4. Bruce Banner/ Hulk - Hulk (2003)
UniversalThe casting of Eric Bana as Bruce Banner may sound like the lead-in to an Abbott and Costello routine, but back in 2003 it was big news. After years of associating the Incredible Hulk with silly green rubber suits, the new live-action adaptation promised a serious treatment of the character, and was a chance for Ang Lee to break into the mainstream after his Oscar win for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Had things turned out differently, Bana might now be in The Avengers where Mark Ruffalo stands, but instead the film was a disappointment that did him no favours as an actor. In case you need reminding, Hulk revolves around scientist Bruce Banner (Bana), whose experiments involving nanomeds and gamma radiation bring him to the attention of the US military. Through a glitch in a lab computer, Banner is exposed to both radiation and the nanomeds, causing his DNA to mutate. Soon he receives a visit from his father (Nick Nolte), who experimented on Banner as a child, and who warns him to control his temper. Suffice to say, he doesn't, and transforms into the Hulk, endangering his former sweetheart Betty (
Jennifer Connelly) and putting the world at risk. While Lee deserves praise for trying to emphasise character development over non-stop pyrotechnics, Hulk remains a curiously ponderous outing. Bana does his best as Bruce, but he seems ill at ease with Lee's direction, and like many actors in action movies he looks far too glamorous to pass off as a scientist. He's equally ill at ease when it comes to the special effects, with whatever nuances he brings to the Hulk failing to be carried over in the poor CGI. While the film still has many defenders, it's clearly not Bana's finest hour.