The Incredible Hulk Movie Review
So here it is. The Jade Giant returns to theaters in a reboot only 5 years after the previous film, and this time they seemed to have cued into what the Hulk is really about. Smashing stuff. What I felt were the major flaws of the last film were that the Hulk only ever really fought 3 mutant dogs (one of them being a freaking poodle...), and Nick Nolte as the Absorbing Man, who wasn't anything other than somewhat of a glorified Parasite. That's awful. I understood that what the Ang Lee was trying to really display the conflicted character of Bruce Banner / the Hulk by focusing on his child abuse and anger issues, but that's only one side of the coin that is the Hulk. The other side, which is the shinier, more brain-dead and broadly appealing side is the fact that he's A GIANT EXTREMELY STRONG BALL OF PUNY noun SMASHING RAGE. Neglecting that is a stupid mistake. Louis Leterrier (who showed up at the beginning of the showing my friend and I attended in person to thank us for going on opening night, :-D) definitely didn't make this mistake. The Hulk smashes in this movie. He does it big and he does it a lot. Every act of this movie has at least one Hulk action sequence that's amazing for just turning your brain off and watching. And at the end, HE FIGHTS A GUY WHO CAN TAKE HIM ON. Congratulations Mr. Leterrier. You've figured out what makes an entertaining Hulk Movie.
Now make no mistake, this is no Iron Man. Not saying it isn't good, but it just isn't great. I was worried about this movie kinda doing what happened when Disney pulled the theme-park ride-movie summer, when they came out with Pirates of the Caribbean and then a few months later they came out with the Haunted Mansion, leading with the superior movie and then using that as a hook to get people into the other, weaker movie. This isn't the case with the Hulk. It does a good job of standing on it's own and being a fun movie. It's a Blockbuster. It's pretty to look at and has some cool action sequences in it. The acting is decent. I'd actually wish I could say better since Edward Norton (Banner) is one of my favorite actors, but this movie just wasn't the kind of movie that showcases acting skills. It's just all about the explosions and the projectile forklifts.
The movie is faithful to the old tv show more than it is the comic, but not in a way that necessarily detracts from the comic-core. The flashback sequence that shows the Hulk's origin is pretty much a shot for shot recreation of the intro to the tv show, which is fun. Also, David Banner is an alias Bruce uses at one point in the movie. The "Lonely Man" theme even pops up. These are just a few call-backs to the show, but the best one is the playful riff on the "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" line, but I won't spoil it for you.
Man, this review is scattershot, let me try to reel it in: This movie is what a hulk movie should be. It's big, it's bombastic, it's got a lot of the Hulk tearing things up and fighting things that are actually able to go toe-to-toe against him. The acting is good, the special effects are great, it's faithful to it's origins and is worthy of a Hulk fan's approval. They even drop the seeds for The Leader! The only thing I had a huge problem with was the end to the Hulk / Abomination fight at the climax of the movie. It isn't bad, but it could have been a whole lot better. But it is good. And it will tide any comic geek over until the main course of the summer when the Dark Knight opens up. I give this movie a solid B, but I have to say it's on the "Fun to Watch" scale, not the "All around fantastic movie" scale, like you'd find a movie like Fight Club on.
I really liked the movie. Not as much as Iron Man, but I did enjoy it.
One thing really bothered me though. After watching the trailers and all the tv spots, I was not happy to see how much of the footage from those video didn't make it into the final cut.
No Doc Samson and Banner chat. No arctic scene. No black army guy talking to General Ross and Blonksy, and the used alternate dialog when Banner was in the copter and talking to Sterns. That bothers me, I hate it when movies pull that shit.
I just got back from seeing the movie, and my, my, MY! THE GEEK-GASMS CONTINUE, ladies and gentlemen! LOL! Hoo-hoo! This movie was GREAT!!! Not quite as great as "Iron Man", but still a winner in my book. As someone whose introduction to Bill Bixby was the TV show from the 1970's, it was a totally warm appreciation I had for all the references they made to the series. IT made me think back to all those Friday nights on CBS when I would watch the adventures of David Banner, hoping that maybe he would find some peace. "The Lonely Man" theme by Joe Harnell was one of the most iconic pieces of music I ever heard of any show that I watched, growing up in the 70's.
So, the fact that they play it in this film was a total trip. Not to mention the fact that there were several shots throughout the film where they used the lighting and the styling of Edward Norton's hair to REALLY play up his resemblance to Bill Bixby! And the resemblance is SCARY at times!
This film was a good blend of the TV show and the comics so there was something for everybody. The effects were fine, and the action set pieces were awesome. But, (and this is my major complaint of the film)I didn't feel the WEIGHT of Bruce Banner's burden in Edward Norton. Norton is indeed a fine actor, but I didn't really feel the true ANGST of having this terrible secret inside him. Ironically, as this film was such a loving tribute to Bill Bixby, I get the feeling that Norton could have benefitted from going back and watching episodes of the show. Bixby's portrayal of Banner really showed the CRUX of how his secret ran his life and the burdens it brought him.
But, overall, the movie was just FUN! And the cameo at the end was the icing on the cake!
I'll say this much, though: It's hard to believe this movie was directed by Louis Leterrier, who also directed "Transporter 2", one of the worst action films of 2005.
I would give this one an A-/B+.
(Incidentally, I happened to enjoy the 2003 movie "The Hulk" very much as well, mainly because I understood and appreciated the approach of Ang Lee, especially knowing the approaches he's taken with many of his films. I find it a bit distasteful that he's being raked over the coals when comparisons pop up between Lee's film and this version.)
to be fair, i wasn't raking him over the coals so much as i was saying that the movie wasn't really complete without a physically challenging villain.
Hi Josh!
Actually, let me clarify a bit...:) The comment about Ang Lee being raked over the coals wasn't aimed at you, precisely because you acknowledged his approach at making "The Hulk "in 2003, so you obviously understood where he was coming from. I was more referring to the many reviews I've seen out there that basically say, "Ang Lee's sucked, this one ROCKS!" but with little to no context as to why they feel that way.
I loved the movie, but I also didn't have a problem with Ang Lee's vision of the Hulk. I thought the creature looked amazing. Putting the Hulk up against the avengers is going to be awesome.
this new Incredible Hulk is a lot more fun than the first one with Eric Bana; as usual Ed Norton has gravitated to a "split personality" role...
Saw it tonight. I really disliked 2003's Hulk, so I knew this one's path would be a lot more entertaining to me. It was, but still I'm just not a big Hulk fan, so I wasn't at the edge of my seat. I also agree that the Abomination fight was rather anti-climactic. The performances were superb, I liked how both Norton and Tyler acted nerdy so that it wasn't another one of those scrawny scientists with a hot super model type scenarios. Norton definately made the movie something more. I agree with Joshiebear, it was all around what a Hulk movie should be, no overly dramatic, overly poetic stuff like Anal..I mean Ang Lee's version. Just a great adventure with a balance of drama, action, and heroics. Oh and the "Hulk Smash!" was cool.
The Incredible Hulk doesn't make any top 5 or 10 lists for me as far as super hero movies go, but what's going to put this baby on my DVD shelf and what's gonna make me want to watch it again is the sweet, sweet tie-ins that Marvel has further expanded on with the movie. More S.H.I.E.L.D and an amazing Toy Stark cameo that I didn't have to wait after the credits for. Totally made the movie for me. I hope that Punisher: War Zone gives us some criss-crossing to the greater Marvel movieverse since it's going to be the second relaunch.
Great movie, can't wait for more.