Starting late tomorrow night, U.S. audiences will be able to see “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (read our B- review). But before you sit down for the latest and greatest Marvel Studios has to offer, let’s wind back the clocks to the halcyon days of 2003 when Kevin Feige had a lot less power, the comic giants weren’t in the business of making their own films, and the big green monster finally got his own movie.
Directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana alongside Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte, 2003’s “Hulk” dared to eschew the typical action movie structure for something more poetic, albeit with comic book style transitions. It’s a film that plays less like a faithful rendering of the Hulk onscreen and more like Lee using the characters and trappings to delve into his favorite themes of repression and family dysfunction. Naturally, this take drew the ire of fans and has endured as Marvel’s equivalent to the Joel Schumacher “Batman” movies – aka, a punchline – so it shouldn’t come as a shock to find that Screen Junkies has given Lee’s film the “Honest Trailer” treatment.
READ MORE: Best To Worst: Every Marvel Movie Ranked
The nearly four minute video harps on the usual criticism dropped at the film’s feet: it’s boringness, the dated CG of the Hulk himself, and Lee’s weird and overbearing comic-book inspired look. Watch the Honest Trailer for Ang Lee’s “Hulk” below and let us know whether you agree with the criticisms. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” hits U.S. theaters officially this Friday.