As we established a few days ago, while the Ang Lee film attempted to do a slightly different take on the Hulk's origins it pretty much fell flat on its face. So, big question, how did the '70s version with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno go about it? And, crucially, was it actually better?
The story begins with David Banner in bed having a nightmare regarding his wife Laura's death - the two of them were in a car crash but while Banner was thrown from the wreckage, Laura was trapped inside as the car exploded. Banner attempted to force open the door but couldn't and still blames himself for not being able to save her.
Fast forward to the present day and Banner is working at a science lab specialising in psychology. He and his partner in study Dr Elaina Marks have been studying how certain people's energy spikes when they're placed under extreme stress. When they come across a lady who saved her son by lifting up a car in almost exactly the same circumstances that Banner lost Laura, Banner starts to question why the woman was triggered during the incident but he wasn't, especially as the other key factor is a high level of adrenaline in the blood which Banner also has. The pair are also being hassled by a local journalist Jack McGee who's interested in the research they're doing but as he's got a reputation as something of a disreputable sort, neither are particularly in any hurry to talk to him.
Further research by Banner proves that the third key factor was that all of the incidents he and Marks have been studying was that all of them took place during incidents where there was a high level of gamma radiation in the atmosphere whereas his wife's death didn't. Impatient to recreate the task he tries to call Marks but she's out so he goes to the lab himself and sets up an experiment to dose himself with some gamma radiation to see if anything happens. Unbeknownst to him though, one of his colleagues has been trying to max the equipment out and has upped the dosage to six times the level Banner thinks it is.
Despite this though, nothing happens during the experiment and, fed up and ready to call it a night, Banner sets off home. However, while he's been in the lab a huge thunderstorm has started and halfway home his car blows a tyre out and while he's trying to fix it, his jack breaks. This triggers his anger and...well, you can guess what happens next...
Suffice to say that if the Hulk ever applies to work in your local Kwik Fit, do not employ this man...
The next morning, Hulk has wandered down to a lake where he encounters a young girl fishing. Panicking, the girl runs into the water leading Hulk to push a tree trunk into the water for her to climb on and get to safety. However, her dad, thinking Hulk is attacking the girl, shoots the beast with his rifle causing it to break his gun in half then throw him in the lake!
Sitting down by a pond, the Hulk turns back into Banner who flees to Marks' house and asks her to help him piece together the events of the previous night as he has no memory. The pair travel to a semi-disused lab just outside the town. They attempt to recreate the conditions of the previous night in a pressure chamber designed for deep sea research by turning the lights off, turning on the sprinklers and shorting an electrical current but none of it works.
Exhausted, Banner drifts off to sleep and again has a nightmare about his wife's death which causes him to panic and transform into the Hulk again. Marks is still awake and watches in terror as the Hulk breaks out of the chamber by smashing through six inch thick glass and steel doors. However, it seems calmed by her presence and she manages to persuade it to sit down on the couch whereupon it reverts to being Banner again.
With Banner back to his normal self, the pair discuss the evening's events and Banner panics as he realises that the Hulk isn't something he's going to be able to control. Things go from bad to worse when the police show up with Jack McGee in tow after a set of giant footprints have appeared near the lake along with the fisherman and his daughter reporting their sightings of a green giant down there.
Banner and Marks decide they need to try and reverse the experiment as quickly as possible but unbeknown to them, McGee sneaks into the lab through an open window while they leave to get some food. They discover him hiding out in a cupboard upon their return and Banner throws him out but he knocks over some flammable liquid during the struggle which duly ignites and causes the building to explode.
David goes running back in but finds Elaina trapped under a pile of fallen concrete. Panicking, he turns into the Hulk who manages to lift the rubble and carry Marks out of the lab. McGee, seeing the lab go up in smoke, assumes that Banner is dead and the Hulk has kidnapped Marks.
In the woods, Hulk attempts to revive Marks but unfortunately he's too late and she tells Banner she loves him with her dying words. Cutting forward, we see the pair being buried next to each other at the local cemetery with McGee explaining to one of the other scientists present that the police have put an arrest warrant out on the Hulk for a double murder. After everyone's gone, Banner emerges to stand at the graveside where he promises Elaina he'll carry on looking for a cure in her memory and tells her he loved her as well.
Like a lot of the '70s Marvel films, "The Incredible Hulk" is very much of its time but unlike most of the other ones, it hasn't actually aged too badly. Sure, the special effects look dated but the plot holds up just well enough to carry this thing through. Bixby as always does a good job as Banner and the storyline's gripping enough to keep you interested. It's certainly easy to see why out of the various attempts Marvel made at getting film and television series off the ground in the 1970s, this was the one that had the longest lifespan. Certainly if you've got a spare afternoon and want an old school film to watch, you could do a lot worse than this.
FINAL RATING: ✊✊✊✊✊ (5/10)
CURRENT MARVEL FILM TABLE
1. Spiderman (2002) (9/10)
2. X-Men 2 (2003) (8/10)
3. Men In Black (1997) (8/10)
4. X-Men (2000) (8/10)
5. Blade 2 (2001) (7/10)
6. Blade (1998) (7/10)
7. The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) (6/10)
8. Conan The Barbarian (1982) (6/10)
9. Conan The Destroyer (1984) (6/10)
10. The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk (1989) (6/10)
11. Men In Black 2 (2000) (6/10)
12. The Incredible Hulk (1977) (5/10)
13. Doctor Mordrid (1992) (5/10)
14. The Punisher (1989) (5/10)
15. Doctor Strange (1978) (5/10)
16. Nick Fury: Agent Of SHIELD (1998) (4/10)
17. The Fantastic Four (1994) (4/10)
18. Hulk (2003) (4/10)
19. Red Sonja (1985) (4/10)
20. Captain America 2: Death Too Soon (1979) (4/10)
21. Spiderman (1977) (4/10)
22. The Death Of The Incredible Hulk (1990) (3/10)
23. Spiderman: The Dragon's Challenge (1979) (3/10)
24. Howard The Duck (1986) (2/10)
25. Captain America (1990) (2/10)
26. Captain America (1979) (2/10)
27. Generation X (1996) (2/10)
28. Spiderman Strikes Back (1978) (2/10)
29. Daredevil (2003) (2/10)
COMING UP NEXT: Time permitting, there may be another instalment of Hulk smash shenanigans before next week's Punisher review. Watch this space...
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