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Movie Review - The Incredible Hulk (2008)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Louis Leterrier |
| Starring: |
Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, and William Hurt |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content) |
| Length: |
114 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Adventure/Superhero |
| Tagline: |
On June 13, get ready to unleash the beast. |
| Studio: |
Universal Pictures |
| Website: |
The Incredible Hulk |
| Release: |
June 13, 2008 |
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PLOT
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Scientist Bruce Banner (Norton) is desperately searching for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of a green
hulking sasquatch rage within him. Leaving behind the woman of his life (Tyler), Banner has shuffled off to Brazil to avoid the pursuit of General Ross (Hurt)
who wants to exploit Banner's "ability."
Ross really steps in it when he recruits Emil Blonsky (Roth), a special ops soldier with a thirst for domination and glory, to retrieve Banner. Once it's
realized what they're dealing with, Ross agrees to give Blonsky small doses of gamma radiation in order to slowly turn him into a super soldier.
Unfortunately, Blonsky's lust for power leads to the creation of a new adversary - The Abomination - a monstrosity whose strength rivals, perhaps surpasses,
The Hulk's. Will Bruce Banner forsake the safety of mankind in order to live a peaceful life, or will he find heroism in the creature he holds inside? A breath
of freshly relieved air for Hulk fanboys ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Who remembers Ang Lee's 2003 loathed attempt at bringing the Hulk to the big screen?
*Johnny's reading audience lets out a disgusted moan*
I know, I know. Well, you'll be happy to know that you can finally erase that version from your memory because The Incredible Hulk is back and this time they've done it
right!
"But Johnny, The Hulk bored me to sleep! After I woke up I then cried myself to sleep after realizing the time and money I had wasted. I'm really hesitant about
a new Hulk movie, a mere five years after the previous disaster."
As was I, dear reader. In fact, I wasn't excited about the screening. I had been dreading it all day. Rather than looking forward to watching a summer blockbuster for
free, my mind was occupied with much more important issues - such as when J.C. Penney was going to have another 70% off summer sale and how this might affect my wardrobe
for an upcoming road trip. Plus, there was no way I could skip the screening. I'd already promised approximately 28 people that I'd get them into the movie, and some
of these folks aren't the kind to take "sorry, but the theater is full" too kindly. Thankfully, I worked a little Johnny Betts magic, and some under-the-table handshakes,
and worked everything out. The bad news is I had to promise Corey Feldman a shout-out as he was showing us to our seats. Hey Corey, consider yourself shouted out to!
Anyway, the movie! It took approximately 5-10 minutes for the Hulk to kick my initial misgivings straight out the theater door. A little story and setting development
quickly gives way to an exciting, tension-building warehouse scene, and the Hulk was off and rocking! And folks, the movie takes few timeouts. The bottom line is this
is exactly the movie that fans of the comic book want and will love - it's suspenseful, action-packed, laced with humor, and there is just enough romance to keep the ladies
happy.
Another element that really adds to the film is its many "smile and nod" geek moments for those of us who are familiar with the TV show and comic book - Lou Ferrigno,
purple pants, the TV show's theme song, hitchhiking. My buddy Side-Hug Sam should consider changing his name to Side-Elbow Sam to reflect how excited he'd get every
time an old school shout-out would pop up.
One thing that some viewers might see as a drawback is that this truly is geared towards Hulk fans. A minimal amount of the story's knowledge is a helpful prerequisite,
but don't worry - this isn't exactly the rocket science version of cinema. My gal - the newly dubbed The Movie Babe - wasn't at all familiar with the Hulk's mythology,
and so she was asking a lot of questions (in hushed tones, I might add). My concise and insightful answers added to her enjoyment of the film - which she truly did like,
going so far as to call the Hulk "cute."
"What about the CGI, Johnny? I'd prefer to have a bodybuilder in green paint!"
Don't get me wrong; I loved Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. But that fit for a TV series. This is a summer blockbuster, and convincing us that a 6'5" dude with muscles can
throw tanks around like softballs just ain't happening. The CGI version of the Hulk is only 9', and it isn't too overbearing or obtrusive. In the comic book movie
world, it's a perfectly believable representation.
Marvel is on the right track. The Incredible Hulk, which holds its own against Marvel's other 2008 blockbuster Iron Man, is
thrilling to watch, provides a likeable, sympathetic reluctant hero thanks to Ed Norton's spot-on performance, and gives movie fans exactly the escapism they're paying
for. Let's keep it going!
Oh, and prepare to really geek-out over the film's final cameo. If you don't cheer then congratulations - you can find comfort in the fact that you're nowhere near
the level of dorkdom of those people around you who'll be clapping and hollering.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Creator Stan Lee admits that he got the idea for The Incredible Hulk via a little inspiration from Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He always
thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to create a monster and make him the good guy?"
- Created in 1962, the Hulk comic book series was cancelled the following year after only six issues. He would go on to guest star in other comics, even becoming one of
the first Avengers, and his popularity finally caught on in 1968, leading to a revitalization of The Incredible Hulk.
- Did you know the Hulk was originally supposed to be gray? Stan Lee explains, "My first impulse was to make him gray, because as far as I knew, there were no Super
Heroes or villains running around with gray skin. When the first issue came out, the printer had trouble with the gray color. So I talked to the technical people and
they said, 'Well, most of the other colors are easier to do; you won't have to worry.' I had to pick out another color, and I realized nobody had a green hero I knew
of. And I said, 'Okay, let's make him green.' It was as casual as that."
- According to visual effects supervisor Kurt Williams, a lot of importance was placed on the Hulk's size: "One of the big challenges on the movie was deciding the
scale of the characters. Our challenge was to create a consistent size for The Hulk throughout the movie. We didn't want him to grow. We didn't want him to ebb or
flow. We wanted him to be one size the whole time, so we picked 9', because it would still allow him to relate to human beings and not be so big that he would be
almost alien or unbelievable. It allows you to believe he's really there, but you still have the ability for him to believably pick up a car and throw it and show
other great feats of strength like slamming the ground and creating a giant chasm in the street."
- The Abomination was originally imagined by his Marvel Comics creators as a 6' 8", 980-pound mutation of a former KGB spy of Soviet Yugoslavian origin.
- The Abomination in this film is 11' tall, 2' taller than The Hulk.
- Ed Norton was in The Italian Job with Charlize Theron who was in In the Valley of Elah with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This is fairly safe for the family, although there are a couple of mild profanities and one inexplicably-placed G-d**n. Seriously, what was the point? There's also a scene
where Ed Norton makes out with a scantily-dressed Liv Tyler. It's played for laughs due to Banner's necessity to keep his heart rate under 200.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer instilled within me a sense of hope, but I was hesitant. Good news - if you're sold on the trailer then you'll love the movie.
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THE GIST
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Hesitant to pull the trigger because Ang Lee's boring version of the Hulk is still fresh on your mind? Let the past go, man! Get rid of those bitter roots! The Incredible
Hulk is big, it's bad, it's loud, it's fast, and it's a ball of popcorn-munchin' fun! Enjoy it on the big screen.
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