Cast:
- Edward Norton ... Bruce Banner
- Liv Tyler ... Betty Ross
- Tim Roth ... Emil Blonsky
- Tim Blake Nelson ... Samuel Sterns
- Ty Burrell ... Dr. Samson
- William Hurt ... Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross
- Christina Cabot ... Major Kathleen 'Kat' Sparr
Directed by Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Transporter 2). Screenplay by Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand, The Grand) and Edward Harrison (=Edward Norton), based on the Marvel comic book by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Released by Universal Pictures and Marvel Studios. Opened June 13, 2008.
Plot Summary
Bruce Banner's (Edward Norton) success in eluding the U.S. Army -- which wants to study his ability to turn into a huge, green, nearly impossible-to-kill monster -- comes to an abrupt halt when his gamma-tainted blood accidentally infects a bottle of soda at the Brazilian bottling plant he's working at. The military effort to reclaim him, led by General Ross (William Hurt), fails when Banner is forced by some thugs to transform into the creature; but lead commando Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) is eager to face the creature again.
Banner returns to Virginia to retrieve old data on himself for a scientist working on his cure. There he encounters his old girlfriend and partner on the project that infected him, Ross's daughter Betty (Liv Tyler); but General Ross soon tracks him down. Blonsky, injected with serum from Ross's abandoned super-soldier project, is still no match for the hulking creature Banner becomes when he's outraged. Meanwhile Ross observes the Hulk protecting Betty from the intense crossfire, his first indication that the creature is not a mindless destructive force.
Banner escapes to get the data to the scientist, Dr. Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), and they devise a treatment that temporarily blocks Banner's transformation. But Ross's troops raid Sterns's lab, taking Banner into custody. Blonsky, lusting for the Hulk's power, secretly forces Sterns to inject him with Banner's blood, turning him into The Abomination. The new monster is so powerful and savagely destructive that Ross realizes only the Hulk can stop him.
A New Take
One of the most interesting aspects of The Incredible Hulk is the filmmakers' decision to cover the origin story entirely as a montage during the opening credits, almost as if it were its own sequel. (It very definitely is not a sequel to Ang Lee's 2003 version, Hulk; rather, it's a reboot, with different backstories, characterizations, and motivations.)
This shrewd move recognizes two key elements of the Hulk story. First, most fans will already know the essentials, and so spending two hours meticulously working through how Bruce Banner becomes susceptible to turning into the Hulk (an oft-cited failing of the 2003 film) is not necessary -- especially since the montage includes several images (Banner on a white rotating chair with crosshairs projected on his face, about to deliberately expose himself to gamma rays; a flashing red DANGER indicator) that explicitly reference the much-loved TV version of The Incredible Hulk and so telegraph the film's general adherence to that version of the story.
Second, the real meat of the Hulk story is not the origin story at all. Unlike other superheroes, who develop abilities (or, in the case of Iron Man, machines) and go through a character arc as they understand and perfect their use for good, the Hulk's drama centers on Banner's constant fear that the Hulk will manifest at all, and whether he will be discovered and exposed before he can cure himself (both key elements of much of the comic book tradition as well as the TV series). By beginning with these twin elements, the filmmakers signal they understand the Hulk's appeal.
Big Fights and Fun Cameos
The Incredible Hulk is faithful to significant portions of the comics tradition (which of course underwent lots of retcons and reenvisionings), but there are lots more gestures to the TV series in particular, including a great cameo by Lou Ferrigno, a lick from the show's haunting theme music, a name-check of Jack McGee (the reporter who dogged the Hulk), and even an appearance by the late Bill Bixby (via a clip from The Courtship of Eddie's Father) -- not to mention the Bixby Banner's most famous quote, which comes out rather differently in Portuguese.
The comic book history of the Hulk comes out in the presence of three key Marvel supporting characters not present in the series: General Ross, his daughter Betty Ross, and one of the Hulk's main villains, The Abomination. In a movie with relatively little character development, "Thunderbolt" Ross and Emil Blonsky, who becomes the Abomination, have the most interesting journey: Ross is forced to acknowledge his own failures and the complexity of the Hulk's motivations, while Blonsky's soldierly enthusiasm becomes infected by a lust for the power exhibited by the Hulk. William Hurt and Tim Roth both turn in effective performances, while poor Liv Tyler, despite being cast as an high-ranking scientist, is absolutely unable to elevate her role above concerned girlfriend/damsel in distress. Least effective of all is Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou?), whose florid, overblown performance reminded me jarringly of Chris Parnell's wacky Dr. Leo Spaceman on 30 Rock.
Hulk Smash
Fans going to see Hulk for the fights (the relative lack of which was another criticism of the 2003 version) won't be disappointed: there are three major fight scenes involving the Hulk facing off against major weaponry and, later, the at least equally powerful Abomination, plus lots of destruction and mayhem along the way, all convincingly rendered and excellently sound-choreographed. (A scene where the Hulk uses two halves of a police car as boxing gloves to wail on the Abomination is particularly awesome.) The Hulk still looks like a CGI creation, but a couple of key scenes in which Liv Tyler physically interacts with the creature go a long way toward making him seem real, and the animators have managed to largely bypass the Uncanny Valley creepiness associated with some other CGI characters.
The Incredible Hulk, thankfully, joins Iron Man in telling an adult superhero story with humor and without taking itself too seriously. The pairing of these two films indicates a larger vision, as Marvel works on developing the Avengers line-up in a series of intelligent action movies that are, in many ways, more fun to watch than the super-earnest blockbusters being developed by DC Comics. Considering that in the history of comic books DC was often the flibbertigibbet and Marvel the more serious one, that's a nice irony all by itself.
