Alright, time for another theme week
involving movies. With the Avengers looming ever closer, it's about
time I finished the other tie-in films. So, for the next two posts,
Iron Man and the Hulk will get their turn. Today, however, we turn to
the not-so-jolly green giant himself.
Now, despite the fact that it's not
technically connected to the Avengers, I'll also be covering the Hulk
film directed by Ang Lee. Why? Well, it is kinda-sorta-maybe-related.
Besides, if Spirit Of Vengeance can be connected to the first Ghost
Rider, why can't this?
But first, some backstory: a Stan
Lee-Jack Kirby creation, the Incredible Hulk came about in May 1962,
making his debut in the first issue of the comic bearing the same
name.
Meek and awkward scientist Dr. Bruce
Banner risks his life to save a young man who inadvertently makes his
way on to the test range for Bruce's creation, a gamma bomb. Instead
of killing him, it creates an alternate personality that emerges in
times of great rage: The Hulk. Hulk's primary superpower is
incredible strength, which actually increases as he gets angrier. He
also has accelerated healing, high resistance to mind control and is
immune to disease and viruses.
The Hulk may just be one of the most
feared yet misunderstood characters in comic history, as most of the
time, he's on the run from the army, in particular, General Ross,
father of his love interest, Betty.
But now, for the first film:
It begins in 1974 and goes over how
Bruce's (Eric Bana) unstable father, David (Nick Nolte) experimented
on himself while trying to create super-soldier prototypes. His
altered DNA gets passed down to Bruce and David tries to find a cure.
When the plus is pulled on his project, David goes mad and attempts
to kill his son, which results in the accidental death of his wife
and being locked away in a mental hospital, with Bruce going into
foster care and repressing the entire event.
Years later, Bruce is working in a
military-industrial complex, working on a similar project that his
father was involved in. An accident involving gamma radiation
mingling with his unusual DNA soon causes him to transform into a
giant green monster. Banner ends up being hunted by General
“Thunderbolt” Ross (Sam Elliot) while simultaneously pursued by
his ex-girlfriend, Betty (Jennifer Connoly), who happens to be the
general's daughter.
There's a little bit more to that, but
we could be here all day, and I've got another movie to review below.
Actually, that's one of the film's problems in a nutshell: the story
is more complicated than it needs to be. I mean, what's wrong with
the origin story from the comic? Yeah, using weapons on test ranges
is probably uncommon these days (I have no idea, I'm not American)
but it's simplified and classic. You don't have to have Rick Jones in
there, just some random guy. Yes, the movie tries something that's
almost the same, but the part I don't like is the whole “born with
mutant DNA” thing. Wait, so that technically makes him a mutant.
Now you're crossing into X-Men territory. I don't know if it's a
retcon from later in the comics, but even so, I would have preferred
the simpler approach.
Speaking of simple, another thing that
bugs me is the use of splitscreen-like shots. I get that they're
supposed to resemble comic panels, but for what reason? To remind us
it's a comic book movie? Why not add thought bubbles while we're at
it? It's actually kind of off-putting.
But I guess what bugs me the most is
that it's hard to tell what's going on in places. Especially the
final battle. I mean, it's mostly dark, with some movement, some
glimpses of the Hulk and... that's it. I don't know if anyone had any
idea what went on.
So, in a nutshell, I guess the biggest
problem was the editing.
Were there positives? Well, sure, a
few.
Compared to Ghost Rider, despite being
released four years after Hulk, Sam Elliot cares more about this film
than Ghost Rider. Maybe over the years he just stopped caring? No,
that can't be it. For what little time he was in Thank You For
Smoking, he was great. Maybe he found this role more believable,
which I can't blame him for.
Eric Bana... is just OK. He's not
terrible, not outstanding. Even when trying to get angry, I'm just
not buying it. Oh well, good effort, Eric. You rocked in Chopper,
though, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Jennifer Connelly, though, I did like.
She's supportive and smart, which is in character with her comic
counterpart (I say that very obvious statement because you would
believe otherwise if you have only been reading comics from the
Ultimate Universe, you'd find she's a raging bitch. But then, for
reasons I can't fathom, most of the Ultimate Universe versions are
arseholes).
David Banner... OK, I have to ask: did
they just get Nick Nolte to speak gibberish, look like a homeless
addict and just roll camera? That's pretty much how he comes off, a
homeless addict. Yeah he spent time in a mental hospital, but dear
lord, couldn't he at least have shaved and cleaned himself up a bit?
You want people to take you seriously, stop looking like you're about
to bash our faces in with a hammer to steal our fillings. Also, as a
supervillain, you wasted your power.
But, and perhaps the most important
aspects when making anything Hulk related, two questions will be
raised: how do they handle the Hulk effects and how are the action
scenes? To answer the first question: it's actually pretty decent.
The green's a little too bright and he only looks slightly bigger,
but I can live with it. The action's not terrible, but not entirely
convincing either. Sure, he fights some tanks and wins, naturally,
but there's no tension. Yeah, we know he's going to win, cos, he's
the goddamn Hulk, but couldn't you at least put in a chance he could
fall?
That's still better than the
aforementioned final battle, or the fight with the three big dogs.
Yeah. Like a crappy boss in a bad video game, Hulk takes down three
mutated dogs. It sucked.
So, all in all, a confusing, poorly
edited film saved by decent acting from the supporting cast and the
passable effects on the Hulk (but bonus points for all the shots of
his giant leaps, those were pretty cool). It gets by on 2.5/5, half a
star more than when I originally saw it nearly a decade ago, proving
why rewatching movies is a good thing. Third time seeing it now and
it's making a little more sense! Maybe another five viewings and I'll
understand all of it.
And now, for The Incredible Hulk, which
is officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whereas Hulk
is... sort of related, like a distant cousin no one talks about.
Skipping the origin (it takes care of
that in the credits, so already it wins points), Bruce (now played by
Edward Norton) has been on the run for at least five years,
successfully keeping off the grid, has a job in a bottling factory.
However, some of his blood spills into a bottle that is ingested by
an American man, which gives General Ross (William Hurt taking the
reigns here) the tip-off on his location. With a team led by British
soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), Ross attempts to capture Banner and
fails to do so, though Bruce now heads back to America, reunites with
Betty (Liv Tyler stepping in) and attempts to find a cure.
Again, I'm leaving a lot of detail out,
but it's meant to be an intro, not a full recap. All you need to know
is this: between the two films, this Hulk smashes the other one into
the ground.
You can say what you want about how
Hulk tried to elevate comic book films by adding a bit more drama to
it, but considering what the Hulk's about, is the Hulk the first
character you think of for high concept films? The Incredible Hulk
manages to blend both invigorating action scenes and introspective
moments without dropping the quality of the film, much like the
comic. It's about the right blend, as is anything.
Acting-wise, of the three roles carried
over, only one of them is on-par with the previous film (the role of
General Ross), while the other two exceed it. Edward Norton has been
one of my favourite actors for some time, ever since the first time I
saw Fight Club and Red Dragon. He adds layers of emotion that Bana
just couldn't conjure, and he's always believable. He has said he's a
fan of the TV show that this movie pays loving homage to (from what I
can gather, anyway, I've never seen it) and the some of the runs in
the comic, and it's always nice when an actor is a major comic fan
who gets to participate in a movie such as this (Nic Cage may be a
subversion to a point but like I said in my Ghost Rider blog, his
appearance in Kick-Ass appeases me).
Liv Tyler takes what Jennifer Connelly
did and expands on it, making her a little more pro-active in helping
Bruce, and getting moments to shine on her own (one of my absolute
favourite scenes is her verbal-bordering-on-physical attack on a taxi
driver, with Bruce humorously looking on and joking with her soon
after. It's a sweet moment). The chemistry between Liv and Edward is
great and it's another sign that Marvel knows how to make a great,
three-dimensional love interest in their cinematic universe
(something that Spider-Man, as fantastic as that trilogy is, never
quite did to the full.)
Moving on to the new, Tim Roth made a
far more capable villain with the Abomination. A man driven to be the
best, like no one ever was (yes, wanting to outdo the Hulk himself),
even more ruthless than Ross. Even when it's Tim in human form taking
on the Hulk, he's a credible threat and never stands down in the face
of overwhelming odds.
But when he does become the
Abomination...
Well, like every other action scene,
it's as exciting as I expected. Banner avoiding the soldiers in the
factory, Hulk's fight on the campus, the final battle... glorious.
And this time around, the Hulk looks more realistic (as realistic as
a giant green rage monster can). What I mean is, he's more detailed
and the transformation looks and flows more organically. Also, Lou
Ferrigno's few lines as the Hulk were neat! Including the classic
“HULK SMASH!” His and Stan's cameos in both films were great,
though I prefer both of their cameos in this film, obviously.
Overall, a better effort and a sign
that Hulk wasn't staying down for the count this time. 4/5. He may
not be played by Edward Norton in The Avengers but that's not going
to stop him from being awesome again.
And that ends the Hulk double. Next
time, the movie that kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and
the sequel.
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