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FILM REVIEW
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BATMAN-ON-FILM.COM DCCOMICS-ON-FILM.COM BATMAN-IN-COMICS.COM |
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FILM REVIEW
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THE INCREDIBLE HULK
Friday, June 13, 2008 Author: Jett 
RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2008
“Jett SMASH THE INCREDIBLE HULK!”
Nope, not happening. As you all know my dear readers, I’m not a “Marvel Guy.” But I do love me some comic book movies -- good comic book movies that is. And THE INCREDIBLE HULK is indeed a good comic book film. Great? No. But an absolute thrill ride of fun beginning to end. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you are a Marvel fan and one from my generation, I bet you love the absolute HELL out of this film. I also betcha that this was the Hulk film that y’all all wanted five years ago, right? The Hulk raising hell -- heroic hell -- is what we have ALL wanted. And that he does in TIH. Now, most of my Hulk experience comes from the old ‘70s TV series…LOVED that show! And not too coincidently, this film has A LOT of it in it. BRUCE (not David -- WTF was up with that back in the day?) Banner is on the run. Unlike the TV show, it’s not an investigative reporter, but the U.S. government in the form of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt). So you’ve got the basics, here’s the plot in a nutshell… Banner is on the run (in Brazil at the beginning of the film) and is seeking a way to “cure” himself (like the TV show). Ross wants Banner brought in because he’s dead set on creating a “Super Soldier” and feels that if Dr. Bruce “stole” something that belongs to the U.S. government. To combat The Hulk, Ross enlists the help of Royal Marine Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who eventually becomes infatuated by Banner’s, ahem, “ability.”
Of course there is a love interest in the mix in the form of Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. Since Betty wasn’t in the TV show, I’ll take my Hulk fan friends word for it that she and her relationship with Banner is a lot like the comic book depiction of Dr. Ross. Look, Liv Tyler is hot, but I’m still a Jennifer Jennifer Connelly man myself. But I digress. All of this leads to the big finale between The Hulk and a gamma rayed-up Blonsky known as The Abomination. FYI: No big-ass rock-men or hulk-dogs were to be found in THE INCREDIBLE HULK. Just a really skinny-ass Ed Norton and The Hulk smashing stuff left and right. The way it should be, right? Right! Got to say that I really liked this movie a lot. Not as much as IRON MAN, but it’s damn close. Did I like it as much as I did because of the (many) nods to the TV show? Probably. Hell, they even have the TV show music in there (“Da Da Da DA…Da Da Da DA Da”)! And the tribute to Bill Bixby was clever as heck, trust me! (“People let me tell ya about my best friend….”)
Regardless, THE INCREDIBLE HULK was still a fun, action-packed, good ‘ol summer popcorn movie. Now here’s my major criticism which will probably get me criticized in turn by some fans: ENOUGH with the “wink wink” Marvel Moments, OK?! I enjoyed the heck out of Robert Downey, Jr.'s performance in IRON MAN as much as anyone, but I didn’t need to see him in TIH! Yes, we know that Marvel has their eye on doing an AVENGERS movie in the not too distant future. But methinks they are backing themselves into a corner here. I’d much rather another IRON MAN and HULK as apposed to this “Let’s get ‘em all together and wouldn’t that be COOL!” flick myself. Anyway… As always with such films, I include my seven year old’s take. Let me tell you, he sat totally transfixed -- eyes on the screen and perfectly still in his seat -- the entire 90 minutes of TIH. Afterwards, he told me that it was the best movie he saw this summer -- better then IRON MAN that he also loved. Consequently, Jake’s grade for TIH is A+. That’s him, not me. Regardless… “Jett LIKE THE INCREDIBLE HULK!” JETT'S GRADE: B
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