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Written by Nick Da Costa | Sunday, July 13, 2008 |
With the somber, tank punting, desert bright, head shrinking of Ang Lee’s first film still ringing dully in our ears you’d be forgiven for questioning Marvel’s decision to reboot the emerald roid rager and release ‘The Incredible Hulk‘. After Favreau and Downey fired ‘Iron Man‘ into the stratosphere, director Louis Leterrier and star Edward Norton have a lot to prove.
You’ll be pleased to hear that you can finally wipe the po-faced preachiness of the 2003 original from your memory. Not only does ‘The Incredible Hulk’ match old Shellhead as a piece of cinema it injects the kinds of explosive action you’d expect to see in a film based on the character. Gone is the unnecessarily serious take on the story and odd comic book motifs which resulted in sluggish pace and performances and cod-Shakespearean hysterics and in comes a well judged balance of sharp characterisation, tender love story, and visceral action to spectacular effect.
Slyly condensing the majority of the first film into a hard hitting opening montage, the film snaps into a noirish story that dips into the early TV origins of Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) as he finds himself continually on the run from the military, lead by General Ross (William Hurt), who hopes to take this affliction and turn it into a weapon. Moved out of a static desert location, the film hits the floor with an appreciated pace, perfectly evidenced in the excitement of the free running escape from Emil Blonsky’s (Tim Roth) combat unit. Leterrier has a uniquely odd mix of rough, yet graceful direction that mixes handheld camera shots with glossy tracking shots. It doesn’t just drop you into the heart of the action; it forces you down its throat beforehand. For those people bored by the ugly, empty style of ‘Transformers‘, this film is a sugar coated remedy.
It’s interesting to make comparisons between the leads of Marvel’s new films. The fun to be had in their polar opposition; Tony Stark, all wild charm and freedom, while Banner is driven down by responsibility, guilt, fear, and heartbreak that he can’t truly be with the one he loves. Consequently you get different performances, Norton doing well to hold back on a showy performance, and expressing brilliantly the inner turmoil that drives our hero. Unlike Bana, he’s given over completely to even the goofiest aspect of the character, grappling with the classic one-liners and taking a real world approach to the science of the Hulk, incorporating post traumatic flashbacks, martial arts breathing exercises and heart monitors as early warning systems. Not only is there an energy that was missing in the first incarnation there’s a reality and depth.
Fortunately, it’s also carried across to the rest of the cast, each of who instil the slightly 2-dimensional supporting roles with further depth: Hurt’s career soldier, scarred and embittered by an obsession with the Hulk as a tool for war, while Roth’s Blonsky is given over to a different obsession, one of unfiltered power. His confrontation with the Hulk, a delight, punctuated by a moment of cringingly comedic violence. But special mention goes to Tyler’s Betty who imbues the seemingly passive role of love interest with warmth and maturity. It’s a delight that her rescue by the Hulk can be as stirring a moment as anything in more serious drama. In fact it’s a testament to the quality of the script that it can attract such talent, with other roles filled by the likes of Tim Blake Nelson, giving an infectiously crazy performance as a scientist hoping to cure Banner. His role clearly marked for bigger things in a subtle wink to the comic book and Hulk’s stable of villains.
What the first film did very well, this second makes even better, improving on the CGI spectacle of a monster unleashed not only making it a scary, inexorable force, but making it expressive. Working in tandem with the delicate love story, the Hulk is no longer just a device in an action sequence. We see the internal battle that is raging between Banner and his hidden green demon. It’s a nod to the navel gazing that interrupted the first film, but thanks to Leterrier’s sure hand, and the excellent effects, the tempo never drops and instead works as part of the necessary lull before the next exciting set piece.
And what action. Though there are times where the movie could have done with a little more polish to make some of the transitions more seamless, the movie delivers as a whole, building exponentially to a killer of a climax that pitches two Gamma combatants against each other in the streets of New York. In a whirl of police car boxing, gunship grappling, Hulk smashing and sonic boom hand claps, Leterrier, the CGI and the film’s cast deliver on the promise of the preceding minutes. In many ways, the magic is in the title, the film being both incredible in technical punch and energy, while revelling in all the camp, comic book verbosity that instead of stagnating the superhero genre has once again invigorated it to thrilling effect. And wow, what about that cameo?
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