"There's another Hulk movie? Why on Earth would there be another one if the first was so bad?" Is this what you were thinking when you heard that there was another Hulk movie? Did you take one look at the movie ads and the 7 foot tall statue outside the cinema and think, "That's not the Hulk- it's a green steroid using version of John Cena from The Marine!'" It's hard to walk into a movie expecting to see a bad movie with a psycho smashing entire cities and nothing but explosions, but if you give "The Incredible Hulk" a shot, or if "Iron Man" is still sold out, the movie is not that bad. For some, it might even be worth seeing.
This 2008 version of "The Incredible Hulk" is not the mediocre film, "Hulk" from 2003. That movie was so bland and the green giant so docile and cartoon like that Conan O'Brien referred to it as, "the poor man's Shrek." Although, this film almost seems to start where the last film ended, it is a bit more intriguing. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is living in the center of Brazil, surrounded by the low income shanties that protect him from discovery. Not only is Bruce incognito to the world, working as a safety inspector, plant engineer at a less than second rate soda company, he is an unassuming character at the plant. Banner spends the majority of his time with an intense yogi who can flex each portion of his stomach muscles while meditating and, here's the kicker, without breaking a sweat. Working to control his anger, Banner is diligently trying to follow this path.
Naturally, this quiet and calm man gives the impression of a push over, which does not escape the attention of the local bullies. This obvious ignorance of the bullies is so blatant and foreshadowing it will have audiences groaning. Of course, Banner will give in to the Hulk and tech them a lesson-eventually. First, Banner has to come to terms with his problem- He's living like a fallen, drug addict, facing temptation at every corner, even with the pulse monitor on his left arm serving as a constant warning that he's about to have a relapse. Here's where the Jekyll and Hyde reference forms.
Banner somehow manages to keep his state of the art computer and lab equipment safe in his ramshackle home. Here, he performs minor tests on himself; recording and sending the results to an unknown scientist, the only scientist in the world who can help him, in hopes of finding a cure for Banner's gamma radiation sickness. Alas, the tests fail and the scientist explains to Banner that the only way to find the cure if for the two to meet. Banner must come out of hiding and risk exposing the Hulk to the world again. Dr. Jekyll must face his Edward Hyde.
Meanwhile, General Ross is still searching for Bruce Banner to study him in attempt to use the Hulk as a military weapon, as he did in the 2003 "Hulk." Here we are introduced to a new character and soon to be Hulk nemesis, Emil Blonsky. The dangerous mercenary is nearly killed when Banner looses control and the Hulk appears. The inciting incident results in a power hungry soldier who accepts a Hulk like inducing injection from General Ross. The power is great, but not enough.
Once Banner's cover is blown, he returns to his former neighborhood and university to find help from his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), the estranged daughter of General Ross. Together the reunited lovers make their way to the scientist who proved to be just a hair's breadth away from curing Banner when Gen. Ross captures Bruce and Betty. While in captivity, wouldn't you know that Blonsky finds Banner's scientist and demands powers greater than the Hulks. With the previous gamma radiation exposure, Blonsky is already a force with whom to be reckoned, as noted by the scientist, but the scientist's life is on the line and his scientific curiosity gets the best of him- an embedded lesson not to play God or mix science with nature- the scientist births the truly terrifying monster known as the Abomination.
The following scene is undoubtedly another message, this time one that is political in nature. With the Abomination wreaking Godzilla style havoc on the densely populated city, the U.S. military must employ the help of the Hulk. The government intends to capture the hapless Hulk to exploit him and use him for military power. This obsession for greed and dominance leads to the "gets snakes to cure the rat problem and worry about the snake problem later" situation. The Abomination is the government created catastrophe that causes nothing but devastation and the now helpless government, consumed by its own greed for power will suffer...unless one man is there so save the say. Yes, it' been done a thousand times but "The Incredible Hulk" needed this steroidal, destructive scene to separate it from "Hulk." The passive, victimized Hulk character has been done. The new Hulk character is not a defensive Frankenstein at all but an extremely aggressive and offensive Hulk, the kind that could pair up with Iron Man and really make impact the world...
The star power in the power helps move it along, which is great because the story line is certainly stagnant. Liv Tyler's character is completely flat. There is just no story whatsoever. Having Edward and a few other celebs bringing some life to "The Incredible Hulk" is at least more than the weighed down story from "Hulk." The Lou Ferrigno cameo disrupts the flow of the film. You'll know him when the camera spends almost a full minute, that's extremely long in modern cinema, showing Banner offering pizza to a security guard for no reason. The perfect cameo that grabs your attention that actually makes you plan on seeing the next Hulk movie: Banner has fled to a remote cabin only instead of repeating his stint in Brazil; he seems to be planning for an uprising of some sort. Sitting in a bar, Banner is approached by none other than Robert Downey Junior in character for "Iron Man." Saying the character is sure of him self or exudes confidence is an understatement. What's more, he's not there to appear like Lou Ferrigno. RDJ is the Iron Man, this is not the tale end of another movie and he is not just making a proposition to the Hulk. He's here to start a war and this is the beginning of his next move.
Sounds juicy, doesn't it? That's how the entire movie is: Extremely flat, than extremely tantalizing. This is just another violent movie for a bunch of rowdy boy types in many ways. Look at any picture of this new Hulk and you'll see a startling vicious looking bodybuilder who epitomizes Hyde himself, only much worse. Quite frankly, though, it's just nice to have this, albeit "B," movie over the 2003 version. Sure you can't let kids look at the Hulk because he'll give them nightmares, but beneath the green grizzly bear are some cool effects. There are actual references to the comic book with the famous smash and grab move and fireballs that blowup helicopters. For someone who went for a story, there isn't one but there are some interesting metaphors like Banner's battle with his drug like addiction to Hulk's rage and parallelisms between the Banner/Hulk and Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde characters. So this latest Hulk film is a "B" movie. Wait until the next one pairs with Iron Man, and these other movies just might be worth it.