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| Tuesday, June 17, 2008 09:08 PM |
| On the Viewer - The Incredible Hulk |
 by Fëanor |
I know the Hulk already gave his thoughts on this movie, but I wanted to weigh in as well.
I'm one of the people who actually liked Ang Lee's Hulk - although I only saw it once five years ago, so my opinion could be suspect; I definitely need to see it again. Regardless, I was a little upset when I first heard that they planned to make a new Hulk movie and reboot the franchise so soon after the first. But as time went on and I read and saw more and more about The Incredible Hulk, I got more and more excited about it. Couple that with my recently discovered Hulk comic book fandom, and you can imagine my excitement level as I headed to the theater this Sunday morning to finally see the movie.
That sounds like a recipe for disappointment, but in fact poppy and I were both really pleased with the film. It is in fact not a complete reboot; although it has an entirely new cast and the origin story is different, it doesn't go back to the beginning and spend all its time explaining that new origin story. The birth of the Hulk is instead quickly dispensed with via a few quick flashback images during the opening credits, and then we jump right into the story, which starts off essentially where Lee's movie ended, with Banner (now played by Edward Norton) in South America in search of a cure for his condition, and General Ross (William Hurt) in search of him. It's inevitable that Ross will find Banner eventually, but exactly how it happens is a neat story that's cleverly told, and it includes the requisite hilarious Stan Lee cameo. Then it's Banner on the run, desperately trying to get the data he needs about his condition so he can pass it on to the mysterious genius he's been communicating with online and thus acquire a cure. That genius - who turns out to be a university professor named Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) - may not be as trustworthy as he seems, however. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers Ross has recruited to capture the Hulk, one Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), becomes obsessed with the monster and its power, and Ross agrees to bring the old super soldier program out of moth balls to better equip Blonsky to face the Hulk. But in the process, an even worse monster than the Hulk is created. And everything is further complicated when Banner comes into contact with old flame Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who just happens to be the daughter of his mortal enemy - and who just happens to have a new boyfriend: a shrink named Doc Samson (Ty Burrell).
Of course, all of these characters will be familiar to any fan of the Hulk comics. And then there's also the great cameo from Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark at the end. Things like that really help create a sense of world-building - a feeling that all these movies are looking in on the same universe. Which is really cool, and really a big part of what comic books are all about.
And besides the characters, the movie is loaded with fun Hulk references, like the wonderful cameo by the Hulk TV series star Lou Ferrigno (who also does a great job providing the voice of the Hulk), and the hilarious scene wherein Banner explicitly rejects Hulk's infamous purple pants. It's got a lot of humor, and it's a lot of fun, but there's also plenty of serious drama, emotion, action, suspense, and excitement, all delivered very effectively. The film was clearly made by people who appreciate the source material, and who understand the characters. They've pretty much nailed everything important about the Hulk, and I'm very pleased.
Part of the reason why the film works as well as it does is that the filmmakers didn't make the classic comic book movie mistakes of trying to tell too many stories at once, or of trying to include too many characters. The story is mostly straightforward, with just enough complexity to keep things interesting. It does feature the origins of two Hulk supervillains, but one of those is just slipped in near the end as a foreshadowing of things to come, and turns out to be a really cool little subplot.
The only thing I was really disappointed with is that I didn't get my Captain America cameo! I'd read beforehand that Cap would appear in the film during a scene in the Arctic, and kept waiting for that moment to come, but it never did. I even stayed through the entire end credits, just in case it had been slipped in afterwards (like the extra scene I missed in Iron Man - damn it!). But no! Some Googling afterwards revealed that they had to cut the scene because it might have been too dark for the kids in the audience - apparently Banner was up in the Arctic considering suicide. Ah, well.
The point is, kick-ass movie! Marvel is on a roll, and I couldn't be more pleased. Can't wait for Iron Man 2 and Captain America and The Avengers and whatever the heck else they want to try to do. Woo hoo! |
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