The Incredible Hulk

Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Eli Roth, William Hurt
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Written by: Zak Penn, Edward Norton
Studio: Marvel Studios

I love Eddie Norton. Always have, always will. The stuff he brings to the table, both as an actor and as a creative contributor, never diminishes a film's quality and often elevates it to the level of thoroughly thoughtful cinema.

Often. But not always. The Incredible Hulk being a prime example.

I firmly believe that Batman Begins (although not my favorite superhero flick) and Iron Man have spoiled us now, we can't ever appreciate a generic superhero film again like the ones sprinkled throughout the nineties and early 2000's. The Incredible Hulk treads on familiar ground, features eh-caliber performances and relies on mediocre CGI to get the job (mostly) done. Which is all a goddamn shame given the level of talent involved.

To be fair, I can't comment on the amount of Edward's input made it into the theatrical cut - I know made heavy rewrites early in the game and had "issues" with the final cut that appeared in theaters. But I can knock on his performance, a tad c(l)ueless and stilted. I know Bruce Banner's a scientist and all, but shit, I didn't know he was also so terribly awkward.

The endothermic chemistry between Norton and Liv Tyler especially irritated me - all the possible heat of a scene between lovers separated by five years and a huge green mafucker was somehow zapped into outer space. I guess Norton is gay - j/k, Liv Tyler's nothing to write home about these days.

Even Eli Roth's performance evoked some disappoint: for once we actually get a comic villain with palatable character arc (from over-the-hill soldier still looking for action, to a juiced up guinea pig with a score to settle, to a power-crazed stalker, and finally to A HUGE BONEY UGLY FUCK) and yet we as the audience lose out despite the use of high caliber actor. Resounding blah.

But it was still ten-times better than Ang Lee's horseshit.

Writing: The plot definitely leaves something to be desired. Half the time the story's moved along by instant message conversations between Banner and the MYSTERIOUS Mr. Blue. The dialog is straight-up cheesy at points, e.g. something like, "it will produce...AN ABOMINATION!". The ending (proper) is kind of puzzling and the last scene really doesn't serve any purpose but to pimp out the inevitable Avengers movie. Which, granted, I'm excited about.

Direction: Eh. Action generic. The one brawl between Blonsky and the Hulk on the campus lawn was pretty well sculpted though.

Acting: Norton never gave the role enough life, Liv Tyler was just plain bad. William Hurt was the only one who balled as General Ross.

Editing: The scenes in Brazil were nice and crisp, but once Banner goes to America and starts hanging with his ex, we get a lot of fluffy bad romance. Also, why did the final battle clock under 10 minutes?

Sound: Unremarkable.

Soundtrack/Score: Sounded just like Iron Man's frankly.

Self-Awareness: There are quite a few nods to the TV show from the 70's and to some of the lesser known elements of the comic which are admittedly amusing if not fleeting.

Overall rating: ** 1/2

~Ian