The Hulk
You may be reluctant to admit it, but the appeal of watching The Incredible Hulk on TV lay in seeing a diminutive, unassuming man get picked on. We all waited eagerly for Dr Banner's switch to be flicked; to see him become a mean, green fighting machine ready to right some wrongs (which usually meant cracking skulls or easing fallen tree trunks off of pet puppies).
In Ang Lee's beefed up cinema version, righting wrongs isn't that simple. He takes a full 40 minutes to set the scene, exploring the development of a complex father-and-child relationship before finally hitting that Hulk moment.
And as exciting as the violent (but not murderous) intent of the 15-foot fluorescent behemoth may be, the film's real, hideous strength lies in examining our human predisposition towards aggression.
There's a Jekyll and Hyde within most of us; after all, peace lovers can become road ragers in an instant. It's this side of human nature, as well as our martial ambitions to dominate through brute force, that Lee explores.
He does this, in particular, by portraying the escalating efforts of a power-hungry US military machine, eager to subdue the Hulk in order to harness the secrets of his apparent invulnerability.
The director also continues his fascination with the theme of family breakdown (see the excellent The Ice Storm). The chaos caused by the Hulk is a result of Banner's work-obsessed scientist father experimenting on his own son with strength serum.
Lee seems to be suggesting that strained family ties are at the real heart of societal violence. The raging Hulk is a timely symbol of the damaging effects of childhood angst and alienation, and inspires pathos instead of blind adoration for its violent antics.
Hulk drives the message home with full force: violence is not to be admired but to be regarded as one of the most regrettable consequences of our broken relationships. Ultimately though, as the case of Cain testifies, it was a broken relationship with our Creator parent that sowed the first violent seed.
And no amount of military might or not-so-jolly green giants can heal that rift. It sounds like the job for an unassuming, but not entirely mild-mannered, Prince of Peace...
Jason Gardner
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