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INCREDIBLE HULK
REVIEW-A-PALOOZA |
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Movie Reviews by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski & Larry "Bocepheus"
Evans & "Our Man" Andy Schumann
Directed by:
Louis Leterrier
Written by:
Zak Penn
Starring:
Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt,
Running time:
114 minutes
Released:
06/13/08
Rated PG-13
for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images and
brief suggestive content |
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 Movie Review by:
Larry "Bocepheus" Evans
(***
stars out of 4)
"This
is a Hulk film that fans wanted to see the moment that films
based on the character were announced."
The Ang Lee version of the Hulk was
actually in it’s own way interesting but had way too much
psychological input for fans to enjoy. The film had great
performances from Eric Bana, Sam Ellott, Nick Nolte and
Jennifer Connelly but the audience wanted more action than
it got. It also has a more or less underwhelming ending
because the battle at the end of the film was poorly shot.
My biggest problem with the film was the script. There were
scripts out there that had more action (one by James Turman
was quite good) and less talking but Lee made the film with
one co-written by his producing partner James Schamus.
Universal and Marvel decided to return to the Hulk and
locked in X-3’s Zak Penn to write the film but brought in
action director Louis (Transporter) Leterrier to bring the
character back to the big screen. Bana either wasn’t
available or wasn’t interested in returning to the role of
Banner so they make a wise choice and cast Edward Norton in
the part. In order to induce him to sign on they also
allowed him to re-write Penn’s script. The Screen Writers
Guild gave full credit to Penn but Norton’s hands are all
over this film.
This version of the Hulk is a lot closer to the TV series
and has small homage moments to the show scattered about. It
also be blends in connections to the Iron Man film and the
Marvel Universe as part of their plan to interconnect the
two worlds. Here we begin with Banner living in Brazil
working in a soda plant as General Ross (William Hurt) and
his team are still looking for him. While Banner is there he
makes contact with Mr. Blue by computer (something directly
from the comic) about finding a cure for his condition.
These segments of the film are brilliantly shot by
Cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr. The city is a collection
of houses that look like they were put together by a kid
because each level is topped by another level making the
city look like a collection of stairs. It is in these scenes
that we are introduced to Emil Blonshy (Tim Roth), a British
commando on loan to Ross for his pursuit of the Hulk.
Leterrier slowly introduces us to his Hulk in the assault
scenes in Brazil. He keeps the creature in shadow but even
in small glimpses he looks like the Hulk that we expect;
single-minded, massive and capable of a great deal of
destruction. We also get a good sense of Banner’s life after
becoming the Hulk with him finding himself in an unfamiliar
location and making his way home to deal with his problem.
Norton has no problem illustrating the haunted nature of the
character at any time in the film.
The actions in Brazil lead to a return to the States by
Banner so that he can return to where he went to college.
There he sees and tries to avoid Betty (Liv Tyler) Ross but
fails at that task. His time at home is counter pointed with
Blonsky learning just what he has signed on for and wanting
more. In these scenes Roth shows a determination and a
hunger that leads into the further development of his
character. That development becomes apparent when Ross and
his troops find Banner again. The action sequence that
follows is spectacular. We see the full force of the Hulk’s
anger as well as his gentle nature in a well done scene in
the California mountains once all the bombs have gone off.
This all leads to New York where Banner meets Mr. Blue (Tim
Blake Nelson, oozing goofiness) for the first time. The lab
based scenes lead towards the massive battle between the
Hulk and Blonsky (named the Abomination by Nelson) in
Harlem. The film goes all out here and the destruction
caused by the two gamma created monsters is highly
impressive. The fight is a CGI-induced dream with fists
thrown the size of computer towers, chains, Hulk separated
cabs and the Hulk doing something on film that comic fans
have been waiting for.
The film is loaded with quality performances, tight action
sequences and yes, bits of humor that you don’t expect.
There are great performances by the entire cast from
beginning to end here. This is a Hulk film that fans wanted
to see the moment that films based on the character were
announced. It has the action quotient down pat and the quiet
character moments work as well. It is those moments that
Norton and Marvel had a disagreement about because he wanted
just as much character development as Marvel wanted action.
That disagreement meant that Norton did little publicity for
the film but Leterrier has promised that there will be a
fair amount of deleted footage on the DVD (including the
scene in which Banner comes across a frozen Captain
America). Is the film as good as Iron Man? No, but this is a
quality film that does demand a sequel. |
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 Movie Review by:
"Our Man" Andy Schumann
(***
stars out of 4)
"Overall this movie isn’t polished like Iron Man but just right behind Iron
Man"
Marvel Studios had a challenge on their hands to make this
Hulk movie as different as Ang Lee’s version. They went back
to the successful motif of the television show from the
1970s. They also did a great job of modernizing the origin
of the Hulk like they have done in their previous movies.
They turned his origin from being caught in a bomb to
undergoing gamma radiation tests to improve the brain.
Edward Norton portrayal of Bruce Banner was a strong stoic
type. Most of the movie all he wanted was to be left alone.
Banner also is spending much of the film trying to find a
way to cure him of the hulk. Liv Tyler and Edward Norton
really pull off the romantic relationship between the two of
them. William Hurt and Tim Roth each did a good job of
portraying their characters. William Hurt plays General Ross
who’s trying everything to recover the Hulk and use the
power to develop a group of super soldiers. Tim Roth plays
one of the Hulk’s main villians Emil Blonsky aka The
Abomination. As the movie progresses Blonksy really becomes
focused on trying to beat the Hulk. There are couple
interesting moments with both Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno. Lou
Ferrigno provided the voice of the animated Hulk in the
movie. Overall this movie isn’t polished like Iron Man but
just right behind Iron Man. The door is open for a sequel
but nothing has been green lighted or mentioned yet. |
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 Movie Review by:
Jim "Good Old JR" Rutkowski.
(**
stars out of 4)
"...even the CGI Hulk of 5 years ago is far more convincing then the Xbox
360 version that bounds around here"
I wish I could say I was filled with a joyful giddiness upon leaving the new
Incredible Hulk film for it delivered on non-stop action, a tight story and a
psychological depth brought to it by Edward Norton. Alas, this was not the case.
Although not about the joyful giddiness. Oh no, I still left with that feeling.
But it was because I could now laugh in the faces of all those who came down
hard upon Ang Lee’s version in 2003. For five years, his Hulk has been the butt
of the comic book movie universe, thrust out into exile much like Bruce Banner
himself for ignoring the origin story, inserting starfish technology and having
the audacity to actually see the drama in his cursed duality. Louis “Unleashed”
Leterrier’s 2008 “version” is twenty minutes shorter, features the same amount
of hulk-outs and manages to deliver no more action than Lee’s version; the
primary source of scorn to the comic crowd. Out of spite though they may still
say it’s an improvement, proving that some people can be served crap and still
spin it as pudding. Heck, even the CGI Hulk of 5 years ago is far more
convincing then the Xbox 360 version that bounds around here.
Right off the bat, all questions as to whether or not this was a sequel are
answered as a completely new origin story is put into fast-forward during the
opening credits. Well, not completely new. Instead of the father experimenting
on his son, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), is trying the gamma technology on
himself in the manner that Bill Bixby did on the TV show. Same chair, same
flashing red DANGER sign. No flat tire to cause the initial change, but you get
the picture. Having nearly killed the love of his life, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)
during the rampage her father, General “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) has
made it his mission to hunt down the fugitive and, well, that seems to be the
extent of his plan at first. Bruce has been hiding out in Brazil, communicating
only by laptop to someone who may be able to help cure him.
General Ross brings in a big gun though named Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) once a
far-fetched clue traces them to Banner’s whereabouts. Blonsky becomes intrigued
by his adversary’s abilities so the General informs of the research the Army has
been conducting in search of the super soldier. Seems this was part of Banner’s
experiments (albeit without his knowledge) and Ross, already aware of the
effects on a mild-mannered scientist, decides to give Emil a little taste. Now
with T-1000-like speed and agility, Emil can take on the Hulk at his own game,
even if their fighting weights aren’t quite matched. While Bruce escapes further
capture, reunited with Betty, he seeks to track down Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake
Nelson) who has succeeded in developing a temporary antidote for his alter-ego
but might also have just the dose of medicine that Blonsky needs to go
monster-y-monster.
The drive of this particular Incredible Hulk film is more akin to reading the
daily logline than the constant pursuit tension of a Fugitive or Bourne film.
When Marvel and everyone associated with this project set out to insultingly
jettison all memory of Ang Lee’s approach, did anyone believe that meant
regressing it back to the small screen version? I’m all for paying homage to the
show, included here by a clip of Bill Bixby getting smacked on Courtship of
Eddie’s Father and giving Lou Ferrigno a few lines while Norton graciously gives
him a “you da man.” There’s also a half-hearted reference to a young campus
reporter named Jack McGee (which got zero reaction from the crowd), the
four-note musical theme rears its sullen head and maybe even an unintended nod
to Bixby’s final appearance in The Death of the Incredible Hulk. (He didn’t
quite make it falling from that helicopter.) But if you can clock a feature film
by its transformations (25-&-50) style and still wish that you could skip
through the commercials in-between, precisely how far removed are you from
what’s come before.
Not that anything around those commercial breaks are worth waiting for either.
With three set pieces distributed liberally while a lesser version of Banner’s
longing and angst string them together, I challenge anyone to make a convincing
argument that the mayhem on display here is more exciting (or cooler) than what
transpired in 2003. Fine, you didn’t like “mutant French poodles” and
Leterrier’s opening chase (a half-hour in) through the neighborhoods of Brazil,
pre-Hulk, isn’t bad. But shading the creature while he defends himself distracts
us from the ensuing carnage. The final confrontation between Banner and
Blonsky’s various incarnations (Try not to groan when Nelson’s scientist says
the various mixtures in Blonsky’s blood would be “an abomination.”) is
Transformers all over again with two giant CGI creations moving so bullet fast
there’s no time to “wow” at one punch before the one who threw it is thrown
himself across the white section of Harlem which the film takes gusto in
destroying during the Cloverfield portion of the evening. The only
semi-legitimate cool moment allowed to breathe in the climax we already saw
Bruce Willis do to Yellow Bastard in Sin City. Sorry, not the balls thing. The
film would need them first.
Most telling though is the campus faceoff between the Hulk and Thunderbolt’s
army. This is to be the equivalent of the extended escape into the desert years
ago, but its more a test of the immovable object theory. When Eric Bana’s Hulk
emerged from being a lab rat, he ran like a jet stream, jumping himself to
freedom while tanks and choppers tried to take him out. Edward Norton’s Hulk is
a statue, planting himself on the campus grounds so everyone and their Army
mothers can take a shot at him. Argue away that he stayed to “protect” Betty,
but Leterrier frames the battle from a spectator’s vantage point and not through
the motivation of our hero, draining the excitement and amplifying the noise to
an anti-climax that carried more emotional pull when I was watching Starman for
the first time. Since everyone is starting over, then we’re being asked to do
the same. There’s no carry over from Bruce & Betty’s relationship. This is brand
new and there’s nothing to convincingly sell us on why these two characters care
about each other. It isn’t helped that the only time Liv Tyler changes facial
expressions is when she yells at a cab. The writing services none of the
characters, doesn’t even attempt to tap into the obvious implications of the
industrial military complex becoming it’s own uncontrollable monster, and
despite all the ballyhoo over Edward Norton writing and rewriting most of the
script, only Zak Penn gets final credit and will have to shoulder the blame.
It was bad enough that a five-episode stretch of Sex and the City was released
to theaters a few weeks back, but if all I wanted was two episodes of The
Incredible Hulk I could have busted out any of the four seasons of DVDs or sit
through a marathon on the Sci-Fi channel. Even fans of Ang Lee’s Hulk (which I’m
a proud card-carrying member) were left with a bad taste in their mouths during
its murky electricity-and-water finale, but there were so many positives to the
way he told the story (origin be damned and all) that its consistent vitriol
over the years with the onset of garbage like The Punisher and the Fantastic
Four films is so small-minded and puerile. The fact that no other comic book
adaptation since has taken the panel-and-inserts approach that Lee so cleverly
induced only furthers its originality and audacity. As some final injection of
irony, The Incredible Hulk offers up its coolest moment during the final scene,
with a (not-so-secret) cameo with a final line of anticipatory bliss for comic
and movie fans alike. It’s the only moment that elicited any reaction at the
screening, although it may have been because it offered another promise to the
Hulk denouncers that a good Incredible Hulk film is on the way. Because this
doesn’t even come close.
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INCREDIBLE
HULK ©
2008 Marvel Studios, Universal Picturest, Marvel
Entertainment
All Rights Reserved
Review © 2008 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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