Scientist Bruce Banner fights to control his anger and a traumatic past that he cannot remember. After a freak accident at his laboratory involving gamma radiation, Bruce discovers that his inner demons have taken a physical form: a giant, green monster of unfathomable strength that emerges whenever he loses control. Pursued by the military and his own estranged father, Bruce must find a cure before his alter ego destroys everything he loves.
Information |
|
|---|---|
Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
June 20, 2003 |
Running time |
138 minutes |
Genre |
Action Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$137,000,000 |
Box Office |
$245,360,480 |
Crew |
|
Directed by |
Ang Lee |
Produced by |
Avi Arad Gale Anne Hurd James Schamus |
Written by |
James Schamus Michael France John Turman |
Music by |
Danny Elfman |
Cinematography |
Frederick Elmes |
Edited by |
Tim Squyres |
Production Co. |
Universal Pictures Marvel Enterprises Valhalla Motion Pictures |
Distributed by |
Universal Pictures |
Official Trailer
The Plot
The Sins of the Father
Decades ago, David Banner, a brilliant but unstable genetics researcher, began conducting unauthorized experiments on his own DNA, seeking to improve the human genome. When his wife gave birth to their son, Bruce, David watched the infant with growing dread, fearing that his modified genetic structure had been passed down. His fears were realized when the withdrawn child showed no outward emotion, yet strange patches of green skin would manifest on his body during moments of intense distress. Consumed by guilt for the unintentional damage he had inflicted, David feverishly worked to find a cure for his son's condition.
The research came to a sudden halt when the government, represented by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, discovered the dangerous nature of the experiments and shut the program down. In a fit of desperate rage, David caused a catastrophic explosion of the facility's gamma reactor. The incident resulted in the accidental death of his wife, a tragedy that led to David being locked away in a mental institution. Young Bruce, traumatized and suppressing the memories of his parents and the explosion, was sent into the foster care system. Throughout his upbringing, these repressed memories haunted him as intense, formless nightmares that left him shaken, though he remained unable to recall the specific events that caused them.
The Berkeley Experiments
Twenty years later, Bruce Banner has grown into a brilliant researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, working alongside his ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross. Together, they are developing a revolutionary technique using nanobots to regenerate living tissue. However, the experiments are volatile; while the nanobots are successfully activated by Gamma radiation, the results consistently lead to uncontrollable cellular growth and the gruesome death of the test subjects. The research catches the eye of the military-industrial complex, specifically the unscrupulous Major Talbot, who envisions weaponizing the technology to create self-healing soldiers.
General "Thunderbolt" Ross, now Betty’s estranged father, also takes a keen interest in the project. Having learned of Bruce's involvement through Talbot, Ross becomes deeply concerned. His apprehension is twofold: he fears for his daughter's safety working alongside the son of a madman, and he is unsettled that Bruce has unwittingly entered the same dangerous field of study as the father he does not remember. Meanwhile, David Banner, having been released, resurfaces and infiltrates his son's life, working as a janitor in the university lab to observe Bruce from the shadows.
The Gamma Accident
Tensions rise as Major Talbot presses for results, driven by a desire to patent the discovery for a fortune and a deep-seated jealousy of Bruce, stemming from Talbot's own past romantic history with Betty. The situation reaches a breaking point when a laboratory accident occurs involving the nanobots and a massive exposure to gamma rays. In an act of heroism to save a colleague, Bruce absorbs a lethal dose of radiation. However, instead of killing him, the radiation interacts with his dormant, mutated DNA.
That night, the repressed rage and the genetic alterations fuse, triggering Bruce’s first transformation into the Hulk. The massive, green-skinned creature destroys the laboratory before fleeing. Bruce awakens with no memory of the event, but the incident confirms General Ross's worst fears. Ross immediately moves to have Bruce sealed away from the world, viewing him as an extension of David Banner’s threat. Talbot, conversely, sees the Hulk as a biological goldmine, obsessed with unlocking the secrets of Bruce's DNA to replicate the transformation.
A Two-Front War
Bruce finds himself besieged on all sides. The military, commanded by General Ross, hunts him down, while Talbot maneuvers to capture him for experimentation. Amidst this chaos, David Banner reveals himself to his son. The elder Banner has become completely obsessed with the creature Bruce becomes, believing that the Hulk is the next step in human evolution. David admits to murdering his wife and reveals that he has been conducting his own experiments to copy Bruce's transformative abilities. He demonstrates this newfound power by biting into an electrical cord and absorbing the energy, proving he can replicate the properties of various forms of matter.
Bruce is eventually captured by the military and detained at a desert base. Talbot seizes the opportunity to provoke Bruce, hoping to trigger a transformation he can study and dissect. His arrogance proves fatal; the stress causes Bruce to transform into the Hulk, who easily overpowers the containment measures. In the ensuing escape, the Hulk rampages through the base, battling tanks and helicopters, eventually escaping into the desert.
Climax at the Gamma Base
David Banner, now completely unhinged and possessing unstable powers of absorption, allows himself to be captured by the military to gain access to the Gamma Base where he believes Bruce will return. He confronts his son under the guise of making amends, but his true goal is megalomaniacal. He needs the Hulk’s immense energy to stabilize his own cellular reaction, which is spiraling out of control. He intentionally taunts Bruce, using psychological warfare to trigger the transformation.
The confrontation escalates into a titanic battle between father and son. David Banner transforms into a massive being composed of electricity and rock, absorbing the energy of the base and the environment. He attempts to absorb the Hulk's power directly, but he underestimates the sheer magnitude of his son's rage. The Hulk's power is infinite, and as David tries to consume it, his cells become oversaturated. Bruce’s inner strength and the Hulk’s outer power prove too much for David to contain, causing his form to destabilize into an amorphous, chaotic mass.
The Final Judgment
Recognizing the existential threat posed by the two entities, General Ross orders a desperate, last-ditch strike. An F-22 Raptor is deployed to drop a high-energy Gamma Charge Bomb directly onto the combatants. The massive explosion obliterates David Banner, ending his madness once and for all. In the blinding flash and subsequent shockwave, Bruce Banner is presumed dead, vanishing without a trace amidst the destruction.
In the aftermath, Betty Ross and her father operate under a strained truce. The General tries to comfort his daughter over her loss while simultaneously continuing a covert search for Bruce, suspecting that the creature may have survived. Betty, heartbroken but resilient, refuses to give up hope.
The Doctor in the Jungle
Far away from the scrutiny of the military, Bruce Banner is revealed to be alive, hiding in the dense rainforests of South America. He has seemingly found a new purpose, using his medical knowledge to treat the impoverished locals. His solitude is interrupted when a group of guerrillas arrives at his camp, demanding the medicine he is using for the sick. The leader of the group threatens Bruce, pushing him toward a familiar precipice.
Bruce looks up, his eyes flashing a vibrant, dangerous green. He delivers a warning in Spanish: "You're making me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." As the camera pulls up, offering a bird's-eye view of the vast Amazon canopy, the terrifying, triumphant roar of the Hulk echoes through the jungle, signaling that the beast is not only alive but that Bruce has learned to direct his fury toward those who deserve it.
Top Cast
- Eric Bana as Bruce Banner / Hulk
- Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross
- Sam Elliott as General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross
- Josh Lucas as Glenn Talbot
- Nick Nolte as David Banner
- Paul Kersey as Young David Banner
- Cara Buono as Edith Banner
- Todd Tesen as Young Thaddeus Ross
