When bad films happen to good people. An incredible lack of substance, next on
Sick Sad World
So, after the success of Iron Man, Marvel moved on to another superhero, the Incredible Hulk. Instead of making a new film however, Marvel decided to re-release Ang Lee's horribly under-appreciated 2003film, Hulk, in hopes that, in this post-Dark Knight, post Iron Man world, the masses would be ready to accept Lee's thoughtful, intriguing take on the Marvel property. At least that's what I wish would have happened.
Instead, they made this, so perfectly described by Roger Ebert as the "ideal version of the Hulk saga for those who found Ang Lee's Hulk too talky, or dare I say, too thoughtful." The fault here, from my understanding, lies with Marvel. They wanted a more smash, less brain Hulk story this time. What I find odd about that is they apparently didn't understand why Iron Man was a success. It wasn't due to its action (it was actually in-spite of it), it was due to the performances of the actors and the characters they played. The Incredible Hulk has quite a good cast (Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson), and all of them are acting way below their talent level here.
Even though the action is louder, and bigger and betterer here then it was in Iron Man or Hulk, it is action that exists for its own sake. Compared with the final battle in Iron Man, the fight between the Hulk and the Abomination has much more robust fight choreography, but it is a fight between two special effect creatures. There is no emotional stake in the fight for the characters, or the audience. They are fighting because the plot says they should. In Iron Man, although the fight between Iron Man and the Iron Monger isn't nearly as well done on a technical level, those two men were fighting for something. If you stop and asked them why they fought, they could give you an answer besides, "it's in the script."
One quick pet peeve. Think of all the civilian causalities General Ross military decisions caused in The Incredible Hulk. The film never even gives it a thought. Compare that with Hulk, where you actually see Gen. Ross making decisions for the purpose of AVOIDING non-military casualties. This film gets worse the more you think about it.
The Incredible Hulk is a poor followup to Iron Man. If you find yourself craving some good Hulk storytelling, Ang Lee's Hulk, although stylistically very different, makes a much better companion piece to Iron Man then this film does.
** (out of *****)
As you know, I'm not a fan of Lee's Hulk, but it is at least a respectable film. He was trying something bold, something ambitious - I just wish he wasn't trapped by a truly horrendous script (I mean, hulk dogs? really?). There are some great scenes in the film (Banner's identity crisis feels real, and Bana and Elliot are great together) - they just get dragged down by the plot.
ReplyDeleteThe Incredible Hulk, however, is pretty awful. I realize it's one of his signature lines/moves/whatever, but any script that wants me to take "Hulk, smash!" seriously is perhaps expecting too much. There are numerous other problems - that horrible finale being one of them - but I'd sooner forget about this title and move on to the next one.
The Hulk dogs are lame, Josh Lucas is too obvious a villain for a film like this and the climax is bizarre to say the least. Those flaws aside, I still think the film has a lot more going for it then against it. Hulk strives for greatness. It falls just a bit short, but I really appreciate its ambition.
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