Ang Lee had to much freedom on Hulk

4 October 2019

Ang Lee thinks he was given too much freedom on his 'Hulk' film.

Ang Lee

The three-time Oscar winner was the first director to be given the responsibility by Marvel to bring Bruce Banner's giant, violent and green alter ego to life on the big screen but his artistic "psychodrama" split the opinion of audiences and the character was rebooted in 2007 film 'The Incredible Hulk' - the second movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The 64-year-old filmmaker took on the project shortly after the success of 2000's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' - which earned him his first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film - and in hindsight he thinks that Marvel and Universal Pictures should have had more involvement in the decision-making process as they understood the genre better than him at the time.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he said: "The first 'Spider-Man' came out while I was making 'Hulk'. And here I was shooting psychodrama! Back then the system was not as strict as it is today. After 'Crouching Tiger', they must have thought, 'Maybe this guy can do anything.' 'Hulk' was the one time I had absolute freedom, which may be good or bad. Whatever I wanted, at any expense, was mine. It was like I was on a shopping spree. "Anything goes! I'm still proud of 'Hulk', but I underestimated the power of genre and how you have to wrestle with a general audience."

Following the first two movies - which saw Dr. Banner played by Eric Bana and Edward Norton respectively - Mark Ruffalo took on the part of the superhero in the MCU and his portrayal of Banner and Hulk in the 'Avengers' films have been praised by critics and audiences alike.

Lee - whose latest film 'Gemini Man' stars Will Smith as an ageing hitman who has to fight a clone of himself - has watched the watched the Marvel movies Ruffalo as Hulk but he insists he doesn't really care about the character anymore following his foray into the comic book movie world.

He said: "I've watched them on airplanes. Sometimes with the sound down. I didn't really care that much. To do that kind of movie, you have to coat it with artifice. I didn't do that with my 'Hulk'. I went at it straight, as though it was real. With 'Gemini Man', I'm more aware of movie culture, more respectful of its power. When we are in a cinema, this collective imagination is like a religion. You can't explain it. That's the part of moviemaking that humbles you. You don't always get your way."