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| Name: | The Hulk Movie | | Producer: | Universal | | Release Date (USA): | Jun 20, 2003 |
| Stars: | ¶¶¶¶ (out of 5) | | Synopsis: | David Banner, a respected scientist, worked for the US Department of Defense, doing research on self-healing factors. He discovered how to enhance the human body, but the Base's commanding officer, Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross, felt it was too soon to test the experiments on humans. So David tried his findings on himself with good results, but didn't say a word.
Some time later, David's wife, Edith, told David that she was expecting a baby. David didn't like the news. He did not want a son because he feared that his altered genetic structure would pass onto the child. They named their son Bruce and David's fears proved true. He confirmed that Bruce would heal inhumanly rapidly; he also witnessed how anger would turn Bruce's skin somewhat green.
David decided to find a cure for his son, but Ross discovered that David was trying his experiments on humans, and fired David on the spot. In retaliation, David blasted the lab into pieces, and then decided to kill his own son, the "monster," using a kitchen knife. Bruce's mom, Edith, tried to save her son, but David accidentally killed her instead. Bruce witnessed it all. Ross' troops reached Banner's residence seconds later, and arrested David. David was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Bruce buried the awful, traumatic event as repressed memories.
Repressing those events, Bruce grew up at his aunt's house, and went on to become a great scientist. Some time later, he met and dated his colleague Betty Ross, who coincidentally was General Ross' daughter. Due to Bruce's psychological problems with dealing with emotions, however, they broke up. Nevertheless, Bruce and Betty continued working together on their research on healing factors, just as Bruce's father did.
Bruce developed the Nanomeds, molecular-sized robots created to dwell inside living beings, and to heal wounds when needed. The Nanomeds would be dormant inside the body until exposed to gamma rays. Bruce and Betty's research was having some success because the Nanomeds worked well when tried on frogs (the animals healed wounds in seconds), but the frogs, after healing, would start growing and explode.
During a routine test, the gamma ray machine started malfunctioning. Banner and Harper, a co-worker, were in the confined area. To save his co-worker, Banner gave Harper the only available mask, and blocked the Gamma rays as they were released from the device. Banner absorbed a high dose of Nanomeds and was bombarded by the Gamma rays. He passed out, but, miraculously, he did not perish. The Nanomeds fixed his "bad" knee. Bruce was feeling better than ever.
One night at the lab's hospital, Bruce was visited by a janitor who confessed to him that he was Bruce's father, David Banner. David told Bruce a lot of crazy, weird stuff about his past and himself, referring to something grand that was inside of him. Bruce rushed the man out, and went to his lab to study samples of his own blood. Confused about his findings, and what his father had told him, he became agitated and turned for the first time into a large green-skin monster: The Hulk!
The Hulk destroyed most of the lab and found David in a corner. The Hulk calmly approached David, who caressed his son on the cheek. The Hulk, though, remembered that the man in front of him had done horrible things, and leaped through the roof.
The following day, Betty visited Bruce's house and found him lying on his bed, wearing only a pair of torn pants (purple pants!). While Bruce and Betty were speaking, General Ross and his men showed up. The US Armed Forces suspected that Bruce was involved in the lab incident. Ross feared that Bruce was a monster like his dad, and ordered his daughter to stay away from Bruce. Ross also ordered Bruce to stay the "hell away" from his daughter, and confined him to his house under heavy surveillance.
Betty visited David Banner to speak about Bruce. After doing so, David ordered Ross' daughter to leave his home.
That night, David Banner called Bruce to tell him that he sent some of his "friends" of visit Betty. David was referring to gamma-spawned monster dogs he had created. At that moment, Glenn Talbot showed up at Bruce's house. Talbot thought that Banner was going to reveal his work to Ross instead of to him. So Talbot (using his fists) demanded that Bruce reveal his work only to him. Bruce turned into the Hulk in front of Talbot's horrified eyes.
Hulk defeated Talbot and sent his men flying around, and leaped to reach the mountain cabin where Betty was staying. Betty heard noises outside and found the Hulk in the dark. The Hulk stood still, looking at her calmly. Amazingly, Betty was able to recognize Bruce as the Hulk. Suddenly, the three gamma-spawned moster dogs showed up. Betty locked herself in her dark red Toyota SUV, and the Hulk confronted the attackers. Hulk was at first overwhelmed by the mighty dogs but he finally unleashed his raw power, and killed the dogs.
Tired, Hulk turned into Bruce Banner, and collapsed into Betty's lap. Betty was very afraid, so she called her father asking for help. Soon later, US troops surrounded the cabin and Banner was put to sleep with a tranquilizer.
Banner was kept sedated for days until Betty convinced her father to let her find a cure. She thought Bruce's repressed memories were the key so she took Bruce to Desert Base, where both lived when they were kids, and entered the Banner's house. Bruce almost lost control when he looked inside of his former home.
Meanwhile, David Banner entered Bruce's lab, absorbed the Nanomeds, and used the Gamma device in himself. He soon found out that he had acquired powers similar to those of the Absorbing Man and killed the security guard who found him at the lab.
Once more, Glenn Talbot visited Bruce but this time, he was covered with bruises and bandages. Talbot hit too hard, though, and Bruce to cause the transformation and be able to get a sample of the Hulk's blood for his own twisted plans. But Bruce was knocked out. Finally, Talbot put Bruce inside a chamber and hit him with electrical shocks to cause the transformation. That worked well. Bruce turned into the Hulk and freed himself from the chamber. Talbot tried to get some blood out of him but was unsuccessful and perished in an explosion. Unable to control the monster, Ross ordered his men to open a gate and let the Hulk out. Ross thought there would be a better chance to fight the Hulk outside. The Hulk destroyed helicopters and tanks, resisting everything he was shot with. Finally, the Hulk was buried under several tons of stones.
But that did not stop the Hulk for long! The Hulk leaped towards San Francisco and landed on the top of the Golden Gate bridge. Attacked by jet planes, the Hulk jumped on one of them. Ross ordered the pilot to take the Hulk out of orbit. The Hulk passed out and fell from the sky, landing on the water next to the bridge. Bombs were dropped where he had landed, so the Hulk excavated a tunnel towards the city, and appeared in a San Francisco neighborhood.
Aware of the situation, Betty convinced her father to take her to the Hulk. Hulk calmed down when he saw Betty aboard the helicopter. Betty walked towards the Hulk who turned into Bruce Banner.
Once more, the Armed Forces had Bruce under control, but they let David Banner have a last conversation with his son. David told Bruce that he wanted his real son, the Hulk, and grabbed a high voltage wire to absorb that power. Bruce turned into the Hulk as David turned into an electric being (like Zzzax). David carried the Hulk to the desert, and they fought. David absorbed the Hulk's might and finally turned into a large, mushroom cloud. Ross ordered his men to drop a small atomic bomb where the Hulk and David were located. After the blast, everyone thought they had both died.
A year later, Ross calls Betty to ask her if she ever saw Bruce again, which she hadn't. Ross reveals that he had heard rumors about a green monster, though he believes the Hulk could not have survived the blast.
As Betty looks outside her window with a spark of hope, we cut to a rain forest Bruce is providing medicine to a Hispanic man. A group of men arrive, and threaten Bruce because the local government was opposed to his operation. Bruce tells the man, in Spanish, that they wouldn't like him when he's angry. Seconds later, the Hulk's roar is heard in the rain forest. |
| Cast & Crew: | Eric Bana (Bruce Banner), Jennifer Connelly (Betty Ross), Sam Elliott (Thunderbolt Ross), Josh Lucas (Glenn Talbot), Nick Nolte (David Banner). Director: Ang Lee. | | Comments: | The first Hulk movie for the silver screen. Cameos by Stan Lee (the Hulk's co-creator) and Lou Ferrigno (played the Hulk in the 70s TV series). |
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