![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Incredible Hulk [Review]
Jun. 23rd, 2008 10:24 amYou might have noticed by now that I only really write reviews of films which I don't like. This is largely because reviews of films which are good and enjoyable tend to be quite short and a good deal less fun to write than a invective-filled dissections of a complete turket. I could say that This is England is great and you should see it, but that's a one line post without any jokes in it and I tend not to do those. It's why I didn't review iron Man, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a fairly generic action/superhero film, but lit up by a witty script and hugely charismatic turns by the leads, especially Robert Downey, jr. as Tony Stark.
It's unsurprising, then, that probably the single best scene in The Incredible Hulk is a 30-second crowd-pleasing cameo by Downey fulfilling much the same role as Sam Jackson in Iron Man. Much of the rest of the film is a charisma and emotion free block of sturdy cardboard which couldn't have been made much more wooden by the inclusion of Hayden Christensen.
It actually starts pretty well, with Ed Norton as Bruce Banner hiding out in a Brazilian barrio (the original accident which made him the Hulk is covered in montage in the opening credits) and learning Capoeira to help him control his anger in order to avoid Hulking out. The first quarter is well-paced and cerebrally reminscent of Ang Lee's take on the character five years ago, only with a bit more of the green punching which is what we've come to see. Alas, it really starts going downhill about 30 minutes in when Banner goes back to the USA to seek a cure for his condition.
It's odd; as observed in Dork Tower last week, the plot structure to Hulk is very similar to that of Iron Man but where Iron man had an infectious joie di vivre that carried it, Hulk is just plain leaden. For an film with so much slam-bang action, it's a film with an almost absolute lack of emotion and Ed Norton, William Hurt and Liv Tyler seem like they're just reciting their lines. A running subplot means Banner has to keep his heart rate below 200* to avoid turning into the Hulk, but it's difficult to imagine his heart ever getting above resting. Couple this lack of emotion with soume decidedly ropey special effects (it's saying something that Ang Lee, by making his Hulk more cartoonish, made it more believable) and you've got a film that ticks the boxes but never gets above the mediocre.
Tim Roth's performance as a man going skidding down the slippery slope into insanity is just about the only standout amongst the leads for much of the film (although sterling supporting turns by Ty Burrel and Tim Blake Nelson are also worthwhile), but it all just ends up with a predictable 'Clash of the CGI Titans', which wasn't interesting when I first saw it in Mortal Combat: Annhilation in 1997. Iron Man carried it off because the foregoing two hours had resulted in me emotionally engaging with a likable and fun cast. The Incredible Hulk failed because it assumes that CGI monsters themselves are inherently interesting, and things like humanity are less important to the telling of a story.
Except when Tony Stark shows up, obviously, but that's not worth a tenner of your money to see.
* A ridiculously high number. I don't think my heart rate has ever hit 200 in my entire life, but Banners does on a regular basis including whilst just getting involved in some heavy petting with Liv Tyler. Speaking as a boy, unless you're 14 that's just not going to heppen. Ever. I mean, when I'm showing some lucky lady some hot David lovin' I doubt my heart rate goes above resting, like Hannibal Lecter.
It's unsurprising, then, that probably the single best scene in The Incredible Hulk is a 30-second crowd-pleasing cameo by Downey fulfilling much the same role as Sam Jackson in Iron Man. Much of the rest of the film is a charisma and emotion free block of sturdy cardboard which couldn't have been made much more wooden by the inclusion of Hayden Christensen.
It actually starts pretty well, with Ed Norton as Bruce Banner hiding out in a Brazilian barrio (the original accident which made him the Hulk is covered in montage in the opening credits) and learning Capoeira to help him control his anger in order to avoid Hulking out. The first quarter is well-paced and cerebrally reminscent of Ang Lee's take on the character five years ago, only with a bit more of the green punching which is what we've come to see. Alas, it really starts going downhill about 30 minutes in when Banner goes back to the USA to seek a cure for his condition.
It's odd; as observed in Dork Tower last week, the plot structure to Hulk is very similar to that of Iron Man but where Iron man had an infectious joie di vivre that carried it, Hulk is just plain leaden. For an film with so much slam-bang action, it's a film with an almost absolute lack of emotion and Ed Norton, William Hurt and Liv Tyler seem like they're just reciting their lines. A running subplot means Banner has to keep his heart rate below 200* to avoid turning into the Hulk, but it's difficult to imagine his heart ever getting above resting. Couple this lack of emotion with soume decidedly ropey special effects (it's saying something that Ang Lee, by making his Hulk more cartoonish, made it more believable) and you've got a film that ticks the boxes but never gets above the mediocre.
Tim Roth's performance as a man going skidding down the slippery slope into insanity is just about the only standout amongst the leads for much of the film (although sterling supporting turns by Ty Burrel and Tim Blake Nelson are also worthwhile), but it all just ends up with a predictable 'Clash of the CGI Titans', which wasn't interesting when I first saw it in Mortal Combat: Annhilation in 1997. Iron Man carried it off because the foregoing two hours had resulted in me emotionally engaging with a likable and fun cast. The Incredible Hulk failed because it assumes that CGI monsters themselves are inherently interesting, and things like humanity are less important to the telling of a story.
Except when Tony Stark shows up, obviously, but that's not worth a tenner of your money to see.
* A ridiculously high number. I don't think my heart rate has ever hit 200 in my entire life, but Banners does on a regular basis including whilst just getting involved in some heavy petting with Liv Tyler. Speaking as a boy, unless you're 14 that's just not going to heppen. Ever. I mean, when I'm showing some lucky lady some hot David lovin' I doubt my heart rate goes above resting, like Hannibal Lecter.
