Is Hulk (2003) MASSIVELY UNDERRATED?

No. It's overly pretentious, boring, depressing and way too long for a movie with little Hulk action and so much talking.

It deserves the reception it got back in 2003 and still gets from people.

@financialvgs208: yeah but hulk isn’t a mindless monster but a tragic character so why do you think it’s an art house film that didn’t work ?

Just because it's different from the average CBM (both back then and now) doesn't make it good. It's aiming high, but it's also missing all its targets, and just ends a dull mess of a movie.

@quinlan58: please explain how it’s bad like that ?

No. Its boring as hell

Bruh it's hot trash

@green_scar: It's been years so I can't give a detailed answer, but its plot structure is all over the place without ever gaining momentum (this is its biggest flaw), its cinematography is dull and ocassionally makes what's happening on the screen too confusing (this is its endings biggest flaw) and its characterization isn't really any better than your average CBM, just presented more "seriously".

@quinlan58:

The cinematography doesn’t seem this bad . I see your point on momentum and on the ending since that was badly written as it happened underwater but still I don’t think this is as bad as the very weak cbms , like an average mcu or dceu film should be at this level for people meanwhile this movie was hated a lot

@richubs: @kevd4wg: could you give an explanation ? I just saw it and I think that this is the marvel version of man of steel

Yes, very so.

You are being a little too nice.

Yes, extremely underrated. I love it, it's way better than MCU's Hulk.

It was definitely ahead of its time.

@green_scar: Is that supposed to be a good thing?

@skywalker95: how much would you rate it out a 10 ? I agree that it’s a much better hulk that gets angrier compared to the mcu one

@takenstew22: do you think it’s better than the 2008 version and how much out of 10 would you give

I'd give it a solid 8.

@kevd4wg: I think so because man of steel was another misunderstood movie . The cinematography and soundtrack in snyder film is better than most films and the villain was good ,

we saw a Superman that could change and not a boring superman like the one it had superman returns who saved the world , he had to change himself and have decisions . plus the action was great so i think these two films are very underrated and good as the top cbms

Overall I think it's better than 2008 because Hulk has more screen time I believe, however the Abomination fight was awesome. They're close. I'd give them about a 7.

@takenstew22: I prefer the abomination fight since it was close and it was fun seeing hulk getting angrier and stronger and beating him at the end , we also had a development but the military scene was much better in the 2003 film and more fun because we saw hulk leaping which is honestly the best thing of the 03 version

I agree with you on the vote .

fair

@green_scar: I can agree it's similar to Man of Steel in the sense, that it's an overly pretentious pompous movie that acts like it has a lot more to say than it does. However, unlike Man of Steel, it looks like complete shit, which makes it like a solid 3.

Nope. Just a really forgettable movie with really forgettable performances from usually good actors, a lack of action, a Hulk who doesn't make an appearance until nearly 45 minutes into the movie, no memorable antagonist, and a plot that never properly develops. It's boring and tried too hard to be the "serious tone" comic movie. Oh, and the CGI was lackluster.

@kevd4wg: what ? man of steel is not a 3 and has been gotten a good rep nowdays . You didn’t give a single reasoning why these films are bad , it’s your opinion but unlike saying hulk is trash would you say what you didn’t like about the character ?

@indomitableregal: man of steel and the dark knight rises didn’t have their main hero’s in the suit before 40 minutes in the movie just saying . I think that elliot and nolte weren’t bad performances tbh. not trying to be defensive but just wanted to see some opinions on this film

@green_scar: Yeah Man of Steel is a 5 cuz it at least is interesting to look at, and I couldn't really care less for other people's opinions as a movie.

...and I did give you a reason. They both are extremely pretentious without actually saying 1/2 as much as pretending they do. They use hamfisted metaphors and allegory without actually exploring their themes, and by being so pretentious and "brooding" and "serious", they completely miss on delivering a fun movie going experience that the vast majority of Comic Book movies do(Hulk is much worse in this regard).

Don't forget some of the worst editing ever put on a big budget movie

@kevd4wg: yeah ok but mos has a lot of good stuff and was too criticized on release that’s what I am saying .

there are enough fun and good cbm so a darker one can be good for a change. Unless you imply that the Incredible Hulk or superman returns are better than these two films . opinions are subjective

Zod trying to save his place and the general trying to stop hulk weren’t actually bad or allegory lol. i think that you missed the point of hulk, he is not the monster but the man inside the monster . he is more darker than light earthed in this film

@green_scar: Yeah Dark CBMs can be good... when they have good writing. These don't. Just being dark doesn't make a good movie.

and yeah I didn't miss the message of Hulk, you would have to be a child to miss it

@kevd4wg:if you didn’t miss the message why you don’t like this psychological aspect of hulk ? I prefer this than the 2008 which was just a good action flick for me .

i know that being dark doesn’t mean it good but there has been good dark cbms like blade or watchmen that were considered divisive on release .

It's pretty generic, it does get boring at times, the acting isn't the best and the villain was trash. Though I guess it serves somewhat decently as just an action flick (seeing Hulk fight Hulk Dogs, escaping the Base and the Desert Scene are some highlights from the film).

I wouldn't really say it's underrated, let alone massively underrated.

@green_scar: I don't like either this Hulk or the 2008 version. I got the "message", but it's the same message in every mediocre Hulk comic, it's not exactly new to the Jekell/Hyde dynamic or a particularly interesting or nuanced take on it. It analyzes the man in the monster to the same level of depth that Infinity War analyzes heroism, except Infinity War is also a really good action movie, while Hulk devotes the whole movie to a mediocre drama.

@kevd4wg: why did you bring infinity war , that has a coward hulk who doesn’t even fight and gets weaker during the fight lol you are clearly not a fan of the character if you liked iw hulk which is the worst thing of the film . iw was a good movie yes but it’s a Completely different movie lol .

the mcu hulk that you didn’t like aswell doesn’t seem much like hulk in the 2008 film , we totally didn’t see his origin story or his struggles so how it’s a better version ? I am talking about the mcu version overall

Good point. That too.

Completely different situations. TDKR is the 3rd film in the series. We've already seen Bruce in costume, and he's supposed to be retired for like 8 years if memory serves. It makes sense that we have to watch what happens to force him back into the cowl. And in the meantime, you had Bane running around. It may have taken 40 minutes, but it didn't feel like you were just waiting around for it to happen.

Man of Steel is somewhat similar. Even if we don't see him in the suit yet, his powers are at least being established. Not that MoS was a great film anyway. Good, but not great.

As far as the performances you mentioned, they were just eh to me.

@indomitableregal: I agree on batman and mos being better but while they had a good reasoning why the hero doesn’t show up, hulk has the reason of the flashbacks and the origin story so they are similar in that sense (more to man of steel I think ) ?

do you like hulk as a character or just this film wasnt good for you ?

I don’t think it’s massively underrated. It really just comes from an old school era of cbm’s pre-Batman Begins/Iron Man that when compared to modern cbm’s it’s just not appealing to the majority. Not that it was raved over back in 2003 when I first saw it, but how cbm’s have evolved since then does this movie no favors. I think performances by the actors were fine and I didn’t mind how they dove into Bruce’s mental issues and past, gave us a bit more to chew on than basic “don’t make me angry” schtick. The visuals are really dated and it def needed more Hulk scenes, but overall I personally enjoy it. As a matter of fact I prefer it over The Incredible Hulk, which while is a better cbm in comparison to HULK, I find The Incredible Hulk to be very vanilla dry toast. Also ‘03 Hulk was way more impressive to the ‘08 version we got as far as the action scenes go. Even tho I may personally enjoy the movie, I can def see why others don’t

No, it really is that bad.

Il rewatch it in the future but for now it’s nice to see some mixed opinions on the topic. I guess I am not the only one who thinks it’s not that bad

@mrmonster: @mazahs117: would you guys say that it’s "bad" as batman forever Or daredevil 2003

It's slow, boring and the characters can't be less charismatic.

@green_scar: On my personal scale I have it over both of those, but the directors cut of 03’ Daredevil was a lot better than the theater version. But still if I’m going to refer anyone on anything live action Daredevil related, the Netflix series is the way to go ....and the 03’ film should be erased from existence

Detective?

@kevd4wg: ?? As I said infinity war hulk is the worst hulk showing on screen , you could have bring up ragnarok which atleast had some good moments or avengers 1 hulk but hulk just got massively worse in the last two films that I prefer the 03 version.

@mazahs117: I see so you think it’s a middle in the pack movie for marvel And yes daredevil tv series is better than hulk live action version for sure . But the thing is that hulk is hit or miss in movies atleast for me

he was good in avengers , 03, Ragnarok and age of Ultron. bad in infinity war, endgame and 08 film.

Honestly, I thought it set up a second movie really well; but it never got there.

It wasn't a *bad* movie in my opinion, and it had HUGE potential to be part of a much greater series. But it never happened.

Thanks for reading,

Floopay

The problem is you can't wait that long to have him transform into the Hulk because Banner isn't a compelling enough character on his own. And Hulk as a character is predicated on rage and destruction. So trying to turn the film into this dark, slow-paced, melancholic exploration of Banner's life and psyche, etc. just doesn't work out. Not to mention the fact that it was just executed poorly, and came out right around the same period as Spider-Man (2002), X2 (2003), and Spider-Man 2 (2004).

And I do like Hulk as a character. This was just a bad film.

@indomitableregal: I agree but honestly when banner is done well, he is good. Not great as Clark Kent or tony stark for sure.

i see your opinion and why you didn’t like it so just disagree. Bruce psyche and life was kinda explored but after thinking twice there waant a big development so I can see your criticism . So we Are done

@green_scar: Not quite Batman Forever bad, but I'd say it's equivalent to Daredevil.

@mrmonster: fair enough. Atleast this movie didn’t ruin two main villains in a movie lol

@skywalker95:

Better hulk

Worse movie

I think it's underrated for sure. It doesn't hit the mark it was aiming for, but it was still pretty solid imo.

I feel like the acting is the biggest thing holding it back honestly.