Access Atlanta > Movies > Blog > Archives > 2008 > June > 10
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
‘Incredible Hulk’ shows some considerable bulk
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To describe “The Incredible Hulk,” entertainment-happy IGN.com is using a fairly new word: requel.
Yes, not prequel, or sequel, but requel, meaning a movie that does not continue from a previous work or start a storyline over again.
In comic book-turned-movie lexicon it means “The Incredible Hulk,” which debuts in theaters this week with Oscar-nominee Ed Norton as the genetically enlarged mean, green, fighting machine, is really nothing like Ang Lee’s generally reviled “The Hulk” of a few years ago.
The new “Hulk,” screened here Monday night for an audience of metro Atlanta film critics and often cheering and applauding fans, wastes little time before leaping into and an action sequence that starts with characters on the run and builds to a deafening crescendo of bullets, huge chunks of tossed metal and the human changeling’s ferocious roar.
Like Marvel’s “Iron Man” before it, “Incredible Hulk” is shaped to entertain and also please a rather rabid fan base. While it definitely would be a surprise for the new “Hulk” to match “Iron Man’s” box-office muscle and critical reception, the likelihood is that Marvel, with these two enterprises, will emerge as the summer movie season’s premier powerhouse.
With only quick flashes of background material, the new “Hulk” has Bruce Banner (Norton) on the run from the military as he tries to find a cure for the gamma effects that change his body or, at least, a way to control it. Ultimately, he must fight a renegade militarist (Tim Roth) who has himself injected with some of Banner’s blood to alter himself into a rather grotesque, hulking monster.
Here’s what fans will likely be talking about after “Incredible Hulk” opens nationwide on Friday (there are also dozens of midnight and 12:01 a.m. screenings late Thursday night):
The fights: They are plentiful and brutal. The Hulk smashes a police car in two and uses both parts as boxing gloves. In the long, final battle, Roth’s behemoth is seen in a distance smacking at least three men into the air. Some fans might complain that these characters look more animated than real, but the action is fast and more involving than, say, Matthew Broderick’s ill-fated “Godzilla.”
The cameos: There are multiple nods to actors from the old “Hulk” TV series. And comic book guru Stan Lee, who appears in all Marvel films, shows up in what will likely be judged as his best cameo to date.
The supporting cast: Roth’s part calls for aggression and obsession and he delivers both. In a crucial scene, Tim Blake Nelson plays the intelligent — and slightly off-kilter — researcher Samuel Sterns. One possible fanboy Internet argument that might emerge: which Betty Ross do you prefer … delicate Liv Tyler of “Incredible Hulk” or brooding Jennifer Connelly of “Hulk”?
The humor: It’s infrequent and often subtle. One on-screen text message regarding morphing into the Hulk reads: “Days without incident — 158.” Later, after anger has unleashed the beast an on-screen message reads: “Days without incident — 1.”
Are you planning on seeing “Incredible Hulk”?
Permalink | Comments (12) | Post your comment | Categories: Bob Longino
