The Incredible Hulk

A film strangely lacking in its promise, "The Incredible Hulk" leaves much to be desired but actually does manage to provide both entertainment and interest, which is more than could be said for its preceding film "Hulk" in 2003. Edward Norton gives the human side of the big green guy some dramatic chops, but the film's strengths lie mostly in its impressive effects and promise of things to come for Marvel-produced movies.

On the run from the U.S. military, Bruce Banner (Norton) hides in Rio de Janeiro, trying his best to find a cure for the horrific alter ego. He stays away to protect his former love Betty (Tyler), but her father, General Ross (Hurt) sees Banner as U.S. property, and, with the help of British Special Forces soldier Emil Blonsky (Roth), tries to take the troubled scientist back to the U.S.

Hiring Ed Norton was a great move for Marvel, and it pays off. Having such a well-known, serious actor take up the role presents the idea that the film is trying to be more serious (and taking into account casting choices made in "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" this summer, sticking with the majority). Norton gives Bruce Banner a sense of anguish as he slowly realises that neither he nor the world at large can handle his alter ego, and that those he loves will always suffer the consequences. Casting Norton after casting Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man", Marvel were always likely to be seen to be making a gamble, but it wins out for them here as it did with Downey, and Norton could lead the way for more serious actors to take superhero films as a more serious genre.

Liv Tyler, for how little she appears here, does well. Many of the decisions her character makes are ridiculous, but she manages to sell them quite well, and she doesn't really get the screen time that her or the character of Betty Ross deserve. Roth as the renegade soldier Emile Blonsky menaces the film, reminding this reviewer of the actor's great turn in "Reservoir Dogs", and his malevolent monster of a character should be reason enough for other directors to take note and cast him in more movies. William Hurt is Colonel Ross, the man trying to take the Hulk back for the U.S. Government, and he does well enough in what is pretty much an anonymous role. There are also cameo turns from Downey Jr. (in a nice little connecting scene between the two Marvel films) and Tim Blake Nelson as a wacked-out scientist who assists Banner in searching for a cure. A pretty prestigious supporting cast helps to back up Norton here.

The film is brisk, perhaps too brisk, but Louis Leterrier directs his first Hollywood blockbuster after the "Transporter" films he had become known for, and much of the crazed energy is apparent here. For a first big-budget film, "Incredible Hulk" feels very quick and to-the-point, and that does drag it down somewhat (more characterisation would have benefited characters at key points, and some scenes appear cut). However, notwithstanding this, Leterrier appears to be a brilliant action director, and I'm interested to see what he has to give in future. The theme of isolation and the Hulk as an illness to Banner give Norton many whiny, pathetic lines, but there are some great ones to balance them out, particularly dealing with language boundaries at the beginning. Much of the exposition is said so fast that it can't keep up, and as a result much of the detail can be lost easily. The music was stock action-film music, and didn’t have any themes that stood out. Apparently there's a theme from the original TV show, but I've never seen it, and wouldn't have picked it out.

The CGI here is pretty brilliant, and seems to seamlessly blend with the live action, which allows for some pretty crazy scenes later in the film. Making a big green human believable is next to impossible, but the Hulk looks as real as he's gonna get, and in comparison to the 2003 film, a hell of a lot better. Leterrier obviously likes to blow things up as well, and this is made so apparent at so many points that you begin to realise that he is one of the wave of directors embracing realism over effects in that regard.

What gives this film its quality is that the mistakes made in Ang Lee’s “Hulk” have been totally forgotten – the earlier film dismissed as an attempt, and this as a hybrid reboot/remake/sequel. The concision with which Leterrier recalls the back story (in the opening credits no less) means that the typical origin story is lost, giving more time for Hulk to ‘SMASH’ his way about. The movie’s weaknesses lie in the short running time and in the sometimes laughable dialogue, but as a second Marvel-produced movie after “Iron Man”, and as a precursor to the eventual “Avengers” movie (which would see Iron Man and the Hulk teaming up or fighting one another), “Incredible Hulk” nearly lives up to its name.

8/10