The Incredible Hulk (DVD)

With the recent release of Iron Man raising the bar in terms of the actual quality of all super hero films, the new release from the recently formed Marvel Enterprise of The Incredible Hulk has hit another home run for the fans of the mighty green skinned hero and raised the bar even further.

The previous film directed by Ang Lee was somewhat a slow burning affair that really didn't come alive till at least half way through the film, ...
...the film an over edgy feel. The cast members also looked a little uncomfortable and out of place as if they had been gathered together and told to improvise, from a disappointing Box Office return Marvel knew that they had to do something drastic to reverse fortunes as after all the Hulk is well known to everyone, and still has a large fan base supporting the TV series of the late seventies. So in an attempt to effectively "reboot" the ... more

With the recent release of Iron Man raising the bar in terms of the actual quality of all super hero films, the new release from the recently formed Marvel Enterprise of The Incredible Hulk has hit another home run for the fans of the mighty green skinned hero and raised the bar even further.

The previous film directed by Ang Lee was somewhat a slow burning affair that really didn't come alive till at least half way through the film, this not only slowed it down but seemed to give the film an over edgy feel. The cast members also looked a little uncomfortable and out of place as if they had been gathered together and told to improvise, from a disappointing Box Office return Marvel knew that they had to do something drastic to reverse fortunes as after all the Hulk is well known to everyone, and still has a large fan base supporting the TV series of the late seventies. So in an attempt to effectively "reboot" the franchise after only one film the characters were recast and new writers bought in to restructure and move on from the first film using that as a foundation to build upon.

The new film is on a totally different level and shows throughout as the whole cloud of negativity and gloom has been lifted, there are no more childhood memory flashbacks, fights between Father and Son and thankfully no more Hulk dogs either!!

Cleverly the film begins with a detailed synopsis of the story so far, which is really a re-cap of the first film, the audience are quickly bought up to speed. The main story of the film continues directly from the end of the first with Banner in Mongolia attempting to locate a cure for his unique 'condition' while attempting to keep a low profile, unknown to him he is being tracked down for purposes of capturing his DNA to create a super weapon and advance evolution by substantially increasing the strength of a human. From Banner's DNA a super soldier serum formula has been created that if used on a test subject gives a totally unexpected side effect.

Other than the main three action sequences throughout the film, there are a number of scenes that stand out. Most notably the scenes in which Norton transforms into The Hulk properly, the length of time taken for this is just about right as it lasts for over a minute in length and is shown in some quite disturbing detail the pain and the torture that Banner goes through to change when angered. Another addition that was seen in the plentiful trailers was Banner's eyes turning green when the transformation occurs. As a kid watching the TV Show when Bill Bixby's eyes turned grey scared the hell out of me, more than what Doctor Who actually did at the time. So to reintroduce this in is a very positive thing which people of my generation can relate to.

As there has been a full recast of characters this was a prime opportunity to inject some well known names into the fray and I think this is the key to what will be the films obvious success as Marvel really have exceeded themselves totally with names that I would not normally have associated or even expected to see in this type of film. First up is the main man himself, Bruce Banner is played by Edward Norton, yes the guy from Fight Club!!! It's unfair to compare him to Eric Bana but to be quite honest this is such an improvement that you forget about the first film after a while anyway. Norton not only brings a human and emotional side to the character, but also evolves the character further as you see him on the run, which is not only refreshing but also good as it provides a great set piece that Norton can excel with the character of Banner by using his brains rather than transforming and using his brawn to destroy everything in sight. Surprisingly the steps have been taken to evolve the character of The Hulk further, for which I presume a third film will be released. I preferred to see this type of suspense with the main character rather than him suffering from repressed memories. Additionally Norton also co-wrote the script with Zak Penn, and as a life long fan of The Hulk, Norton has managed to do something that a lot of fans could have only dreamed about.

The other main character is Emil Blonsky. Blonsky is played by British actor Tim Roth, apart from the standard mid-Atlantic accent, and what he brings to the film is a veritable enigma of questions as to who he is and what part he plays, his role expands throughout the film and slowly he becomes a direct equal to Banner. Roth appearing in this film, like Norton, is a great piece of casting as he is trouble from the start. He has that appearance from the outset that gives the perception that he can't be trusted. He has hair that although slicked looks greasy which adds to the characters appearance and as with Norton he is playing a dual role. Seeing as the films that Roth has recently starred in, this really is a role that he seems to relish playing and that shows on screen and makes this his best role in a long, long time.

Actor William Hurt, who I last saw in Lost in Space, plays General 'Thunderbolt' Ross. In the previous film the character was played by Sam Elliott, and I was kind of hoping that Elliott was going to be kept on in this one as I really enjoyed the screen presence he had and also his deep voice as it seemed to just go hand in hand with the role. Hurt plays the character exceedingly well and subtly opens up the character further to give him more of a threatening presence against Banner. Hurt, like Elliot, plays Ross as a total patriot to his country and this comes across very strongly in a number of scenes that he is in and is the spitting image of the character in the comics as well.

Ross has a daughter called Betty. In this film she is played by Liv Tyler. All I can say is home run!!!! In certain scenes she manages to convey the emotional aspect of how much she loves Bruce and how far she is willing to go for him. She is effectively placed in the middle of her Father, Blonsky and Banner as she is used as a pawn in an attempt to trap Banner whilst he is on the run. Tyler has really matured into a more believable actress who not only looks the part, but also plays the part of Betty Ross very well. She not only looks good stunning on-screen but when she has time with Norton displays a strong screen chemistry with him so that you can believe in her and what is happening on screen.

As with all the Marvel films Stan Lee has his regular cameo appearance, as does the original TV Hulk, Lou Ferringo. There is also respect paid to the late Bill Bixby as well which I thought was a very nice nod to the late actor by Director Louis Leterrier. Leterrier has quite rightly totally eliminated Ang Lee's method of direction he applied in the original film with things such as split screens and brings in a by the book direction that works well with a good level of suspense that works with the script to clearly define the good guys and to blur the line with exactly who the bad guys actually are to an extent that a level of Hitchcock type situations take place.

The pace of the film, that is 114 minutes in length, can only be described as galloping because of what is happening in the film at the time, there is a necessary time out in the middle section of the film which slows the pace down and allows an explanation of what is happening, once that is over we're off again., for the last third of the film.

The music score by Craig Armstrong is absolutely phenomenal; a fully orchestral score. Armstrong manages to capture the suspenseful high points without defocusing from the slower less action filled scenes where the dialogue is of paramount importance. What surprised me was he managed to fuse into the music the TV theme. Remember the TV theme? The lone piano piece that always ended the episode that signified the loneliness that Banner was experiencing which eventually became Banner's own theme, well I am happy to say that this has been included in the score, a brilliant decision.

Now the big question is has the CGI Hulk improved? Well in some aspects yes it has improved, and it has improved considerably. Hulk has been given a complete make over, different stature, different build as well as an up to date hair cut. For me this works well as even though I thought the previous CGI rendition was cool, it was missing something. This version is slightly less green in colour but shows a lot in his facial movement which manages to enhance any scenes that focus on a facial close up. Movement is again crisp and when running you do see the lengths that the computer animators have gone to as dirt is thrown up in the air when Hulk lands on the grass and so on. Overall I was very impressed with the way the character has changed and also the way the CGI has evolved. Norton was involved in the motion capture so the animation moves in a similar way to Norton. Teasingly, we don't get to see the Hulk in full until someway into the film, which is good as you are left pondering as to when and more importantly why we will see him. The down point is that the CGI looks better when the scenes are set at night rather than in day time, but overall the quality has improved a lot and you do hear the Hulk speak, which is true to the comics incarnation. It sounds like Lou Ferringo actually supplied the voice for this; where as various animal sounds were provided for the roars and screams of the Hulk, effective but I can't quite help thinking of Jurassic Park and the T- Rex as they do sound similar, but still very a very frightening sound either way you hear it.

So overall we have a film that can easily compete with the summer blockbusters, and definitely should be considered as one as well. This is a film that is highly enjoyable from the start. The characters are very true to their comic counterparts, not only in looks and dialogue but also in mannerisms as well, I think this is mainly due to the writers of the script who are not only fans but also wrote a good story that the fans wanted to see and one that audiences will enjoy as there have been a number of nuggets placed throughout the film that Hulk fans will just soak up. So much so that in the showing I was privileged to be present at theses nuggets were warmly given credit in the form of a massive round of applause. True to the comics, true to the TV series and a vast improvement from the first film.

What is transpiring throughout the recent batch of Marvel films is that there seems to be a story arc taking place with the gathering of other Marvel characters crossing over to other franchises as well. This is not only tantalizing but also quite exciting as this has never been attempted before. There is a link throughout the films which started in Iron Man that I suspect are soon to be merged as one. One of the biggest clues in this film is the use of the Super Soldier Serum. Some people reading this will know straight away, so I won't spoil it. But the question has to be asked, could Marvel be the first to release a multi-hero film before DC? Certainly seems like someone at Marvel has planned this well and thought ahead. The current score is 1 nil to Marvel, as the Marvel universe is opening up very nicely indeed where as DC cant seem to get the Justice League movie transferred from paper as an opportunity is being missed.

I hope a third film will be released, sorry I want to correct that statement. I expect a third film to be released, hopefully by 2010. 

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