Introduction
Now it's time we talk about a YouTuber who goes by the user name, TheMovieDoctorful. Most of his content involves reviews on movies he finds underrated, but for today we'll be looking at his commentary on The Blockbuster Buster's review of Ang Lee's Hulk. Full disclosure, this is one of Erod's early reviews so it goes without saying that it's not as up to quality as his newer content. In fact, I left a comment on Cinematic Venom's response to Erod's Batman Forever review (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mOrwqAM_zNg) explaining that Erod's gotten better and The Blockbuster Buster character doesn't reflect his actual opinion. Of course he respectfully disagreed, but I stand by what I said in that comment. As always, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but in this video, TheMovieDoctorful goes out of his way to make Erod look like a fool with his dated review of one of the most polarizing superhero films of all time. Since this introduction is already over a paragraph long, let's just jump right into it.
The Insults Begin Early
0:06 Literally 6 seconds in and he's already insulting Erod. "Oh wah, wah, wah! Mean old MovieDoctorful is being mean to Erod!" That's not my problem with the insult. The problem is that it's unwarranted as Erod is just doing his prologue before the theme song. It also doesn't help that in context, this isn't criticism, this is just rude.
Acting Standards
0:18 He criticizes Erod's acting not once but more than 3x in the video. While the quality of one's performance is dependent on the audience members, it should be noted that not acting is not something you're good at right off the bat. Yes, Erod's acting then wasn't good, but in my opinion now he's gotten better. I say this because when Nerdlinger shows up later in the video, TheMovieDoctorful fast forwards and says "you can't act." Clearly he can as tries putting on a different voice for Nerdlinger. Like I said, it wasn't good then but at least he was trying.
The Megan Fox "Controversy"
0:33 He brings up that Erod blocks and insults his fans for not sharing his opinion that Megan Fox sucks. I do not believe this to be the case as Erod has said that it's fine if others disagree with his opinion. And before you say it, yes Cinematic Venom notified me that Erod made a vlog criticizing Megan Fox and her fans without using his persona but A. I have not seen that video and B. The fact that he took it down shows he regrets what he said.
Daredevil and Kingpin Fact Check
1:07 During Erod's opening statement, TheMovieDoctorful interjects that Daredevil and Kingpin started out as "joke characters." *Cue Dr. Cox from Scrubs* I'm not a comic book historian, but a quick Google search will inform you that from the get-go that Daredevil was meant to be a vigilante and Kingpin was meant to be a crime boss. Yes, Daredevil started out as a "playful trickster", but the fact that he took down criminals with his acrobatic agility hasn't changed (in fact it was upgraded when Frank Miller took over). And yes, they became popular comic book characters from then on.
The Incredible Hulk Box Office Misconception
1:25 He claims the reason why there hasn't been another Hulk movie is because The Incredible Hulk from 2008 underperformed at the box office. *Cue Dr. Cox from Scrubs...again* In reality, The Incredible Hulk did fine at the box off, making $263.4 million on a $150 million budget. Sure when you ad marketing, that's not saying too much, but it was still considered good enough to not be labeled a failure. Entertainment analyst David Davis said it best to The Hollywood Reporter: "The first Hulk had such high expectations after the NBC Universal merger and was supposed to be critical favorite Ang Lee's breakout commercial blockbuster [Hulk (2003) made $245.4 million against a $137 million budget]. Then with the new Hulk film, Marvel was able to underlay the importance of the success after the great success of Iron Man this summer [Iron Man (2008) made $585.2 million on a $140 million budget]. So the new one overdelivered, relative to its underpromise." You can read the full article here: https://web.archive.org/web/20080712210347/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i28e0d4f7991010727c5ef800dea6ce69. Also the reason why Hulk wasn't in Captain America: Civil War is because he wasn't necessary for to the plot AND he's been MIA since Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Erod's Not Exactly a Hypocrite
1:42 He brings up how Erod praises The Incredible Hulk (1978) tv show for being "low on the action but heavy on the drama" and then criticize Hulk (2003) for almost the exact same reason. I say almost because the fundamental difference between the show and the movie can be summed up in one word: investment. From my understanding, the reason why he praises the show is because he must've been invested or interested in Bill Bixby's portrayal as Bruce Banner; whereas with Eric Bana's portrayal (and the rest of the cast in the movie), he's most likely disinterested because he feels the actors looked and sounded bored when making the movie. Granted, Erod could've worded his opinion better, but I think I understand what he meant.
The Incredible Hulk Mini-Review
1:49 TheMovieDoctorful then takes this moment to criticize The Incredible Hulk for having "non-existent character development, a soulless story and the Abomination turned into a mindless brute with no motivation." *Cue Dr. Cox...again.* Now, I'm not saying The Incredible Hulk is objectively good (I thought it was great, but I know for a fact not everyone's a fan of it), but I am saying these arguments are objectively wrong. "Non-existent character development?" Uhh, it's very much existing, in fact the entire movie is Bruce trying to get rid of the Hulk but by the end he learns to accept it. "A soulless story?" Bruce Banner's on the run from the government, he's trying to find a cure, and whenever he loses his temper, he Hulks out. That in and of itself is more than enough to make an interesting story. And of course, the infamous "Marvel has weak villains argument" rears its ugly head. I said it before and I'll say it again: this argument is bulls***. Case in point, Emil Blonsky is an aging soldier who lusts for the Hulk's power, so he injects himself with the super soldier serum, but when that's not enough, he has Samuel Stern inject him with Banner's DNA and become what stern calls "an Abomination." I have not read the comics, but even if I did, I would still find this version of Abomination fitting for the story they were trying to tell. Also, major props to Tim Roth for his portrayal. I get why people don't care much for this movie, but the arguments presented by TheMovieDoctorful cannot be more inaccurate.
And The Unnecessary Insults Keep Coming
1:57 When Erod says "tame fanboys" TheMovieDoctorful says "explosion obsessed man children." "Oh wah, wah-" Let just stop you right there and ask this simple question: if Erod was this so called "explosion obsessed man child," would he go on and on bashing the Transformers franchise in which every film up till this point was directed by the master of explosive action himself, Michael Bay? No, he'd shut up, turn his brain off and praise Michael Bay's Transformers and ignore all faults with the movies. Seriously, these insults are beyond uncalled for.
Erod Should Do a Re-Review of Hulk
2:36 Again, Erod should've worded his arguments better, but I believe what he means is the movie doesn't provide him with anything to care about as he clearly doesn't by the actor's performance and is not invested in the story. That's fair criticism to want the movie to start out with Hulk smashing, or at the very least start off with the gamma explosion thus turning him into the Hulk. Seriously though, Erod should take the time to re-review Hulk now that he's improved his argument presentation skills.
That's Not Erod's Problem with Hulk
2:46 The main criticism with Ang Lee's Hulk (not just Erod, but most mainstream critics) wasn't because there was "too much talking;" the most common criticism (apart from not having enough action) is that the characters weren't that engaging. I personally don't agree with that criticism, but I'm on the supporting side for this movie; Erod's on the opposing side and as such he doesn't feel engaged. It's not the fact that the characters are talking (as my Dad always say, when they talk, they tell a story) it's the lack of investment in the characters that make him not care what they're saying.
Batman Begins =/= Hulk
3:23 He brings up how Erod "loved" Batman Begins despite Bruce Wayne not donning the cape and cowl until an hour into the movie. *I like the Dr. Cox meme, but I'm getting really tired of repeating myself, so this'll be the last time I cue it* Step 1: Erod didn't "love" Batman Begins as he criticized it for its shaky action, the infamous Batman voice and Scarecrow's defeat was "bulls***." Step 2: Remember what I said about character investment? Erod praises the development of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, showing that he cares about Bruce Wayne and his struggle.
A Simple "Correction" Would've Suffice
4:25 TheMovieDoctorful has a fair criticism that Erod overlooked the fact that Bruce's father, David, visited him, but instead of just explaining it, he ends his argument with another pointless insult to Erod about how "impatient" he is. I find it a bit hypocritical that he says Erod can't stay quiet for 5 minutes without Hulk smashing stuff, when for almost 4 1/2 minutes TheMovieDoctorful can't stay critical without throwing in an insult every other minute.
I'm sorry, what?
6:30 TheMovieDoctorful then criticizes Erod's taste in movies because Erod plays a clip from Mystery Men and calls him a hypocrite for claiming DC fans for being in denial. Uhhh...what? Step 1: Erod used this clip for the purpose of the joke; his opinion on Mystery Men has nothing to do with using this clip. Step 2: Even if he did like Mystery Men, so what? That's his opinion. And Step 3: Erod doesn't think all DC fans are in denial; he's a fan himself and he's made it openly clear that he hates the DC Extended Universe and many other agree with him. I don't but I respect his opinion (unlike some people).
That's Not How Erod Sees It
8:48 He then claims that the scene where Bruce and his father talk is one of the best acted scenes in comic book movie history and Erod passing it off as boring because "he wanted a stupid action scene right away." While I agree that scene is the best in the movie, it's not that high on my list of best acted scenes in a comic book movie (or anyone's for that matter). It's already been established that Erod doesn't care about the characters, so it would make sense that he wouldn't find this scene interesting. TheMovieDoctorful also calls Erod a "13 year old in a grown man's body." Again, pointless insult was pointless.
Conclusion
TheMovieDoctorful concludes by saying Erod was wrong to criticize the movie because Ang Lee is not known for making big budget blockbusters and that he tries and fails to be Angry Joe, Nostalgia Critic and Angry Video Game Nerd. Step 1: By that logic, he was wrong to criticize Erod because he didn't make video responses before this one. Step 2: Erod wasn't trying to be like his idols to a tee, he was trying to use their influence and stand out among the crowd. And considering he's grown in subscribers, has improved upon his style and has been a part of Channel Awesome since 2011, I'd say he's succeeded. Overall, I'm not gonna mince words: this video sucks. The insults to Erod as a person were unwarranted, the nitpicks were so pointless I didn't even bother going through them and even when he does provide a genuine argument, it's almost immediately followed by an insult, turning a valid point into a blatant attack. I know Erod's Hulk review isn't his best, but I'm more forgiving because this just shows how far he's come as a critic and how he's improved as a content creator (at least, in my opinion). To TheMovieDoctorful, if you made it this far, I'm not saying you should give Erod another chance (that ship has sailed and is never coming back). But I am saying you shouldn't be so hostile to a man who has a different opinion then yours on a movie you admire. Just because you disagree, that doesn't mean Erod is an incompetent man child. Like I always say: your opinion is not law -.-
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