The Resurrection of "The Incredible Hulk" -'Three' Geek Review

Jeremiah:

HULK SMASH!

ME FEEL FOR DR. BRUCE BANNER!

ME FEEL FOR HULK!

HULK HAVE SORROWFUL EYES!

THAT... ODD...

LIV TYLER IS HOT!

JOHN HURT WANT TO HURT HULK --

ME NO LIKE THAT!

TIM ROTH IS AN ABOMINATION!

TIM BLAKE NELSON WISHES TO HELP HULK!

ME THINK... HE HAVE ULTERIOR MOTIVES!

MUCH ACTION!

ED NORTON, GREAT ACTOR!

LOUIS LETERRIER GREAT ACTION DIRECTOR!!

MUCH ACTION!!!

LIV TYLER REALLY HOT!!

MELODRAMA WALKS A FINE TIGHT ROPE AND SUCCEEDS!

ME NOT UNDERSTAND PREVIOUS LINE...

(GROWL) LIV TYLER IS REALLLY HOT!!!

AND, OH YEAH--

HULK SMAAASSSSH!!

/ 5

YOURS 'TIL HELL FREEZE OVER,
The Incredible Sher-man



Thaddeus:

Erh, yeah... the movie may have exposed Sherman to leathal doses of geek radiation, mutating him into a creature beyond imagination...
We should probably do something about that.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I'm somewhat protective of Ang Lee's "Hulk." Not that it's some kind of misunderstood classic or anything, I just don't believe it deserves all the flack it tends to catch.

Okay, so the story goes crazy in the last half hour or so -- I'm with you there. They made it way more about daddy issues than it needed to be -- fine. None of the classic villains -- definitely raises questions. But they had good actors delivering solid performances (with what they were given) and special effects that blew my mind out the back of my head. The fight scenes between the Hulk and the Army are the whole reason I own that DVD. It's gorgeous. The Hulk appears to be standing just right the fuck there.

That being said, "The Incredible Hulk" brushes the previous film aside like a batch of cobwebs and barrels ahead to one of the greatest super-powered slugfests ever to grace the silver screen. "Iron Man" was no fluke -- Marvel Studios has officially stopped kidding around.

The problem with Ang Lee's "Hulk" was that it was all origin story, with Banner only truly adopting his classic man-on-the-run setup at the very end. "The Incredible Hulk," on the other hand, goes the other way. An opening montage fleshes out the origin that we all already knew -- with definite visual influences from the live-action TV show for those of us that are power dorks -- and we're off.

Now, with Louis Leterrier being a professional, and demonstrably talented, action director, I was completely unsurprised that all of the action sequences -- from foot chases to army confrontations to the big monster fight -- were brilliantly executed. But beyond that, I was pleasantly surprised to find delicious Marvel Universe references lurking around every corner. Hints about Captain America, classic Hulk supporting characters and/or future villains lurking about, Lou Ferrigno... fantastic!

Edward Norton fits as Bruce Banner in that almost glaringly obvious way that Robery Downey Jr. captured Tony Stark, though I wonder if he'll get the recognition he deserves, as the Banner character isn't made to steal scenes like Stark. But, c'mon... you've seen "Fight Club," right? Dude's got repressed rage down like nobody's business.

Hell, the whole cast is stellar. William Hurt, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler... sure, the previous film had an Grade-A cast as well, but "The Incredible Hulk" brings the cast and the action and the nerdity to such a high degree that I defy you not to enjoy it.

Go ahead and try.

Plus, Lou Ferrigno lends his voice to the Hulk himself. It's a great day for gamma radiation.

****

-Thad out.


Richard:

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