Although there are a few missteps, The Incredible Hulk captures what a Hulk movie should be – tons of action and lots of fun.
The movie is a ramped up take on the Marvel Comics character, and makes sure to pack enough punches to keep fans happy.
The film is a reboot of the classic character after director Ang Lee’s spin on Hulk failed to fire up fans thanks to a slower plot and heavy exploration of the character’s psyche.
In my opinion, The Incredible Hulk was a good one. The film was directed by Louis Leterrier (Transporter and Transporter 2) from a script by Zak Penn (X2 and the upcoming adaptation of The Avengers). It was produced by Avi Arad, Kevin Feige, Gale Anne Hurd.
The new film still has some problems and gets a tad silly by the end, but it is a much more entertaining ride than Lee’s take on the character. The film features a fast-paced story that centers around three big action sequences – the first while Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is hiding in South America; the second at a college where Banner is trying to retrieve data and has been reunited with his love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler); and the third in a classic monster mash between the Hulk and the Abomination.
The movie starts with Banner already in hiding as a result of the gamma radiation accident that left him as the raging Hulk. He is working at a bottling factory while he searches for a cure to his problem. His only ally is a man by the name of Mr. Blue (Tim Blake Nelson) who communicates with him via an internet chat line. He also spends his days practicing yoga, martial arts, and other anger control techniques.
An accident at the bottling company sends a bit of his gamma radiated blood (mixed in some soda) stateside where an elderly man (a nice cameo from Stan Lee) drinks it and gets sick. This gets the attention of Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross (William Hurt) – who has been searching for Banner since his disappearance.
Ross was working with Banner on a “Super Soldier” program (nice little nod to the Captain America comic) and views the Hulk as government property. He goes down south with a squad of specialists to get Banner.
Naturally, things go wrong, Banner gets angry, and the Hulk smacks everyone around. The defeat is bitter for Maj. Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), and he agrees to experiment with an older version of the “Super Soldier” program to get a little edge for when he next meets Hulk.
Hopeful Mr. Blue can help him find a cure, Banner returns to the states to retrieve the data needed to help him. He also hooks back up with Betty. As they are getting ready to have a nice heartfelt goodbye, the army shows up and it is time for the Hulk to really shine. This action sequence is huge and everything you want to see in a Hulk film.
He slaps jeeps around like they were nothing, and even takes out a special sound weapon with a make-sift shield. We also get to see a powered up Blonsky fail again to beat the Hulk - who gives him a nice kick to the chest for his efforts.
From there, the movie moves into New York City for the final act. Banner meets Mr. Blue (aka Dr. Samuel Sterns), and undergoes an experiment to try and get rid of the Hulk.
The army shows up to put a stop to it, and then things go pretty bad for property owners in the city. Blonsky gets a little too much juice and the Abomination is born (comic fans will also enjoy a little hint that The Leader might pop up in a future sequel).
The last part of the movie is just a classic monster fight with Hulk smashing the Abomination, and Abomination smashing Hulk. These two creatures rip up New York worst than the Cloverfield monster, and made the last bit of this film feel like a true comic book experience.
While I halfway liked Ang Lee’s version of the character, I never loved it. It had some good elements to it, but there was a lot that just didn’t work for me (yes I am talking about the Hulk Poodles).
I really enjoyed this version of the film, and felt it was right in line with what Marvel achieved with their screen adaption of Iron Man (Tony Stark popping up in The Incredible Hulk was also a cool touch and further laid the groundwork for The Avengers).
From start to finish, the movie felt like what a Hulk movie should feel like – it was a fun popcorn “Hulk Smash!” film. The movie moved at a good pace that never let you get bored with the story or question how Banner was able to connect to Mr. Blue at the college or swallow that USB flash drive without even a sip of water.
Norton handles the Banner role, and makes the character as interesting as Hulk. When he is on screen, you don’t feel like you are just wasting time until Hulk shows up and are actually interested in the character moments of the film.
You also have to love some of the humor that slides into the film – such as Banner checking the stretchy pants against a rather large woman’s waistline.
Hurt and Roth both seemed to be having a good time in the villain roles with plenty of snarls and gravely line delivers. Both seem natural as the bad guys of the film – even if they start the film off with the best intentions (Hurt looking out for the country’s protection and Roth wanting to be a good soldier).
Personally, I felt that Tyler was a bit wasted in the movie, and just comes across as the damsel in distress role. She isn’t bad in the film, but just seems more of a plot device rather than a real character.
In addition to being a blast, the movie looks and sounds great on Blu-ray’s 1080p picture. The colors pop, and the details are pretty much amazing (such as Hulk sitting in the rain and the detail of the textures you can see on his skin). Like Iron Man, this seems to be a movie made for the Blu-ray experience.
The Blu-ray also comes loaded with a ton of special features that take you into the movie, and show you how it went from script to screen. The features include an alternate beginning, deleted scenes, picture in picture looks at the film, commentary from Leterrier and Roth, plus BD Live exclusive features.
The alternate opening sets a dark tone for the film, but really didn’t fit with the rest of the movie. It is worth watching, and you might even spot a quick glimpse of Captain America. Personally, I had to rewind it several times to find what I think was Captain America or a smudge in ice.
The 29 minutes worth of deleted scenes are also worth watching, but mostly feature character development. I think the scenes would be a nice addition cut back into the film, but they would slow its pace so it is easy to see why they were cut.
The rest of the features are an extensive look at the making of the movie and processes involved to bring the Hulk character to the screen.
I was surprised to see how involved Norton was in the process. The actor provided facial expressions, and even rolled around on the floor to give the filmmakers a reference on how the character would move.
These features are worth watching, but might be a bit of information overload for non-diehard fans of the film.
The BD-Live lets fans hook up to a Hulk chat where you can discuss the film with other people, and a My Scenes Sharing function where you can share favorite clips from the film. The BD-Live features are something diehard fans of the film will enjoy.
The Blu-ray also features U Control which includes Thunderbolt Files, Scene Explorer, and Comic Book Gallery. I really enjoyed the gallery which compared a Hulk comic to a scene from the movie.
Overall, The Incredible Hulk was a step in the right direction for the character, and left you wanting more. The movie doesn’t try to be anything more than a fun time, and stayed true to the spirit of the comic.
The Incredible Hulk [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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