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The problem facing both of the Incredible Hulk movies
is one of economics and technology. The cost of rendering the iconic Marvel
Comics creature on the silver screen is astronomical, and the end result
has been far from convincing. Ang Lee’s Hulk, which was unjustly maligned, and Louis Leterrier’s reboot, The Incredible Hulk, suffer
primarily because the titular character is so rarely onscreen and when he
is his appearance is still far too cartoonish to be convincing. Lee
recognized this and fleshed out his film with an ambitious story of
familial tragedy and complex psychological turmoil that was told in a
combination of the comic-book and movie media — an ambitious,
successful aesthetic that should be used more often. However, audiences
— most of them muttering “Head hurt,” like their hero as
they left the theater — were put off by the fact that a superhero
flick was asking them to think.
Leterrier was charged with making audiences forget
Lee’s film and deliver a more action-oriented, crowd-pleasing movie.
Unfortunately, his movie fails to deliver: The action sequences, like the
Hulk’s appearances, are too few and far between, and the story used
to string them together is as limp as Bruce Banner’s pants the
morning after his alter ego has gone on a rampage. The origin story here — a recap of the tale
told in the old Bill Bixby television series — is dispensed with
during the opening credits. We’re then quickly informed that Gen.
Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) is intent on
bringing in Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), the scientist who worked on a
secret government project that led to the unfortunate side effect of his
becoming a raging beast whenever he gets mad. Banner has gone into exile in
Brazil, working in a bottling plant while trying to find a cure for his
condition. An odd accident and an even stranger series of events reveal his
whereabouts, and soon Ross and his men, including special agent Emil
Blonsky (a horribly miscast Tim Roth), are hightailing it south to get
their man. Thus begins a movie-long chase in which Banner flees to the
States to be reunited with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), his former love and the
general’s daughter, who tries to help him find a cure while her
father and his men, with a newly gamma-ray-enhanced Blonsky, attempt to
apprehend him. The film’s biggest problem is that character
development is brushed aside in favor of action, and as result we have no
emotional investment in the characters. Whereas Iron Man took its time and showed us
what made Tony Stark tick, Leterrier and screenwriter Zak Penn don’t
bother with such details. Because we don’t really know or care much
about Banner and the others, we’re left waiting for the sight of the
Hulk to impress us, but he fails to do so. The character appears four times:
The first sighting is a wash because he’s only seen in silhouette;
the third is far too brief, with the character reverting quickly to human
form during an experiment. The finale, a colossal fight between the Hulk
and the Abomination, the creature that Blonsky becomes, is repetitious and
anti-climactic in a Red River sort of way (just why do they stop fighting?).
However, the second scene, on a college campus, is the film’s
centerpiece and a true showstopper, with Hulk taking down a gunship while
protecting Betty from a hail of gunfire and flames. In this moment,
Leterrier achieves the tone and sense of awe that made the comic book a
classic — but he fails to do so again. The cast — except for Roth, who doesn’t
even attempt to create the bearing of a military man — is fine and
one wishes that the actors had been working in the service of a better
script. Perhaps the rumored Norton version of the film, longer and more
detailed, will surface on the DVD release and a more complete vision of the
story will emerge. Although fans of the comic will be pleased by an
appearance by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and the promise of the
Hulk’s other big foe, the Leader, for the next film, ultimately
Leterrier’s movie crashes and burns, leaving nothing but dashed
expectations in its wake.
This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2008.
