Podcast friends: I’ve got a great new episode for you this week, as Ryan Steans from the Signal Watch returns to discuss Hulk, the 2003 Ang Lee/Eric Bana film about how hard it is to blow up frogs for a living. The film is entirely populated by furious people, and in this episode, you’ll see what kind of effect that has on our personal outlooks.
You don’t have to actually watch Hulk in order to enjoy the podcast episode, and in fact it might work out better for you to avoid it. We walk through the movie and give you all the context you need to appreciate this absolutely terrible and unintentionally amusing mess of a movie.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, YouTube, Overcast, Audible, Stitcher and lots of other places. Come check it out!
Here’s Act 2:
And here’s Act 3:
Next week on the podcast:
Marvel’s Eternals!
— Danny Horn
Superheroes Every Day 
“Mutant poodle beatdown” is certainly one of the odder choices in 21st century blockbuster plotting.
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I guess someone saw “Crouching Tiger” and thought “superhero movie director.” I didn’t watch this because the reviews were terrible. Your description of the final confrontation between Bruce and David caused me to seek out the clip of that scene. Worse than I imagined. I’ve seen several Ang Lee movies and they were very good. What happened here? He had no trouble recreating Jane Austen’s Regency society but Stan Lee and Jack Kirby confounded him? Obviously he got no help from the Hulk script but there are shots in the 10 minutes of footage I saw that were odd choices for a seasoned director. Did Nolte intimidate him? Did he refuse to take direction? I look forward to eventually reading your explanation.
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So many wasted chances to show Eric Bana’s body. They could have made us forget about his acting if his chest had been given a chance to shine. Though I still can’t buy someone that pretty as a scientist (Pietro Boselli aside).
As for Hulk not needing a car, why should that stop the toymakers. Just search for Hulk car toys and you’ll see what previous generations did.
Didn’t Nick Nolte go off the rails around this time and permanently look like David Banner? Was this film the straw that sent him over the edge?
And speaking of David Banner, I did like the nod toward Bill Bixby by naming him David.
I figure the lab assistant Harper was a stand-in for Rick Jones from the Hulk’s comic origin, giving Bruce the chance to save someone and take the brunt of the gamma explosion himself. Though at least he shoved Rick into a trench rather than just relying on his body to shield him from radiation.
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