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I Dunno, I Think I'd Like Him When He's Angry

By | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (30)

hulk-smash.jpg

Deadline is reporting that they’ve basically found the man they want to play Dr. Bruce Banner in The Avengers : Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). He’s currently in “final negotiations” for the part.

I can’t even decide if he’ll be good or not. I’m biased. Ever since an Eloquent suggested Bryan Cranston, it’s all that I could think about. Breaking Bad is the perfect training for playing Bruce. He already plays an individual with a dark secret and he’s so good at showing the slowly bubbling anger. Sigh. It would’ve been a blast.

I’ve heard that Banner might not even be a big role in this. It would make sense to focus on the “Hulk as an Unstoppable Force of Nature” idea. It’d be something that would require multiple superheroes to stop. And then by the third act an even greater problem would arise and the time honored “first they fight and then team-up” could occur.

Ruffalo isn’t terrible by any means. He impressed me in Zodiac and The Brothers Bloom. I’d even say he deserves a little more attention in next year’s Pajiba Ten.

So what’s it gonna be? Will you believe him as a haunted and hunted man on the run? Or will you join my “Cranston 4 Teh Hulk” Facebook group? If it works, my next project is getting Betty White to replace Scarlett Johansson.









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Comments

I think that Ruffalo would be a great replacement for Norton. Name me the last role you didn't like of his.

Posted by: Fredo at July 14, 2010 6:11 PM

Name me the last role you didn't like of his.

Chuck Aule in Shutter Island. Awful accent and really out of place mugging.

Posted by: Robert at July 14, 2010 6:15 PM

You know, I've never really understood why people even discuss who's playing Banner. Because, in the end, the Hulk will be all CGI, right? So the actor doesn't have to be superhero material because a computer will be doing all the work. Unlike, say, Superman - you have to envision the actor in the tights. But with Hulk... it doesn't even have to look like the actor in question.

(Is it obvious I've never seen the other Hulk movies? I can't lie; the character bores me. Man, I am just in a shitty mood today!)

So yeah, I think Ruffalo will be fine as Banner. He's a great actor, and he can pull off any gravitas required.

Posted by: MelBivDevoe at July 14, 2010 6:16 PM

My prediction for the Avengers movie: bloat. Lots of useless bloat.

Posted by: DarthCorleone at July 14, 2010 6:21 PM

Name me the last role you didn't like of his.

I've never liked him in anything.

I don't dislike him either. I just...nothing him. He's never made an impression on me in any way at all. He's just so BLAH to me.

Which is pretty much how I feel about the Hulk, so what the hey. He's perfect for it.

Posted by: figgy at July 14, 2010 6:26 PM

I don't understand all the angst over who's going to play Bruce Banner in the Avengers movie considering all the possible characters that are going be in the movie: Hulk/Bruce Banner, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, quite possibly Ant-Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, General Ross, Betty Ross, Black Widow, Rhodey/War Machine and that's before we even discuss a possible villain(s) assuming Hulk is not the main villain. With all these characters in play how much screen time is Bruce Banner actually going to get?

I guess they'll have one scene with Bruce Banner just to establish the human side of the Hulk but once that's done you probably won't see the Banner again until just before the end credits.

If I remember correctly in the original Avengers #1 comic I don't think Bruce Banner even makes an appearance.

Posted by: John W at July 14, 2010 6:27 PM

Mel nails it -- who cares about Banner anyway? There's really nothing they can do in this movie that requires any actual "acting" so it's all going to come down to a bunch of cartoons dealing out enormous amounts of essentially cosmetic punishment.

The Hulk heals instantly, and damage only makes him stronger. Thor is a god and can take limitless punishment. Iron Man has an invulnerable suit, and Captain America has an invulnerable (and, presumably, inertia-canceling) shield.

The only reason to ever see this movie is that it's a Whedon, who uses his tongue prettier than a twenty-dollar whore.

Posted by: Neodiogenes at July 14, 2010 6:29 PM

Darthcorleone (still best handle ever), I hate to say it, but I think you're right. It's already a sinking ship and it hasn't even been cast.

Mark Ruffalo, huh? Hmph. Not sure. He's a likeable actor, but only by merit of choosing roles in which he is always likeable. What has he done that defy's the "normal, good guy" thing? The Last Castle, maybe? He's not the dark and dangerous nerd that Banner needs to be.

Posted by: superasente at July 14, 2010 6:29 PM

My prediction for the Avengers movie: bloat. Lots of useless bloat.

Like so many other geek wet dreams, it'll never equal the level of anticipation.

Chuck Aule in Shutter Island. Awful accent and really out of place mugging.

I didn't mind it cause everyone seemed to be hamming it up in that movie. Honestly, Sir Ben Kingsley should have been twirling his mustache and Max Von Sydow should have been in his Ming the Merciless costume.

Posted by: Fredo at July 14, 2010 6:29 PM

So the backlash is here, huh?

Posted by: Jay at July 14, 2010 6:36 PM

Why didn't they just ask Eric Bana back? I mean, what's he been up to lately anyway, other than shitty gambling flicks with Drew Barrymore?

Posted by: Case at July 14, 2010 6:36 PM

Fred, my issue was more how Ruffalo played the part like the stereotypical black sidekick in 1930s B-Horror movies. All that was missing was some "yes'm, Masters" and "feets don't fails me nows" during the storm sequence and it could have been Mantan Moreland on the screen 80 years ago. Broad doesn't mean lazy and cliche. I understand the meta of the exaggerated performances; I just think Ruffalo missed the boot on where he should have been with it.

Posted by: Robert at July 14, 2010 6:37 PM

i disagree that banner is a bland character. IF HE'S DONE PROPERLY, he's a man just barely keeping it together in a very-high-stakes game. when he's done badly (and this is mostly from voice acting in various animated projects), he's a sniveling twat.

Posted by: gp at July 14, 2010 6:37 PM

Where'd the "o" go, Fredo? It was there when I typed the message.

Posted by: Robert at July 14, 2010 6:37 PM

Hey, I already had him in my top five this year. Loved him in My Life Without Me, Eternal Sunshine, Zodiac, Brothers Bloom. Pretty much everything he does, even Just Like Heaven.

Posted by: Margrete at July 14, 2010 6:38 PM

Well, in Reservation Road Mark Ruffalo was not the "good" guy. Which doesn't mean he was pure sinister evil, but still...

I used to be "meh" on Mark Ruffalo, but I've come around to liking him quite a bit. As for being the Hulk, well, whatever. I don't really see Ruffalo as "anger lurking beneath the surface" like Edward Norton had in spades, but he's a good actor, so he'll figure it out.

Posted by: MM at July 14, 2010 6:40 PM

I have not and will not see any Hulk movie. The comic serves me just fine.

Posted by: peanut at July 14, 2010 6:41 PM

Hmm....I have no feelings on this yet.
I love Mark Ruffalo.
He is a big name and I'm not sure I believe he's that much cheaper than Ed Norton.

Margrete, yeah, totally agree, even Just Like Heaven when he tells Reese the friendly ghost about his dead wife, he got me a little misty eyed with the old raw emotions.

So...yeah.


I dont know. I need time to think about this

Posted by: Nadine at July 14, 2010 6:42 PM

Okay I've had a think and these are the exact words I just said to my boyfriend;

Mark Ruffalo is the tits and all but this is the 3rd actor in less than a decade.
It is CLEAR the Hulk Franchise is not going to take off like the others have or hope to

Posted by: Nadine at July 14, 2010 6:45 PM

This is the first time I've heard of "Cranston for Hulk", but I have to admit - it's AMAZING. He would be perfect.

Posted by: Ed at July 14, 2010 6:57 PM

The Ruffalo can do literally no wrong. He's never been bad in anything, at all. Hyperbole aside, the man's a fantastic actor, and I'm glad to see him get some more big box-office roles.

Posted by: ChristianH at July 14, 2010 6:59 PM

Just finished The Brothers Bloom last weekend. When I read this a few minutes ago I danced in my cubicle and said "MARK RAFFULO!"

Needless to say, I love this casting. Maybe he just blew me away in Bloom but damnit, this could be a solid casting.

Posted by: Zerath at July 14, 2010 7:37 PM

Robert, I get your point. And trust me, there's a number of issues with that movie -- the ending being the first of them. I guess that's why I'm willing to excuse Ruffalo's performance in that move. It's not as if he was alone in underperforming in that mess.

Posted by: Fredo at July 14, 2010 8:22 PM

Love me some Ruffalo! And like John W said, very little time can be spent on Banner, so I'm really surprised they bothered to hire "a name" for it (maybe for flashbacks?). But I don't expect him to have much screen time - his green counterpart is more interesting. I'd rather watch Jackson hamming it up as Fury, if I gotta look at a real person.

Posted by: Chickaboom at July 14, 2010 8:32 PM

Robert and Fredo, did either of you ever think that it is BECAUSE of the ending of Shutter Island that Mark Ruffalo's accent was PURPOSELY bad and the acting was PURPOSELY hammy to hint at the fiction of that reality? I honestly think Shutter Island was underrated because people can't seem to realize that the ending of the movie was completely and utterly supported by the rest of the film. Anyways...

Mark Ruffalo is the man. He'll do awesome.

Posted by: Littlejon2001 at July 15, 2010 1:40 AM

Littlejon2001, 100% agreement, I felt Ruffalo intentionally overplayed it because

SPOILER

His character was acting out Leo's fantasy/delusion and had to sell the shit out of it to keep paranoid Leo trusting him for as long as possible. Since Leo was playing pretty hard as the damaged, tortured ultra gritty cop, Ruffalo's character had to keep up.

Plus, Ruffalo's character was a doctor not an actor so of course he'd probably ham it up because he's not trained to act, he's just playing along with Leo and since Leo is erratic and unpredictable from day one he spends most of the film playing catch up

Posted by: Nadine at July 15, 2010 6:09 AM

I still think Kyle Chandler would have kicked ass in the role.

Posted by: rio at July 15, 2010 6:19 AM

I was hoping for Matthew Fox.

Posted by: Paul Southworth at July 15, 2010 8:14 AM

Ruffalo is on my five, so I may be biased, but I think he will rock at this. He is very good at playing nuanced characters.
He has played questionable characters before. I wouldn't exactly call his character in We Don't Live Here Anymore unlikeable, but he was pretty scummy cheating on his wife (even if he did feel tortured about it.) He even made his role in 13 Going on 30 seem like it had real depth. What, I like that movie, ok??? I'll go pout about it elsewhere.

Posted by: ninetwenteetoo at July 15, 2010 8:57 AM

*joins ninetwenteetoo in the corner of thinking Raffulo (hee) gave his character on 13 going on 30 depth. May or may not be getting misty-eyed.*

Posted by: monsley at July 16, 2010 7:10 AM