Man, Marvel are really having a banner year (no pun intended). Before we can even discuss “The Incredible Hulk” one must address the come-from- behind circumvention the movie managed to pull off. Plagued with bad buzz in April due to creative in-fighting and a sub par trailer with mediocre CGI, the film seemed doom to insta-culture snap decisions.
Remarkably, one countering press release from the film’s star (Ed Norton) and one favorably trailer later, and the critics and loudmouthed Internet bathroom-wall chatter was astoundingly silenced – and slowly but surely, the tide completely changed. Now all Marvel had to do was deliver a good movie (press screenings were notably and cautiously last minute; we were there amongst most of the big named NY crits).
So the Hulk: maybe it was low, low expectations again, but we were unprepared for how good the ‘movie was. The startling first hour was pitch perfect that dispensed with back story, but still managed to be chock full of characterization with high dramatic stakes; Marvel has done a wonderful job of hiring quality all around (writers, actors, hell, even directors, there’s nary a slip you can pin specifically on him).
It’s amazing how dismissive the filmmakers are with the Hulk’s origin; the tale is told entirely through quick montage flashbacks during the opening credits. It’s a bold gamble to assume audiences are familiar with the original series and 2003’s “The Hulk” but like all risks that work, the payoff is rather huge.
The move sounds dubious as it allows Marvel to cut straight to the action, but miraculously, the characters and story aren’t shortchanged. Norton plays Bruce Banner who’s on the run from the military and has squirreled himself away in the favelas of Brazil, working in a bottle factory and training to keep his Hulk-motivating aggression in check (and communicating with a mystery scientist on a cure).
A slip up tips him off to Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and then a thrilling chase through the slums takes place and we get our first glimpse of the Hulk, wisely hidden away in shadow. Tim Roth plays an elite soldier tasked as the lead in the snatch and grab Banner operation that goes awry; his obsession with the monster he encounters leads him to volunteer for a super soldier serum that allows him to do convincing battle with the green gargantuan.
After his Hulk episode lands Norton in Guatemala, Norton risks exposure by travelling back to the U.S. in search of a cure and his ex Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). In these journeyman moments, the filmmakers wisely appropriate the melancholy tone of the TV series to convey the sad, lonely existence of Bruce Banner – a drifter who can never have a home or personal attachments.
When Banner seeks out Ross, the unrequited love themes are surprisingly rich and believable (this is where actors can make a few key scenes clutch). Reunited, the pair trek to New York so Banner can connect with the aforementioned scientist he’s been in clandestine contact with about a potential cure. The scientist (played rather goofily by Tim Blake Nelson) is a little more curious than careful however and his recklessness causes us to throttle towards the films kinetic and explosive Abomination climax.
The best part? By far the actors. Ed Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth were top notch. The weakest link besides the CGI (which was surprisingly tolerable, once you settled into how so-so it looked at first)? William Hurt. He’s no Obidiah Stane (played effortlessly by Jeff Bridges) and his performance borders on villain with arched eye-brows and moustache twirling.
Cameos and nods are aplenty; Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Lou Ferrigno, Bill Bixby on the TV, a musical cue from the original series (Craig Armstrong’s original score was seriously fantastic), nods to Nick Fury and Stark Industries in the opening credits and a rather random appearance by Omar from “The Wire” (Michael K. Williams) for seemingly no good reason (Stark’s cameo helps set up “The Avengers” movie even more: “We’re putting a group together,” he tells Thunderbolt).
The much-touted “20 minute” action sequence at the end was incredibly violent and at times a little much and cartoonish, but it was also thrilling – and it will cause two reactions; turn off the women that were nicely surprised by “Iron Man,” and galvanized the geek constituency that were turned off by the lack of action in Ang Lee’s version.
Even if you have lots of disdain for these comic book movies (and we sure do at times), you have to appreciate and admire the level of acting, characterization and drama that this new brand of Marvel-made comic movie can achieve.
Better than Lee’s misguided “The Hulk”? Oh, hell yes. Better than “Iron Man,”? Not quite, but pretty damn close and incredibly impressive for reaching that high and attempting to raise the bar. [B+]
Update: We almost forgot! Martin Starr of “Freak & Geeks”/Judd Apatow co. has a tiny, tiny cameo in this thing too. Weird, right?