L'incroyable Hulk

Forget the recent laughable FX travesty starring Eric Bana, watch this gripping TV movie which was the pilot for the long-running series. Credit must be given to Kenny Johnson for straying from the comics (which featured the Hulk fighting mutant super-villains) and bringing in a more believable premise. Despite the slight name change, David Bruce Banner is just as tormented a character as his comic book namesake. As Bruce Banner in the comics is haunted by the abuse he suffered from his father, David Banner is disturbed by the fact that he could not save his wife in a car crash, which drives him into investigating what factors can trigger human strength at times of stress. Of course, he injects himself with too much gamma radiation, and whenever angered, his body and muscles expand, his clothes rip and he turns into Lou Ferrigno, wearing a bushy wig and painted green. After he first becomes the Hulk, David wants to find out why and how it happened, with the help of a scientist friend. He sets about finding a cure, only to be hindered by nosy reporter Jack McGee.

The Incredible Hulk certainly has its moments. Bill Bixby gives intensity and emotion to his beleaguered character, and Susan Sullivan is solid as his only friend Dr. Elaina Marks. But the best sequences involve the presence of the Big Green Man. In terms of physical shape, Ferrigno was at his peak here and he was excellent as The Hulk. Unlike the bloated, badly drawn movie Hulk, this Hulk is mean, convincingly hard and capable of violence, but he also has a heart and tries to save innocent people.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if all of Marvel and D.C. 's came to our boring little reality to peacefully co-exist ? If we ever did have a Hulk,this is the closest thing.Gone is the Roswell-like cover-up of a green monster and here we have a closer and realistic version of a tabloid reporter seeking the truth in an X-File that even Mulder and Scully wouldn't even acknowledge.Ten stars for the most sympathetic and misunderstood monster.

This pre-series pilot was a good way to start off a TV saga based on a comic book superhero. To me, it is a TV-movie classic.

As you'll see in this pilot (as well as the series that followed it), our hero is really a reluctant hero. We have a man who changes into a seven-foot green creature, but he doesn't want to. All he wants is to be rid of the curse. Still, he has to give his alter-ego credit for having saved countless lives.

The three characters in the series are also ones that I can relate to because of various common traits, and they are as follows:

David Banner: he is a man looking for solace. In addition, I know what it's like to be close to obtaining certain goals, only to have them suddenly slip away. He's experienced that himself when he has thought that he would finally be cured of his problem, only to have something happen and ruin that chance.

The Incredible Hulk: he has experienced something we all experience in life: rejection. In his case, the rejections tend to result from some misunderstanding. Like the Frankenstein monster, the Hulk is misunderstood, and, therefore, people confuse his intentions. Few people will admit it, but I am sometimes misunderstood. And I suspect that other people's general misconceptions about me has often played a role in my being rejected.

Jack McGee: he is, of course, the newspaper reporter who chases the Hulk, thinking our hero is a killer. McGee is persistent in his goal to capture and expose the Hulk. Like McGee, I am very relentless when it comes to reaching certain objectives, and I tend not to give up until they are finally obtained.

Dr.David Bruce Banner is looking for an inner strength that people get in times of peril. He is mad he didn't have it to save his wife when she died. He uses gamma radiation on himself. Which turns him into the superhuman monster The Incredible Hulk! Bill Bixby is perfect as Banner,and Ferringo is perfect as Hulk I loved this film,everything about it is great. It is a super hero film,but it reminded me of the old universal monster films. We get references to The Wolfman,and Frankenstein. I thought those were great. Also a very touching musical score. Much better than the new hulk!

4/4

The last time I saw this movie I was 7 years old. When I saw the DVD in the shop some 24 years later, I could not resist to buy it. After watching it, I think it is money well spent.

It is by far better than I remembered it to be. Kenneth Johnson takes some strong liberties with the character's name and origin. Nonetheless, the audience bought his treatment, and the show ran for five years.

After seeing way too many hokey comic book adaptions as well as the latest big screen blockbuster, I must say that this is most certainly very well done. The acting was top notch and Bixby will always be the definitive David Bruce Banner. Lou Ferrigno gave the creature more soul than the recent CGI incarnation. Ferrigno portrayed a non-evil, but nonetheless frightening creature, an element which is sadly lacking in the big screen adaption. The lonely man theme at the end, sets the tone for the story. The Hulk/Banner is a tragic story, and despite all of Johnson's liberties is more true to the character than the big screen adaption ever will be.

A classic for people like me who enjoy adaptions of comic-book characters. 8 out of 10.