THE INCREDIBLE HULK

photo- http://www.harleycordelllane.com/hulk/the-incredible-hulk-200804140101251.jpg

I avoided the Hulk movies for so long. As a kid, I adored its cartoons but even with the effects of 21st century, I still didn’t find the computer effects impressive when it came to creating our green “monster”. Even though I love both Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, I didn’t watch the first one. But after having liked the second one with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, I decided to give Ang Lee’s version a shot. It was also quite interesting that one was rated 5.7 and the second one is a 7.1.

I don’t think there is another case of making a second movie, 5 years after the first, with a different leading actor and actress for the same characters. If the first one was a disappointment, how did they know for sure the second one would work? Why did they let Ang Lee direct Hulk in the first place? I mean he is a good director but directing a comic book adaptation with a big budget? The guy followed Hulk with Brokeback Mountain for heaven’s sake!  Well, I did see Hulk and I am not impressed. Don’t see it if you can help it. It is like a cartoon, with people thrown in. Not good. So even 5.7 seems too generous to me.

Back to the 2008’s The Incredible Hulk:

It is good entertainment. The cast is pretty marvelous. Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth just fit their roles perfectly. Liv Tyler still has that innocently sexy look we are used to from Aerosmith’s Crazy video. The effects are OK, I still wish it had a bigger budget, though. I wish The Hulk had a 100 million dollars more. Look at Avatar. No decent plot but hey the effects are amazing!

I think The Incredible Hulk is better than your average comic book movies. We travel a lot, we feel Bruce’s pain, root for Bruce and Elizabeth to get together and despise the general (William Hurt). Sure the good guys are purely evil and the bad are purely bad (with the exception of the general, he loves his gray areas) but hey, this script isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, so we accept the clichés. After all, it is Edward Norton who feeds them to us;)

The plot? Oh, yeah- that:

Bruce Banner (Norton) is the most crucial target for the US army. He is the “victim” of a gamma ray experiment which resulted in him in turning into the “Hulk” – a green, gigantic creature with some temper. He can’t avoid the transformation that happens when he gets too excited or angry.

This has caused him to escape from the country, having left his beloved girlfriend Elizabeth Ross (Tyler) behind. He resides and works in Brazil, away from anything that might trigger the transformation while seeking the cure his condition forever. But when the army finds him, he has no choice but to go back. Ross will help him no matter what, defying her father the general. But as the general will soon realize, he might have created a threat that’s far more “inconvenient” than Hulk…

7/10 from me.

Enjoy the trailer.

Here is more on Edward Norton and his movies:

Death to Smoochy

Kingdom of Heaven

Pride and Glory

25th Hour

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

Fight Club

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Tags: Ang Lee, Edward Norton, Eric Bana, Hulk, Jennifer Connelly, Liv Tyler, The Incredible Hulk, The Incredible Hulk trailer, Tim Roth, William Hurt