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The Incredible Hulk

Buzz says:   MPAA Rating: PG-13
Current Showtimes: No showtimes available

When I walked into the theater for an advanced screening of The Incredible Hulk, I uttered but one and a half sentences:

“Please don’t disappoint me…you wouldn’t like me when I’m disappointed.”

After enduring a slew of horrible Marvel adaptations over the years [see The Hulk (circa 2003), The Fantastic Four (one and two), The Punisher (the original AND the remake), Captain America (thank you, Svengoolie), Nick Fury: Agent Of Shield (thank you, David Hasselhoff), Daredevil, Electra, X-Men 3, etc. etc.], I’ve been delightfully surprised by recent attempts at comic adaptations, like Iron Man. Movie studios are finally abandoning the child-oriented audience and the tongue-in-cheek style for something more gritty and mature (I thank Batman Begins for this). The Incredible Hulk is one of these movies.

The film starts off at bullet’s speed, recapping the events that led to Edward Norton’s Hulking. In this film, he was a part of a military research program, secretly bent on breeding super soldiers (is it me, or does this back story sound vaguely familiar to Captain America?). Of course, things go horribly wrong and Norton’s inner green is released. In his Hulk rage, Norton destroys the lab and goes on the run from the military, a fugitive of the law.

Louis Leterrier, who previously directed The Transporter series, took the helm on this film with a heavy burden on his shoulders. That is, not to make The Hulk suck as much as Ang Lee made it. Personally, I think he succeeded. Though Leterrier’s version of The Hulk is not nearly as inquisitive or deep in character as Lee’s version, it also not as slow-paced, sappy and uninteresting. Not that I ever thought Lee’s characters from his version of The Hulk were nearly as “interesting” as Roger Ebert (or even Ang Lee himself) claims them to be.

The Incredible Hulk acts as two separate, but complementary films. The first half of the movie explores the science fiction and interpersonal aspects of The Hulk. Norton is searching for a cure to his problem, while avoiding the government at a pace that allows him to act (and us to enjoy his acting) without every lingering. The second half of the film deals exclusively with action. Here, we get our adrenaline fix as a large and menacing (albeit blatantly CGI) Hulk graphically “smashes” it out punch for punch a mutated Tim Roth, who is dubbed “The Abomination.”

The action is brilliantly choreographed, unlike other contemporary action films like Transformers. Fans of Leterrier’s previous work will notice many stylistic similarities in The Incredible Hulk’s action sequences. It is always over-the-top, with a strong element of suspended disbelief. The action flows fluidly and consistently enough that once you get “into” the film, it will keep you captivated all the way --- but that’s, of course, not to say that everyone will be captivated by this film.

Though the performances by Edward Norton, Tim Roth and William Hurt are brilliantly and convincingly acted (at least in my opinion), Liv Tyler is painfully dull (though she does have her moments). Additionally, the film plays out much like a (mature) comic book, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. Comic books are largely an acquired taste and this movie is less like Batman Begins in its appeal and more like the first X-Men movie.

Though I enjoyed this film thoroughly, my friend who I saw it with hated it. I’d put it on par with films like The Transporter and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, in all honesty. Gauge your propensity to see this film based on that. Just know it’s not silly or stupid or boring and be happy it’s not a rehash of the crap that is Ang Lee’s The Hulk.