With months of bad buzz, questions of whether a reboot was necessary (or wanted) so soon, and a swirl of rumors about the bad blood between Edward Norton and Marvel Studios (if you want the full breakdown, Anne Thompson has it summed up here), coupled with my opinion that the Hulk is one of the silliest and uninteresting characters in comics, I didn’t think there was any way THE INCREDIBLE HULK could be good.
I was pleasantly proven wrong. THE INCREDIBLE HULK is exactly what a Hulk movie should be: an action packed tale that fully (and almost joyously) demonstrates the overwhelming power of the Big Green Guy. With this reboot, Marvel Studios has above all else given us a classic Hulk story straight from the comics. It’s got everything from Banner wrangling with his dual personalities, his anger, and depression over his curse, to a scientific race to find a cure while being pursued by the military who want to harness the destructive force of the Hulk for their own ends. The hunting is led by the menacing General Ross, played effectively by William Hurt, who is in turn aided by Emil Blonsky, Tim Roth a soldier who sees the Hulk and the super soldier serum as his way to reach the next level of challenge in combat. Bruce Banner who is played surprisingly well by Edward Norton (who is a great actor, but I didn’t think he’d fit this kind of role) is aided by the Betty Ross (a lovely Liv Tyler) in his Jason Bourne like attempts to stay off the grid and avoid his pursuers.
Given that we’re effectively dealing with something as inherently silly as a scrawny science nerd who turns into a giant green monster, the film succeeds in both remaining dramatically loyal to the comic roots (there are numerous fan-friendly nods, ranging from reused theme songs, guest stars, and comic allusions), but also having a little fun with it all. It helps alleviate the film from becoming too serious, or being overburdened by its action.
I know, I know. Didn’t we just have a trailer round-up last week? Well, that’s the thing about the summer season starting to rev up. The internet pretty much explodes with visually stimulating previews meant to entice you into forgoing all social interactions for some time in a darkened theatre. Or, depending on the film, convincing you to stay home instead.
TROPIC THUNDER – Red Band (NSFW)
I want to like Ben Stiller. He’s done enough good here and there that I want to like him (“Nobody makes me bleed my own blood”), but he just makes it hard by playing the same character over-and-over again and relying on the same comedic shtick (it goes something like this – just in French). It seems with TROPIC THUNDER he’s hit on something though. Not only does the film seem genuinely funny, it seems like it’s a dead on satire of war films and their productions, and impressively (and surprisingly) has more than a little bite, mocking action stars wanting to go dramatic, method actors, and … well, Eddie Murphy. On another note, I noticed in the credits that Ethan Coen helped write this script? How did I not know this till now? That’s amazing!
CITY OF EMBERS
I hadn’t even heard of this film till last week when a poster was revealed, and now this week its trailer. What impresses me most is that it feels like an amalgam of various genres I love. You get the post-apocalyptic feel of an underground city, yet the apocalyptic tension of it dying out on account of a power crisis. In a weird way it’s a prison break movie, but also a NATIONAL TREASURE like scavenger hunt for clues to actually escape. Finally, it’s got a fun, adventure-filled family film tone, but with the dark, industrial look of a film like Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN. Also you can’t help but look fowrad to Bill Murray, who is so awesome, I’m going to go ahead and consider him a genre.
It’s pretty clear that the studio wants you to know that there is plenty of action in THE INCREIDBLE HULK, not a surprise given that a lot of people hated the lack of it in Ang Lee’s HULK. In that respect this trailer improves upon the teaser, featuring some large-scale, intense and entertaining action. That being said, I’m still not convinced I like the special effects, as it looks like giant action or wax figures lumbering around. Also it seems like the trailer features the entire plot of the film, and if that’s the case, then it is rather embarrassingly simple. Yes, “Hulk Smash!” is a requirement, but it shouldn’t be the entire film either.
This week we got a new poster for the somewhat production plagued INCREDIBLE HULK film hitting theatres June 13th. It looks decent enough for a poster, doing a nice job of emphasizing the duality between Bruce Banner and Big Green. Though, as the folks over at io9 pointed out, to many comic book fans the cover may elicit a little déjà vu.
The first trailer for THE INCREDIBLE HULK does absolutely nothing for me. It’s certainly not horrible. Well, okay, the shot of Norton falling out of the chopper is horrible. That aside though, the CGI work on Big Green and Abomination are good enough. This one is clearly going to be more action-based than Ang Lee’s was. I even enjoy the idea of Bruce Banner on the run, trying to simultaneously learn to control the Hulk. But where’s the sense of anticipation and excitement a trailer like this is supposed to elicit? I mean, just compare this to the recent IRON MAN trailer. That got me going. The HULK trailer? The only reaction it got out of me was a perpetual tickle at the back of my throat, indicating a yawn in the making.
Anyway, you can check out the trailer here. Once you’ve done so, let me know what you think. Am I being too harsh? Are you excited for Edward Norton’s THE INCREDIBLE HULK?
P.S.: Torontonians should be able to recognize the famous Sam the Record Man neon-signs in the background as the Hulk storms towards the Abomination.
Loading ...
