Now that I'm on a ri.dic.u.lous amount of leave, I'd like to take this opportunity to catch up with a couple of reviews. Fortunately, I'm only two behind, and one of those doesn't count, since we saw it today.
In 2003, during the ascendancy of the Marvel comic book film (parts 3 of X-Men and Spider-Man were years away), Ang Lee directed a little film called Hulk. A Hong Kong legend, Lee's Hulk was a reimagining of both the character and the comic book film. Lee's pace was slower, more methodical, and changed Bruce's backstory as well as his father's. His Bruce Banner, Eric Bana, played socially repressed well, and the rest of the supporting cast was very strong. Lee used several shots to suggest the look and feel of a comic. It should have worked, and yet, I left the film thinking, "I should have loved this movie, but it just did nothing for me." Critics and fans agreed, and Hulk was, after an impressive opening weekend, shoved back into Bruce Banner's psyche, and pushed off the table for bog-screen production.The Incredible Hulk, then, is a unique beast. Billed as both a sequel and a reboot, it ends up being a whole lot of reboot and virtually no sequel. The Incredible Hulk's story, briefly, is a familiar one, drawn up in the comic books of the 60's: while experimenting with gamma radiation, brilliant scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is mutated. Now, when he becomes angry, scared, or excited, he transforms into the Hulk, a green-skinned, 10 foot tall brute with little intellect but a strong ethical code. Pursued by the US Army, led by General Ross (William Hurt), Bruce evades capture while keeping his emotions in check, forever trying to contain the beast. As Ross and his team become more desperate to capture Hulk, one of them, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) is injected with a "super-soldier" serum. Blonsky's reaction to the serum, however, transforms him into the Abomination, a monster even more dangerous than the Hulk. Only by releasing the Hulk can Banner stop the Abomination and save New York. With more action and a more mainstream feel, did The Incredible Hulk exceed it's predecessor, or should the movie Hulk once again go into hiding in the Amazon?
The Incredible Hulk was good, but not great. It was better than Lee's Hulk in most respects, but still left me a bit underwhelmed. The much-talked-about effects were exceptional, but as my regular readers know, great special effects do not make a great film. The film was not long enough for it's objective, several performances left me cold, and the resolution was unfulfilling.
What worked for me:
- Edward Norton. I know there's been alot of drama in the press about how divalicious this actor is, but he really is the right choice to play Bruce Banner. Bruce is all about repression, and beneath-the-surface-ness, and holding (almost holding) everything in when he just wants to smash someone's face in. In Fight Club, particularly, but in several roles, Norton's shown this ability exceptionally well. Like Iron Man's Robert Downey, Jr. before him, Norton's casting as Banner is pitch perfect.
- The cinematography, particularly in the first twenty minutes or so. The film places Bruce initially in the ghettos of Rio De Janeiro, where Bruce works at a bottling factory. The ghettos are beautifully shot, locked in fog and layer upon layer of humanity. A foot chase scene through this area later in the film works very well, cutting through crowds and narrow alleys.
- The dreariness. The Hulk is a pretty dreary character, when you get right down to it. He can never have a normal life, never drive in rush-hour traffic, never get in an argument over the price of gasoline. His life, by and large, is one of isolation and loneliness, mixed with emotional repression. The film conveys this well, both through Norton's performance and the look of several scenes.
- Several homages to the TV show. This Hulk is most influenced by the television series that ran from 1977 to 1982. There are recreated shots from the series, and Leterrier and Norton seem to try to recapture the wandering nomad feel the best they can in under two hours.
- The computer graphics (although I'll be brief). Yes, Hulk does look better than he did five years ago. His skin is more realistic, he moves more realistically, and his facial expressions are more realistic. That's great. Moving on.
What didn't work:
- Much of the cast. One thing Ang Lee did right, by and large, was cast his film. Jennifer Connelly as Bruce's love interest, Betty, and Sam Elliot as General Ross lent class and intelligence, as well as a sense of sympathy and menace to their characters. In Leterrier's film, Liv Tyler, though always a pleasure to watch, is pretty bland, and William Hurt bluster knob is turned up to 11. It's an instance where recasting, at least in the context of the film, was unnecessary.
- The computer graphics (I'll be less brief). I can think of a few problems relating to the CGI in this movie. First: this is a problem that is, I think, inherent to a character like the Hulk, but when Banner transforms, Edward Norton is completely lost, and it's entirely up to the CG artists to capture the Hulk's persona, while letting that shed of Banner show through. This was done successfully in Iron Man, but not quite so well here. There's very little deep character link between Banner and the Hulk. Now I know why Spider-Man takes his mask off so damn often. Second: in the last twenty minutes or so of the film, the Hulk and the Abomination square off, and it feels, quite honestly, like watching two people play a video game. It's not terrible, but trying to maintain those deep character touchstones in the middle of the mayhem would have made it more effective.
- The length. Parts of the story are pretty disjointed, and much has been said about the amount of the film that was cut out. At 114 minutes, The Incredible Hulk is too short for the story it's trying to tell. This is particularly noticeable in a few places: when Bruce is returning to the States, he simply appears there, rather than showing at least part of his journey, and at the end of the film, love interests and villains alike simply vanish.
Overall, I'd recommend The Incredible Hulk with reservations, particularly for those who aren't fans of the genre. Seeing Hulk Smash is pretty entertaining, but for the critical eye, there's enough story missing and lackluster performances to keep it from being a must-see.
Look for the Wall-E review soon.
