The Incredible Hulk Movie Review

Well I saw The Incredible Hulk Movie last night. I decided I had to see it the first day it came out, even if it was the last showing of the evening!

What I liked most about this movie was that there was way more action than the first film. Even when Bruce Banner isn’t the Hulk, he does his fair share of evading his pursuers. There’s a pretty fun Bourne Identity style chase scene through the streets of Rio in the first fifteen or so minutes. I also liked that they loosely connected it to the first film in terms of his location at the beginning of the film.

I thought that the nod to the TV series was a good call, you have simpathy for Bruce Banner as he has no home, much like David Banner did in the television series. I quite liked that they had Lou Ferrigno do a cameo and also cast him in the role of the voice of the Incredible Hulk. I think I was the only person in the audience that laughed when The Courtship of Eddie’s Father appeared on one of the tv stations in one scene. For those of you too young too remember or who never watch TV Land, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father starred the late Bill Bixby, the same actor that played David Banner from the Hulk TV series. Those of you that know me have heard my tirade about “Just what the hell was Mrs. Livingston’s story, anyway? War bride?” But I digress.

Of course no Marvel movie would be complete without the Stan Lee cameo and his appearance in The Incredible Hulk film gave me a good chuckle. There are references to Captain America, a possible origin for classic Hulk nemesis The Leader and a very special cameo in the last scene of the film that will have even the most non comic book fan talking as the credits roll. You won’t have to wait through the credits like you did in Iron Man. Overall, this movie does a good job at giving you a sense that there is a much larger Marvel Universe out there rather than each Marvel property operating in its own pocket universe wherever a movie is concerned. It’s a pretty exciting feeling for the geek in me. Oh yeah, and for all you MMA fans out there, there’s a cool little cameo by Rickson Gracie!

As for the characters themselves, I felt that the film was successful at portraying Bruce Banner and the tragedy that he can never be with the woman he loves because of his condition. I think Edward Norton did a good job, but I don’t think he necessarily made the movie any more than any other capable actor could. I say this because I’ve heard that even after Marvel gave into his demands to let him rewrite the script, he’s refusing to do any publicity for the film because he was unhappy about how the final cut of the film ended up. What diva! All I have to say is this: Eff you Edward Norton! This movie isn’t about you, it’s about the Incredible Hulk! You can be replaced, just like Eric Bana.

Edward Norton will only do pretaped promoting for The Incredible Hulk Marvel Comics Movie.

Liv Tyler is alright, I’ve never been very impressed with her acting outside the Aerosmith videos. She’s not as wooden as Gwyneth Poltrow. I’d say she’s passable as Betty Ross. Tim Roth is a great actor and just like Cate Blanchett was underutilized in the Indiana Jones flick, so was Roth in Incredible Hulk. He just played this sort of angry guy and that was about it. Last lets talk about William Hurt. he is by far one of the most talented members of this cast and I think maybe he was a little miscast. Maybe it’s because every time I look at him I see him as the cross dressing homosexual inmate from Kiss of The Spider Woman, but he just doesn’t come off to me as the sort of gruff character that General Thunderbolt Ross needs to be. I think Sam Elliot played a better General Ross in the first film in that regard. Let’s talk about the main star of the film; the special effects! The design of the Hulk was in my opinion was Spot On. He looked way better than the first movie in terms of the design, however, the rendering, lighting or texture mapping of his skin made him look more like a cut scene from a video game. While the Hulk design in the First Movie made him look soft much like a weight lifter who’s not currently on the sauce, I think his skin looked more realistic and matched better with the environments than this movie did. I thought the design of the Abomination was well, an Abomination! Well maybe not as terrible as gamma irradiated poodles, but it was pretty boring and looked nothing like the comic book. I especially hated the human-like face set into the monsterous body.

The finale wasn’t as exciting as I would have liked it to be. It seemed rather short and no cool choreography or interesting shots to make it over the top. Actually, I think the fight scene in the middle of the film was more exciting than the finale. But fans will like the when the Hulk utters his famouis phrase, “HULK SMASH!”

I have to say that while it’s not the snooze fest that the first Hulk movie was, it’s no Iron Man. That’s not to say that it’s a terrible movie, but there were some things that don’t make it a great movie in my opinion.

My Recommendation: See It As A Matinee!