The Incredible Hulk (Universal Pictures)
Ang Lee Must Be Green With Envy
In 2003 award winning director Ang Lee brought the story of The Hulk to the big screen. The movie featured Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly in lead roles. The movie was not a success. It was too dark and too talky. Now we have a new film version of the Hulk story. This film is titled The Incredible Hulk and is directed by Louis Leterrier. It works!
The reason for the success of this second version is that it doesnt take itself seriously. It is a movie about a man who is both human and monster, a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for a modern day audience. Plus the emphasis in this movie is on action from beginning to end. That is the trademark of movies made from Marvel Comics and this one stays true to form.
The basic plot on which the action is hung concerns a man named Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). He is a scientist who took part in an experiment for the military. He was misled by the man in charge, General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt). Ross daughter Betty (Liv Tyler) also worked on the experiment. The experiment went terribly wrong and Banner ended up with a massive exposure to gamma rays. This causes him to become a monster whenever he gets too emotionally excited.
Banner flees to Brazil where he works in a factory while trying to find a cure for his condition. He is also in touch with a Mr. Blue (Tim Blake Nelson), a scientist who might be able to help him. Meanwhile General Ross is trying to hunt him down. He considers Banners body the property of the government. Aiding him in the search is another military man named Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). He is willing to have his own body altered in order to have the power of the hulk.
The acting in the movie isnt award winning but it is solid across the board. Norton perfectly portrays the timid soul who is Banner, a man who has a monster living inside of him. He gives the audience the feeling he is afraid of himself.
Tyler is also good as Betty. This time out Betty is much more of a participant in the story rather than just an observer, and this adds greatly to the overall appeal of the film. Tyler makes Betty a girl with gumption. She doesnt take anything off of anybody.
The movie also has the right tip of the hat moments. Stan Lee appears in an early scene, Bill Bixby is seen on television in The Courtship of Eddies Father, and Lou Ferrigno has a cameo as a security guard. Then at the end of the movie Robert Downey, Jr. shows up as the Iron Man himself, Tony Stark. It ties this movie in with all the other Marvel Comic book movies and that is a good thing.
The movie is rated PG-13 for mild profanity and comic book violence.
The Incredible Hulk is a fun movie pure and simple. It has no pretensions of greatness; it just wants to amuse and entertain. It is what it is, and for most audiences that will be enough.
I scored The Incredible Hulk an its not easy being green 7 out of 10.
