However, Bixby was persistent and managed to persuade NBC to let him do another Hulk TV film (which, like its predecessor, got a cinematic release abroad) in 1989, "The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk". Similar to its predecessor, as well as kickstarting a new Hulk TV series, this was also meant to kickstart a spin-off, a TV series based around the film's other star Daredevil (played by Rex Smith).
Daredevil has something of a checkered history when it comes to Marvel films and TV. If you're lucky, you know him from the excellent recent Marvel Netflix series, probably the strongest of the four Defenders shows. If you're unlucky you remember the film from about fifteen years ago - directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, it should have been good but it really really wasn't. One of these days, I'll have to review that abomination on this blog and let me tell you, I'm not looking forward to it.
Before that though, Marvel's first attempt to bring Daredevil to the big screen came back in 1989 so let's see how it all panned out. The film begins with David Banner (now using the nom de plume David Belson) working on a farm in the northern states. He gets into an argument with a big guy he's digging a ditch with who throws him in a stream but resists turning into the Hulk. Later that day, we see him leaving the farm, telling the lady who owns it that he's planning on going to the city to make a living there.
As Banner arrives in the city and checks in to some pay-by-the-week accommodation on the local skid row, we see Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil) heading to work. Unlike in the comics, other film and Netflix series where he's assisted by Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, in this version, Murdock's partner in the law firm is female (Christa Klein) and he has a male receptionist called Al who's a former soldier readjusting to life outside the army.
The trio have been trying to bring down the city's kingpin Wilson Fisk (played by John Rhys Davies aka Sallah from the Indiana Jones films and Gimli from Lord of the Rings) whose giant headquarters dominates the skyline but have been frustrated at every turn due to Fisk's control over the city.
We see Fisk's authority in action as he orchestrates a raid on a jewellers' shop, orchestrating things from his HQ with theatrical precision. It has to be said that John Rhys Davies is very good in the Kingpin role and his presence definitely gives this film a suitably menacing and threatening chief villain, something which as we've established in previous reviews on this blog is a bit of a rarity in old school Marvel films.
Two of Fisk's agents escape into the subway where they get on the same train as Banner and a young woman Ellie (short for Elektra, I wonder?) Mendes. When one of the goons tries to assault Mendes, Banner stops him and gets thrown across the carriage which causes him to Hulk out and beat the living daylights out of Fisk's henchmen.
The resulting ruckus attracts the attention of the police and Hulk flees down a tunnel where he turns back into Banner who's promptly arrested. Taken to the cells, he's introduced to Murdock who's down to serve as his lawyer. Murdock tells him that Ellie Mendes has woken up and pressed charges against Banner for attempted assault claiming that the other two men helped her to get rid of the Hulk. Murdock explains that he's just trying to get to the bottom of what happened by helping Banner but Banner is low and at the end of his rope (as the beard suggests) and tells him that he doesn't need his help.
Murdock goes to the hospital to interview Mendes and on his way in overhears her asking if "those men" are back again. However, when it turns out to be Murdock, she reiterates her story that it was Banner who assaulted her meaning Murdock leaves without getting any further answers. However, as he's waiting for the lift he hears the nurse looking after Mendes on the phone to Fisk who orders her to eliminate the patient. Sure enough, later that evening, psycho-nurse attempts to inject a fatal dose of air into Ellie's bloodstream only for Daredevil to show up and engage Fisk's agent in a battle. Evil nurse is dispatched after Daredevil trips her up with his nunchuks causing her to fall headfirst into the medical equipment. By the time the rest of the staff arrive to arrest her, Devil has made good his escape.
Next day, Murdock gets a call from Mendes who tells him that she's ready to talk and tell him what really happened but before he can get to the hospital, she's kidnapped by more of Fisk's goons. We also see Fisk sitting in his headquarters discussing strategy with his right hand man Edgar (sort of this version's answer to Wesley from the series but a much more sympathetic character who comes across as a nice guy who just happens to be reluctantly serving Fisk) who instructs him to bring in Mendes as bait to lure Daredevil in. He also gives instructions that Banner is to be eliminated as well as he was a witness to the incident on the subway.
Sure enough, we see a shiv being passed along the corridor which Banner's cellmate attempts to stab him with - however, he gets out of his bed just at the right time and is summoned to a meeting with one of the police chiefs Capotelli who asks him if he's connected to the Fisk empire. When Capotelli is satisfied that he isn't, he warns him to stay on his guard in case someone attempts to murder him in the prison.
Asleep that night, Banner has a nightmare about transforming into the Hulk while on the witness stand at his trial (if you look in the background, you might also notice Stan Lee as the jury foreman - his first cameo role in a Marvel film fact fans!) which causes him to wake up and actually transform into the Hulk before breaking out of the jail. By using a ruler as a sundial, Murdock gets a rough idea of where Banner is staying before beating the remaining information out of small time crim Turk (who clearly has just as little luck at staying out of trouble in the 1989 version of Daredevil as he does in the current one).
As Daredevil, Murdock tracks Banner down to his apartment and offers him sanctuary before revealing his true identity. He explains how he lost his sight in an accident with a truck carrying toxic waste where a barrel fell off and sprayed him as he was trying to push an old man out of its path and then lost his boxer father after he was murdered by Fisk's thugs. He also explains that Capotelli is his contact in the police force and that it was he, as one of the few honest officers in the city, who inspired Murdock to become Daredevil in the first place.
Capotelli calls Murdock and tells him that he believes Mendes is being held at the Web, a derelict recording studio formerly owned by a group called the Giant Spiders From Mars (nice tip of the hat to Bowie there). Murdock goes while Banner recovers but the tip turns out to be a trap planted by Fisk who has three of his goons attack Murdock while playing disorientating noise over the speakers to ensure that Daredevil can't fight back.
Banner receives the follow-up call from Capotelli (who'd run into Turk up to no good in a bar and beat the information out of him) about the trap and goes along to the studio only to find the door locked. Enraged, he turns into the Hulk and smashes his way through it, beating off Fisk's goons and rescuing Matt (though Fisk still escapes with Mendes). Murdock traces the Hulk's face as he transforms back into Banner and realises that they are one and the same.
Back at Murdock's house, while Banner has got his self-confidence back (and shaved his beard off), Murdock has taken a battering both physically and mentally from the punch-up and is doubting his ability. However, repaying the faith Murdock showed in him earlier, Banner gives Daredevil a pep talk and gets him back in the gym and training. Meanwhile, Mendes has found an unlikely friend in Edgar who admits that he's attracted to her and will try and make sure that nothing happens to her while she's in their captivity.
Deducing that Mendes is being held in Fisk's tower, Murdock and Banner plot a rescue operation. Arriving at the scene, they realise that the Kingpin is due to hold a meeting with several other crime lords to announce a new multi-million dollar partnership and obviously this is gonna need to be put a stop to as well. While Banner sneaks in through the ground floor entrance (with the security guards simply waving him through - obviously Fisk isn't very good at carrying out competence checks on his employees!), Daredevil abseils down on to the roof. The pair meet midway up the building with Banner going to find Mendes and Daredevil going after Fisk.
While Daredevil sees off Fisk's thugs, Edgar decides to try and help Mendes to escape but they're interrupted by the same goon that tried to assault her on the train who tries to get Edgar to kill her upon Fisk's instructions. However. he's interrupted by Banner who dispatches him with some help from Edgar and helps Mendes to escape. Banner asks Edgar if he wants to come with them but he offers to stay behind as Fisk always forgives him apparently.
Fisk is giving a presentation and showing footage of the fight at the music studios which appears to show his men killing Daredevil (they cut it off just before Hulk enters) only for Daredevil to burst through the screen just as he's making his big speech. He beats up the crime lords and leaves them for the police to capture but Fisk and Edgar escape in what appears to be a flying catamaran just as Daredevil runs out on to the roof of Fisk Towers.
A bit of a disappointing climax to the film really as it had been building up nicely until then but kind of feels like it was left hanging by not having a big confrontation between Daredevil and Kingpin. I guess this is because they were hoping that this would set up the proposed Daredevil TV series with the Kingpin as a recurring nemesis but it still doesn't quite feel right - even if there'd just been a brief fight between Murdock and Fisk before Fisk escaped it would've at least felt like the film had been building to something worth the pay-off. The final scene sees Banner and Murdock parting ways as friends with Murdock going back to his law firm feeling a bit better about having made a dent in Fisk's empire and Banner hitch-hiking on to new adventures.
If it hadn't been for the anticlimactic ending then this would have stood a very good chance of going top of the table but unfortunately the fact that a lot is left unresolved at the end of this film kind of takes the shine off it a bit. I realise that's not entirely the film-makers' fault as stated earlier but even so... Still, this is definitely worth a watch - it's a very different beast from the lighthearted previous Hulk/Thor film in that it's easily the most complex and dark of the Marvel films we've reviewed so far but the change of pace and scenery means it feels like it's striking out into new ground and is all the better for it. Bixby is again decent as Banner while Smith and Davies both suit the Daredevil and Kingpin roles well and the rest of the cast all put in solid performances. Cut from the same cloth as the excellent Daredevil TV series (although obviously it's constrained by its timeframe), it's an enjoyable curio which is worth a watch.
Bixby and Ferrigno would complete their trilogy of Hulk films the following year with "The Death of the Incredible Hulk" which we'll review on here in a couple of weeks. Daredevil meanwhile would return to the big screen about 15 years hence under the guidance of Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck and....uurrrrggghh, let's just try not to think about that film until we absolutely have to...
FINAL RATING: 👊👊👊👊👊👊 (6/10)
CURRENT MARVEL FILM TABLE
1. The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) (6/10)
2. Conan The Barbarian (1982) (6/10)
3. Conan The Destroyer (1984) (6/10)
4. The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk (1989) (6/10)
5. The Punisher (1989) (5/10)
6. Doctor Strange (1978) (5/10)
7. Red Sonja (1985) (4/10)
8. Captain America 2: Death Too Soon (4/10) (1979)
9. Spiderman (1977) (4/10)
10. Spiderman: The Dragon's Challenge (3/10) (1979)
11. Howard The Duck (1986) (2/10)
12. Captain America (1979) (2/10)
13. Spiderman Strikes Back (1978) (2/10)
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