The Incredible Hulk XXX (4 Stars)

This isn't a film I would normally have watched. I decided to see it because it ties in with some of Axel Braun's recent films. I'd read nothing about it beforehand, so I was totally unprepared for what awaited me. Clocking in at 4 hours 10 minutes, this is a film of epic proportions. The film has a markedly different style to Mr. Braun's films. There is much more softness, more tenderness. Except, of course, when Bruce Banner turns into a green monster. Then it's all "Hulk smash!"

Did I just say Bruce Banner? That was a mistake. His name is David Banner. The film is based on the television series, not the comic book series. I'm old enough to remember the boos and hisses when the comic book character was renamed. Stan Lee apologised for it in his soapbox. Marvel had sold the rights to the television company, so he hadn't been able to prevent the name being changed. The reason for the change was simple: the television company, CBS, thought that a leading character couldn't be called Bruce because the name sounded gay. Oh boy, that must be one of the biggest pieces of idiocy in television history. As a compromise the television series added Bruce as a middle name, i.e. he became David Bruce Banner. In later years this became his official full name in the comics as well, though he was still called Bruce.

Story-wise, the film closely follows the plot of the television series' pilot episode. I watched it a few weeks ago, so I had it fresh in my memory. The film is set in the 1970's, since the tv series began in 1977. Did men really have such bad hairstyles in the 70's? It was interesting to see that during sex the Hulk's penis gradually changes colour from green to pink. Is that a new entry into official Marvel canon? Or is it just because the green paint wasn't waterproof and it was washed off during intercourse?