Marvel Studios has released their second film of 2008, and while not as highly anticipated as Iron Man, there is a lot of buzz surround The Incredible Hulk.
Marvel has decided to reboot the Hulk franchise, ignoring Ang Lee’s Hulk movie which was not well received at all. This time around, Louis Leterrier (The Transporter 1 and 2) is at the helm, and there is much more action as a result.
This film is very much an homage to the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferigno TV series from the 1980s. Many images in the film are straight out of the show, as well as the Hulk’s origin. Even the theme music makes an appearance. But there are also a lot of comic book references as well, including the Mr. Green/Mr. Blue exchange from Bruce Jones’ “Return of the Monster” storyline, and cameos by some familiar comic characters.
Banner is in hiding after his first Hulk-out, where he nearly killed his girlfriend, Betty, and her father, General Thunderbolt Ross. But he’s slipped up, and now the General is closing in, which gives the movie a Fugitive-type feel. To help hunt Banner down, General Ross assembles a team of specialists, including Emil Blonksy, a life-long soldier who loves a challenge. After Blonsky sees the Hulk first hand, he wants to do whatever it takes to bring him down, including being injected with the Super Soldier Serum (hinting at the upcoming Captain America film). This gives him enhanced strength and speed, but it’s not enough for Blonsky. So he’s infused with some of Banner’s blood and becomes the Abomination, and monster bigger and badder than the Hulk. This sets up the film’s final confrontation between the two monsters.
All of the roles from the first film have been recast, with Edward Norton playing Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, and William Hurt as General Thunderbolt Ross. Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) plays the Emil Blonsky/The Abomination. Marvel has done it again with the casting, and everyone plays their roles perfectly. Norton really shines as Banner, and it’s great that he gets a chance to strut his stuff in an action/comic book movie.
The Hulk looks like he’s supposed to this time – Nine feet tall, green and mean. The film makers were able to capture more emotion in this Hulk which should make him more acceptable as a CGI character. The CGI Hulk didn’t bother me at all, but the Abomination was a bit much. He really looks nothing like his comic book counterpart, and more like a mini-Godzilla crossed with something out of a horror movie.
The best parts of the film are when Banner is on the run. That’s not to say that the Hulk scenes were bad – most of them weren’t – but one of the things that made the Hulk TV show work well was the Fugitive aspect of it, and it works well here, too.
The weakest part of the movie is the big Hulk/Abomination battle. Maybe it was the CGI, maybe it was that seeing two monsters beat the tar out of each other can only go so far, but it just didn’t work for me. The final scene of the movie also seemed forced and out of place. I think that it would have worked better a little earlier than where it showed up. Despite that, it’s a great scene for the fans.
Since I’m a movie score nut, I’ve got to deduct points again for the music in the film. Much like Iron Man, the music has no themes for any of the characters, nothing that you walk away from the film humming, (except a few bars from the Hulk TV show). It would be nice to see a recognizable name composing music for future Marvel films, because so far, they’ve been pretty lame.
Overall, The Incredible Hulk is far superior to the Ang Lee Hulk movie. It’s faster paced, more engaging, and just plain fun. Fans of the TV show will like it, fans of the comic books will like it, and even casual fans should enjoy it.