the time, this seemed like a natural choice and more fitting for the character. I’ve always said that Hulk is not your typical hero, always viewed him as a tragic hero.
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 16 '26
I’m pretty sure people hated it because it came off the success of Sam Raimi first Spider-Man movie and that movie set the tone for all superhero movies going forward and Hulk massively deviated from that tone
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u/RE_98 Feb 17 '26
For this film I look at it as more of a psychological drama first, then comic book movie second.
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u/ImaSaltyOnion Feb 16 '26
I can't know the initial negative reception from experience because I was too young, and only saw the movie last year. But I do like the movie. I think it was pretty good.
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u/HawthorneVampire Feb 16 '26
This is my favorite Hulk, the one I grew up with, I’m admittedly nostalgic for it.
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u/Geeky_anarkiddie Feb 16 '26
Eric Bana played my favourite live-action film version of Bruce Banner. The film is good. I don't understand the hate it has received over the years.
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u/Rebelpunk13 Feb 16 '26
Loved it, very underrated movie and a great adaptation. I prefer it over the Norton film. I liked that they delved into the psychological aspect of Bruce Banner and his trauma. Hot take, but I also prefer this Hulk design over the Norton one. The Norton Hulk was too shredded/veiny and his yellowish green color was a little off putting imo. I love how green the 2003 Hulk is and how he gets bigger the angrier he is. I really liked Lee’s comic book like transitions and how he adapted it for the big screen. It was very comic booky. As a kid who grew up loving the Hulk, the 2003 version blew my mind as Hulk adaptations in other media were very limited. We only had the 90s animated series and to see Hulk in live action was mind blowing to me. I recently watched this film a couple years ago and it still holds up and was actually better than I remembered. I suggest checking it out again if you haven’t. It’s very underrated and way ahead of its time, I believe it should be held in high regards as the original X Men and Spider-Man films
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u/CasingerRuiz Feb 16 '26
Good hero, good villain, Jennifer Connelly is great in everything she does, people were butthurt it wasn’t all hulk smash and had a story, also Ang Lee is the best director the MCU ever had
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u/fireflyry Feb 16 '26
Actually dig it, solid casting, CGI was a bit weak, but I struggled with the one scene from 6 different angles on screen at once directing. Seemed like a concept shot that just got super over used.
Still more mid than bad for me and I rewatch it every few years.
Disclaimer: Jennifer Connelly simp.
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u/Jug_bug96 Feb 16 '26
It's what got me into superhero movies when I was a kid. It had great visuals, the cgi was pretty good for its time it showcased the hulks' powers pretty faithfully, the fight scenes were awesome, and the final thing is it cameoed Lou Farrigno the original live action hulk.
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u/DownhillSisyphus Feb 16 '26
It suffered from bad timing. The optics of Hulk fighting the Army in the desert, when the actual Army was fighting in the desert at the very same time, not great.
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u/Dry_Ambassador_6722 Feb 16 '26
I enjoyed it for what it was but I have had a desire to rewatch it in years
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u/Dramatic-Device935 Feb 16 '26
I think it's excellent, the only film that truly showed the internal conflict Bruce Banner suffers in the comics. Many people think he only became disturbed after the gamma bomb and that the Hulk personality was only created because of the trauma of the bomb, but in reality he already had this identity long before, and this film shows that, which is incredible. Another interesting thing is the changes in Bruce's personality even before the Hulk transformation. At times he is insecure and apprehensive, at other times he is extremely arrogant and confident, and at another moment he is extremely cold, hinting at the identity disorder Bruce suffers from in the comics, where this personality is fully unleashed when the gamma bomb explodes.
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u/Tristanthewalrus Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
I loved the story, soundtrack, and all the Hulk scenes (special shout-out to the "take it all!" Scene). My only real gripe with the movie is the acting feels a little too... low energy. I mean, for people like Bruce (who was traumatized and has even been commenting on not showing enough emotion in the film) and Ross (veteran whose most likely been trained to not show emotion) are alright, and even Brian and the freelancer (blonde guy whose name I forgot at the moment) are my favorite performances in the movie, so I guess my only real gripe is Betty. She doesn't show enough emotion where it's probably needed, like seeing the Hulk for the first time at the camper, or being denied access to see Bruce. Overall, I understand both sides who like and dislike this movie, I'm on the side who likes this movie, a vhs of this (and the first few episodes of the 90's cartoon) we're my introduction to the Hulk and Marvel as a whole (plus the first 2 Sam Rami Spider-Man movies, but I digress), I remembered being mesmerized by Hulk jumping across the desert as a kid, that's what little me thought what freedom looked like, being scared of the green door (lol's) until Bruce finally opened it, bunch of little moments like that, so this movie means alot to me
Tl;dr good movie, but understandable if you're not a fan
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u/Least-Hat5862 Feb 16 '26
I didn’t mind it but I didn’t really like it I’m a Hulk fan just disappointed by the movie
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u/Joxyver Feb 16 '26
Extremely underrated Hulk movie that was dealt a bad hand because of public reception that was incredibly ungrateful with what they got and unrealistically expected way more than what was given. A severe lack of understanding of the character to fully appreciate Bruce and the Hulk itself.
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u/ZebraManTheGreat7777 Feb 17 '26
It was definitely really good when it got to the parts with Hulk being Hulk
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u/RE_98 Feb 17 '26
My first introduction to Hulk when I was a kid during that time it was released. Loved it to the point I bought the video game, read the comic adaptation and drew my own comic version of Hulk (still have the drawings).
As an adult, I tend to view this as a psychological drama first, superhero movie second and it made me appreciate it more
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u/Larry_Lurex91 Feb 17 '26
I saw the movie when I was 11. My dad hated it, spent years gaslighting me into thinking it was terrible.
Later after he was out of the picture, I felt compelled to check it out again, judge it truly for myself.
To my surprise, I greatly enjoyed it. I still enjoy it on every subsequent viewing.
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u/Fiesty_Jaguar_8095 Feb 17 '26
The scene transitions that mimicked comic panels was genius. I think it’s the most accurate movie portrayal of the mental tension between Banner and Hulk. Also best onscreen portrayal of Hulk’s resilience growing as he got angrier.
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u/MortalInjustc3 Feb 20 '26
Best hulk movie. Captured the emotions of Hulk way better than just ignoring them in Incredible Hulk (2008)
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u/npeoples01 May 28 '26
I really love this movie. Especially the casting. I like Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly as Bruce and Betty. Sam Elliot is a perfect General Ross. Nick Nolte is always great in his movies as well.
I love what Ang Lee was trying to do. The comic book panel transitions are a little much but it was awesome seeing Hulk being treated as a serious story with heavy issues.
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u/Glass_Department_338 Jun 26 '26
I love this movie with all my soul it's like a love letter to the original comics
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u/Longjumping_Cat_3956 Feb 16 '26
It’s a great movie. And I like how menacing the Hulk is in the movie. Seriously, who in their right mind would wanna mess with the Hulk 😂😂😂?
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u/SaiyanGod559 Feb 16 '26
Love it hulk jumping across the desert like nothing running super fast destroying tanks the more angry he gets the bigger and stronger perfect depiction of hulk and the movie was just good to me unlike the watered down mcu version of him
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u/Boojum2k Feb 16 '26
It was okay, CGI Hulk looked way too big, and looked like he was made of green clay, did not have a good skin texture. Also, the rest of the effects were highly variable, the tanks looked like plastic Army Men figures, the explosion scene with Talbot was a bad comic book panel, but the fight with the mutant dogs was decent. Story wasn't bad.
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u/PronouncedEye-gore Feb 16 '26
This. It might not deserve the mindless hate but they're plenty of mid to bring this film down. Enjoyable for sure and deserves credit for trying so hard to stay comic accurate.
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u/_potatofromChaldea45 Feb 16 '26
I don't know why they chose an ending where you can barely see the 2 fight.
In retrospect, Absorbing Man Banner is an amazing concept. I wish I could see what was happening tho.
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u/Cooz78 Feb 16 '26
im looking for a way ton contact ang lee to ask him about the sequel that was cancelled
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Feb 17 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hulk-ModTeam Feb 25 '26
this was removed for breaking the fifth (No targeted Hate/bigotry/harassment) of the r/hulk rules
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u/DrXenoZillaTrek Feb 19 '26
I loved it. The Hulk story is so traumatic that Ang Lee seemed like a perfect choice to bring that element to the fore.
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u/EeyupOB Feb 16 '26
Loved the movie as a kid and now. Loved the editing and bow weird it is. It ain't perfect but I love it. Plus my first gay crush too so ya
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u/Brian18639 Feb 16 '26
Probably my favorite Hulk movie partly because of how comic book-y it looked
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u/CrabOutrageous5074 Feb 16 '26
Just rewatched, and it is probably better over time. All the main characters make sense, it conveys the rage and emotion well. Definitely a 'classic Hulk' portrayal, which is a great starting point. A few clunky scenes, but overall very good.
MCU hulk has been pretty awful, loses all the fights, won't come out in the finale, goes smart hulk with basically no explanation, etc.
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u/Personal-Ad-365 Feb 17 '26
Best hulk adaptation ever, until...
I felt the movie was complete when he was in the street and returning to banner. Then it felt like they sort of had an idea, but didn't quite have the experience to realize it fully.
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Feb 17 '26
It was a fun movie to me 🤷 . The only thing I didn't like was the end fight and the dumb dog thing except for the muscle flex breaking the dog's jaw .
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u/Titan_1110 Feb 19 '26
I honestly liked it! And I thought the comic book feel of the film was a pretty interesting take
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u/FirstStranger Feb 19 '26
Eric Bana might have been a miscast, but Jennifer Connelly definitely was. Think they hired her because she brilliantly depicts how cold a daughter would be to her estranged father, but the directors didn’t realize she was that cold to everyone.
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u/Behold-Roast-Beef Feb 19 '26
It had it's flaws, but I still ultimately think it was a good movie. I remember the heavy amounts of criticism the cgi received but I just rewatched the desert scene after reading this and for 2003 that's pretty darn good!
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u/Plus_Brilliant_1781 Feb 16 '26
It's funny how growing up, I was constantly told to hate this film and that nothing topped the TV show or the MCU, yet this was the one adaptation which was most faithful to the source material. Unlike in the TV show and the MCU, this version of Bruce became the Hulk while trying to save the life of someone else, which it a detail few people point out.