I really liked Ang Lee’s 2003 big-screen Hulk, so I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit like some other fanboys to see the 2008 “reboot” edition, The Incredible Hulk, which gives the would-be Marvel franchise a fresh start. I thought Lee’s version played like a hybrid of a summer blockbuster and an art film, what with its “sins of the father” overtones and Lee’s multi-perspective camera work, approximating the dynamic look of comic books.
But it was a draggy Sunday night, and since this just-released film has gotten decent reviews — and I’m a super-hero-loving boy at heart — I drove my under-the-weather self to Park Side for an 8:15 screening.
And yes, this new Hulk is a more fan-friendly creation than its predecessor, with more action and less of the cerebral bent that seemed to turn so many off to Lee’s version. As Bruce Banner, Edward Norton gives a typical Edward Norton performance — reserved and tight-lipped, relying on his stock tics (the pensive look downward, the stoic shaking of the head) to convey his character’s personal tragedy. But in the context of the film, the performance works. Norton isn’t charismatic, but he doesn’t have to be, because Hulk is all about Banner’s destructive, green-skinned alter-ego.
But as any seasoned fan of action movies knows, a film is only as good as the protagonist’s nemesis. And in this case, Tim Roth is the perfect adversary, portraying a Russian-born soldier on loan to the U.S. military from the Royal British Navy. Roth plays Emil Blonsky like a coiled viper of energy, an aging soldier who lives for the thrill of battle. Instead of fearing the Hulk, he relishes taking him on, especially after being injected with a “super-soldier” serum (à la Captain America) at the request of Gen. “Thunderbolt” Ross, played with command and intensity by the always-reliable William Hurt.
While the climactic showdown between Hulk and Blonsky’s radiation-induced Abomination is the film’s raison d’etre, the best sequence for my money is the battle on a college-campus green between Hulk and Blonsky, in which the latter uses his newly acquired super-speed to avoid being crushed by the Big Guy.
Like the previous Hulk, this film still doesn’t explain how Banner manages to keep his pants on after Hulking out, but the suspension of disbelief is a small price to pay, lest we find ourselves rooting for a super hero with a big green penis flopping all over the place.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2008.