The Tease of Things I Don't Need

Green Light

I saw The Incredible Hulk today.

As I never got around to writing anything here about Iron Man - which I also enjoyed - I didn't want to do the same again here, simply because I wasn't feeling a strong inspiration to write.

I'll leave anything I'd seriously consider to be spoilers off this immediately visible part. If I've misjudged, I apologize. If you click for the rest, though, it's on your head.

As with Iron Man, they've generally tried to keep what works from the comics and move ahead reasonably from there. A bit more in the way of liberties were taken with the Hulk, though, as they recognized that for part of the audience a primary source of nostalgia for the character ties to some visual and sound elements from the TV series. Have no fear, though, this is a reasonably good shot (the best by far so far) at the Hulk from the comics.

Fairly well-paced, probably the biggest flaws of the film lie in predictability. If there's anything in here that would surprise someone... well, it didn't jump out at me. I don't even think it's just a matter of familiarity with the comics -- though, certainly, when names were dropped I was catching them, so I knew where a couple matters were likely headed. Still, any reasonably intelligent person is going to see what's coming up, most of it from a long, long way off. It works generally well, though, and I'd much prefer cohesive predictability over putting too much of an emphasis on twists and surprises and having it descend into idiocy.

The texture of the CGI Hulk's skin is a tad distracting, though I appreciate the likely conflicts they had in not wanting to give him too smooth and monotone a visual texture. As it was, in some of the facial close-ups late in the film there were a few flickers of Shrek. Still, as humans we look for patterns and associations. Those who are inclined to immediately dismiss CGI-delivered performances and extended scenes as cheating and/or automatically undesirable are fully free to fuck off.

Developing the Hulk as a character, even if it's just as a murky version of Banner himself, is one of the key improvements when one compares this film and Ang Lee's 2003 nature study.

The performances work well enough. Edward Norton does a solid job, and Liv Tyler's effectively emotive as the film's version of Betty Ross. William Hurt remakes General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross as his own, which is to say he keeps it understated but well-directed, which is to be far preferred over him doing something awful like trying to play the character with a lot of bluster; he knows what works for him and that's what he brings, as he plays matters close enough to his chest that we're left not really knowing how much he really cares or doesn't, and how much of a bastard he might really be beneath it all. Some territory for possible exploration in a sequel.

I think anything else I have to say is likely to give away elements someone looking to see the film might not want to know, so I'll leave them for the remainder of this piece. Move ahead or move on as it suits you.

The origin sequence and most of the back story is covered reasonably well during the opening credits, with scant flashbacks and reasonably casual exposition in later scenes fill it in. No gamma bomb, no Rick Jones, but altruistic scientific studies with the military having a secret eye and intent on them that Banner wasn't initially aware of. Key props and scenes are intended to evoke connections to the tv show, but no complaints from me. It fits together well enough for me, knowing that any of these film projects will be their own universe -- I just want the things that work well in the original and will translate well to the screen to remain.

This Hulk thinks and does several combat improvisations, and while definitely not a chatty Cathy, he does speak. (Not that I'd recognize it, processed and bass-amplified as it is, but it's provided by Lou Ferigno -- and, while at one time I would have been skeptical about that, it's handled well enough to work.) It's just a few things over the course of the film, but that's enough. As this film is the next step in Marvel studio's march towards an Avengers movie in a couple years (the writer's strike has apparently put all of these projects off to 2010 & 11 -- anything coming in '09 will be deals operating outside of the business model driving Iron Man & Hulk) this is an important aspect, as the Hulk being able to communicate - the Hulk having some intellect -- will be extremely important to having him be part of the Avengers.

References peppered throughout the film to a long-quiet super-soldier program and word that a scene that involved Captain America was cut supposedly because it was too emotionally dark, have me wondering how much else will be on the DVD. Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully the DVD will give us the option to see the uncut movie in sequence and not simply tacked on as deleted scenes. Based on the scant info I'm presuming that it's a mix of Shelley's Frankenstein (wanting to flee humanity and potentially end his life) and placing the Hulk into some semblance of the mechanic Namor played in the mainstream Marvel comics, inadvertently setting in motion the rediscovery and reanimation of Captain America. Come to think of it, the scene may even find itself in the Captain America movie.

No secret to anyone who's been interested in the film, but I figured I'd toss down at this level that, yes, Robert Downey Jr does appear as Tony Stark -- in the final scene of the film -- though Stark's name and Nick Fury's, among others, are dropped earlier in the film.

Sam Stearns is mentioned along the way, and while the movie version is a scientist rather than a day laborer, matters are set up to lead him to where the version in the comics went to. You'll either know what I'm talking about or not, and that's as it should be; fans of the comic will know what's likely coming for him, and those who aren't can just watch the set-up. I will tell fans not to expect the real next step for that character to be realized in this film, though. As with several elements in this film we're being directed towards future films as Marvel tries to hook film-goers into the serial adventures and shared universe, much as they did in comics when they remembered how to do it effectively there.

I'm hoping this film does very well at the box office, and based on what I've seen so far -- the $150 million production taking in over $21 million by Friday -- it's looking reasonably promising.