The Incredible Disappointment

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The first stab at a cinematic incarnation of the Marvel superhero The Incredible Hulk was Ang Lee's excruciatingly ponderous, self-indulgent 2003 production simply titled Hulk. The central criticism of Lee's original film is that it's too thoughtful and slow to deliver the popcorn goods. It was also a glacial pure drama that contained an atrocious final reel. Needless to say, Lee's Hulk received a negative reception.

During initial development for 2008's The Incredible Hulk the film was planned as a sequel. Eventually it materialised into a total reboot of the cinematic Hulk franchise. The filmmakers promised it'd be more of an action-oriented blockbuster. While marginally superior to its forerunner, The Incredible Hulk is anything but incredible. It's disappointingly rushed, disjointed and fluffy. The sub-standard outcome of this flick has left me starving for a decent cinematic rendering of the Marvel superhero. Hollywood has yet to produce a truly iconic and memorable film featuring the big green guy.

Bruce Banner (Norton) was in a laboratory accident, poisoning him with gamma radiation that damaged his cells and unleashed the unbridled force of rage inside him. Whenever Bruce gets angry, he transforms into the big green guy known as The Hulk. Bruce flees his home, cutting off a life he knew and the woman he loves: Betty Ross (Tyler). He lives life off the grid, constantly on the move to evade the obsessive pursuit of the US military that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power. Bruce works to find a cure for his genetic disorder, eventually travelling back to America to track down a certain "Mr. Blue" (Nelson) who has been Bruce's anonymous consultant for months.
Enter British military specialist Emil Blonsky (Roth) who yearns for the power possessed by Bruce Banner. Needless to say, he develops into a Hulk-like character and a climactic showdown ensues.

The Incredible Hulk skips an extensive origins tale. Zak Penn's screenplay opts to show Bruce Banner's back-story during the opening credits. It's a straightforward five-minute montage effectively conveying the story so far. This is an example of the script doing something correctly. In fact, in the first 20 minutes the film never strikes an incorrect note. The characters are given a fitting introduction and the script moves at a desirable pace. Instead of verbal exposition, Penn's script shows the story through visuals and even a brief conversation via computer. Beyond these opening 20 minutes, the script is immediately downgraded into cheese territory. Initially the film established a "less is more" approach, shrouding Banner and his alter ego in a cloud of secrecy. It's more intriguing and it provides a heightened degree of momentum. This approach, though, is soon jettisoned in order for the action to start. The Incredible Hulk then becomes nothing but a string of destruction, undermined by the dreadfully phoney CGI and zero depth. The film's structure is incoherent and jumpy. Choppy editing and uniformly corny dialogue are also key problems.

The Incredible Hulk is the ideal cinematic representation of The Hulk for those desiring lots of action. The climax runs for approximately 10 minutes. Throughout the film there's adequate mayhem to keep one entertained. By all means, it is moderately entertaining. It's more fun than Ang Lee's 2003 picture. But where Lee's film succeeds (i.e. some thoughtful dialogue) this film fails. Ironically, where Lee's film fails (i.e. action) this film succeeds. If a harmonious blend of these two films was created we'd have the definitive Hulk adventure.

Towards the end of the film's post-production period there was much discussion regarding the running time. The studio were pressuring for a film running at under two hours. Norton lobbied furiously for more characterisation and back-story, and general dialogue. As this was a summer blockbuster and the studio had more power, the film was trimmed down to its 110-minute length. 70 minutes were reportedly removed during the editing process. It's so painfully obvious that this is a longer film that's been far too compressed. The structure doesn't flow correctly. Various bridge scenes appear to be missing. The worst offender is Bruce Banner easily travelling from Guatemala to California with no money, official documents and his face plastered on every government watch list. A bulk of the film appears half-baked and underdone. Characters even disappear, such as Betty's current boyfriend who seems to be simply tossed aside upon Bruce's return. The removed 70 minutes could've redeemed The Incredible Hulk. Extended version please!!

However, a number of the scenes present in the final product are quite awful. The worst scene in the entire film is an unnecessarily cheesy sequence during which The Hulk and Betty sit outside a cave at night in the pouring rain. It feels shamelessly copied from Peter Jackson's King Kong. It's a tender, corny scene to establish the love shared by Betty and Bruce. It comes off as a waste of time.

In tradition with most Hollywood action fluff, the final climactic battle is all special effects and epicness without a shred of brains. Even after a few minutes of the battle people still appear to be running away from the action. Some civilians are even shown to be tossed around in the mayhem. Surely a few dozen people were killed, yet there's never an ounce of sentimentality towards them. Lots of cars blow up, lots of buildings are destroyed, and lots of people are killed. Millions of dollars worth of damage is inflicted without any backlash. It's all to make the most exhilarating viewing...and it doesn't even do that. The Incredible Hulk suffers from awful visual effects. The climactic action scene exhibits mortifying phoneyness, mirroring a video game cut-scene. Everything from the helicopters to the environment looks absurdly unconvincing. It's extremely off-putting due to the lack of polish in the CGI. It's been five long years since Lee's 2003 film, and director Leterrier was playing with a massive budget, but the special effects looks pathetically unfinished. The final battle sequence of Lee's film was nothing short of amazing (probably the best thing about the entire movie). The special effects were particularly stunning. In the case of The Incredible Hulk, though, the sweeping Hulk movement is accounted for, but the clarity is lacking. The creature lacks vital crispness. With the inclusion of such awful CGI it felt as if someone was tapping me on the shoulder, whispering "Hey, you're just watching a movie". The gift of total immersion is discarded, and it's very hard to get into. I'd give up all the thunderous explosions that litter this film for a single scene of awe. For a film titled "Incredible", the computer-generated Hulk is anything but.

Performances are generally below standard. Edward Norton is a gross miscast. I've enjoyed him in several other movies (dramas like Fight Club, 25th Hour, etc) but as Bruce Banner he doesn't fit. Eric Bana was a far superior Bruce simply because he looked the part as both the big green dude and the scrawny scientist dude. Norton's appearance isn't sufficiently utilised for the CG creation of The Hulk as well. It looks as if his appearance was completely disregarded for the Hulk's computer generated image.
Liv Tyler is emotionless and stiff. While sharing scenes with Norton or William Hurt, she's abjectly outclassed. Her delivery is flat and without emotion. We're never convinced she and Banner are former lovers or that they still have feelings for one another as it's not conveyed well enough.
Tim Roth is the only actor capable of bestowing the film with what it truly needed. He's a sublime villain for sure. His part deserves further expansion.

I rather hated Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk and yearned for a better movie. While The Incredible Hulk was in development I prayed for an antidote to suppress the damage caused by Lee's prior film. As it is, this reboot of the film franchise is an incredible failure (pardon the pun). It's more fun and enjoyable, and it's an easier viewing experience, but it's too nonsensical, fluffy and corny with special effects that look incomplete and cartoonish. The first 20 minutes are terrific, as are the final few minutes. In between there ain't much to get excited about. It's intense, fun and somewhat entertaining, but it's much too flawed.

4.8/10

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