The Incredible Hulk
After their flagship debut as an independently-financed studio with “Iron Man,” Marvel looked to address a past Hollywood wrong by bringing their big green anti-hero back to the big-screen after Ang Lee’s cerebral 2003 film. Now to be fair, while there’s much wrong with Lee’s film, “Hulk” was an adventurous reworking of comic book movie aesthetics stylistically; plus, as origin stories go, I’ve seen worse adaptations (“Fantastic Four” anyone? “Catwoman?”). So while the average moviegoer might think, “Again? Didn’t we just see this?”, your average geek was salivating at the potential for one of Marvel’s biggest stars (both physically and in sales…he’s second only to Spider-Man) to be brought to the big screen right.
Well, we’ll let the geeks fight over how successful this second stab at the franchise is. I guess I’ll kind of weigh in as well. One decision of questionable choice was for Marvel to allow screenwriter Zak Penn (reportedly aided by star Edward Norton, although the Writers’ Guild didn’t allow him to be credited) and director Louis Leterrier (“The Transporter,” “Unleashed,” “Transporter 2”) to bypass the origin story (allowing Lee’s film some relevance, although they still distill it during the opening credits) and begin with Bruce Banner in exile, learning to control his temper while being hunted by the military and General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt, bringing appropriate professionalism to the role that felt forgettable in Ang Lee’s film, overshadowed by Nick Nolte’s nutcase father). But after an incident in Brazil, Banner returns to the States, intent on trying to find a cure for his condition, as he’s been consulting online with one Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). But things get complicated with a chance meeting with his former flame Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who was present at the accident that turned Banner into the Hulk, and it’s not long under General Ross and underling Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) are hot on his trail, with a few surprises up their sleeve.
The film has a few surprises up its’ sleeve as well, like how ideal Leterrier- director of the forgettable “Transporter” films- is to bring the big guy back onscreen. His no-nonsense approach to directing keeps things moving at a breakneck pace, bringing excitement to the action and keeping the drama engaging by not giving you room to breath…normally a wrong-headed approach to comic book movies. But Hulk isn’t your typical hero. Action is the fundamental basis of his appeal, unlike Spider-Man and his difficulties with the facts of life, Iron Man’s rebel with a cause, or Fantastic Four’s family dynamic.
That doesn’t make him less interesting on the character front, however. Banner’s difficulties is controlling this curse is the other fundamental intrigue of the character- how he can never get too close to Betty, how he’s trying to keep his anger at bay, and establish himself as something to be respected as a hero, not feared as a villain. The Abomination- Blonsky’s monstrous alter-ego (Roth makes the character feel completely credible as a well-defined villain)- goes a ways to helping that last part out, and the fight they have at the end delivers the goods action-wise in a way that does, in fact, top “Iron Man’s” battle royale at the end, and plays up how well the visual effects work towards making the action believable, whereas Lee’s film felt very artificial in that department. Nothing really feels artificial in this film.
A lot of the credit has to go to Norton, an actor of immeasurable gifts (see “Fight Club,” “Primal Fear,” “Keeping the Faith,” and- from what I’ve heard- “American History X”) who makes a surprisingly ideal choice for Bruce Banner. His struggle for control feels epic in this actor’s hands, and Norton and Tyler make the stunted romance between Bruce and Betty palpable in the longing for something they can’t really have. Not one to go so commercial, Norton has the swagger of an artist supremely confident in his craft, and fully capable of something very special in the process. Norton doesn’t act often, but he brings his A-game every time. Here he does the same for an iconic character he clearly admires as only a fan could. I can’t wait to see him and Robert Downey Jr. mix it up in “The Avengers” movies to come from Marvel. Who knew comic book heroes could fit these two iconoclastic actors like a well-worn pair of shoes?
