Movie Review - The Incredible Hulk
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com

Norton brings a dimension that elevates the Hulk making Stark look like a billionaire with a mid-life crisis. Tyler and Roth are grossly miscast.

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Director Louis Leterrier and the writers (IMDB.com credits list Zak Penn and Edward Norton (writing under the name Edward Harrison) and Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (taking credit for the Marvel comic book) acknowledge the Hulk's provenance, as we quickly flash through the back-story, leaving dreary exposition to high school screenwriting classes.

I know for a fact that Stan Lee's Marvel contract demands he is in every Marvel movie made in perpetuity, even if he's dead. Re-issued vintage Marvel comic books must feature his likeness.

The Hulk is no do-gooder. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) hasn't gotten that far yet. He's grappling with a voluntarily administered gamma radiation dose that activates his R-complex brain stem. It has unleashed a jumbo-jet charged, testosterone-fueled id. The gamma radiation transforms him into a behemoth of a monster when he gets mad. But he is a monster with feelings.

The evil military-industrial complex, under the tutelage of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt), works with Banner and his colleague Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross (Liv Tyler) to make a superior fighting soldier. Banner, in a rush to emulate The Fly's Seth Brundle, offers himself as Patient Zero. They didn?t bother tinkering with monkeys.

Banner soon realizes he's the perfect military creation and escapes to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. He has been working at a bottling factory and living in monk-like squalor. Tony Stark would suffer a brain aneurysm if he had to give up his jet to hide out in a favela.

A random drop of Bannon's blood falls into a soft drink bottle, gets shipped off to the U.S., and kills Stan Lee! Now, Ross knows exactly where Banner is. It is an unlucky setback for Banner, since he has been working with a mysterious contact via the internet helping him find an antidote. To capture Banner, Ross calls in a tiny soldier with impeccable Nazi credentials, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth).

After his initial encounter with The Hulk, Blonsky is jealous. He wants a mega-dose. Of course, General Ross is no fool! If these guys want to be guinea pigs, it's a good idea. Blonsky happily becomes The Abomination. It's a big step-up from tiny, old soldier.

The casting of Norton is perfect, but why did he choose to be so frail? Even after expending all that energy as The Hulk, he doesn't need to eat! Tyler, let's face it, she's a big girl, and nearly suffocates Norton when they embrace. They are in the sexual chemistry free-zone. Norton is a very strong actor. If he doesn't generate any heat with Tyler, it's intentional. Along with the Marvel hierarchy Norton got into the creative ring with, he probably wasn't so fond of Tyler either.

Adding to the lousy casting of Tyler, Roth is also miscast. And who is impersonating William Hurt? The actor sounded like Hurt, but didn't look a thing like him. Face-changing is the new 40! Tim Blake Nelson, as the professor secretly helping Bannon, must have been self-directed. I know he's a capable director himself, but when you are paid to act, take direction and hit your mark.

There is a mood that Leterrier has created that elevates the source material. There comes the time when they have to deliver the CGI and they do. The Hulk and The Abomination destroy a city. The Hulk looks pretty damn good and the final fight will make diehard fans and new fans satisfied.

But the denouement, I'm confused. Bannon is a good guy, General Ross is a bad guy. Why is Tony Stark cozying up to the enemy? Does he really need another military contract to pay for his hobby upgrade?

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