Edward Norton & The Incredible Hulk Fall Short
Marvel's Latest Movie Fails to Live Up To Expectations
Jul 22, 2008
Even before audiences headed to the cinema for another installment of action-packed Marvel mayhem, it was clear that the film was never going to be the perfect picture; for one, the development of the film, which started as early as 1990, was filled with pitfalls and potholes.
Before Ang Lee's script was finally put into production, Jonathan Hensleigh and Michael France had both been enlisted as writers before being scrapped and this would certainly explain the sometimes complex, meandering plot and the underlying sense that parts of the movie were haphazardly cobbled together. Edward Norton, who went on to play the radioactive giant in the 2008 installment, turned down the part of Banner in the first movie because of the poor script.
The trailer was enough to deter some fans from cinemas as the CGI in the film is poorly rendered, and since the animated anti-hero, the Hulk, was the main, mean, green attraction of the movie in the first place, a problem such as this is difficult to ignore even if the plot was flawless, which it certainly isn't.
The Incredible Hulk Doesn't Live Up to the Name
With the first film's initial takings in the US dropping a hulking 70% in their second week, the next movie in the franchise didn't really have to hit a high benchmark in order to live up to it's predecessor. And while The Incredible Hulk is definitely a step in the right direction, it still feels like the Hulk series has a long way to go before it can stand proudly with the true Marvel blockbusters, such as X2 and Spider-Man.
For starters, the plot is much simpler since newly-enlisted writer Zak Penn drops the back-story about Banner's father and focuses solely on Banner's struggle to find a cure for his failed experiment.
Another plus is the new cast hired to revamp the Hulk's image; Edward Norton plays a much more believable Banner, whilst the ever-breathless Liv Tyler is a much improved Betty Ross, with an on-screen chemistry between the pair giving the romantic aspect to the plot a needed lift in parts.
Sadly, though, the latest film feels as though it has something missing.
Of course, the CGI is greatly improved and the Hulk's decreased stature bears a greater resemblance to the comic strips, but that still isn't enough. The fight scenes often rely on the might of military weapons, rather than the Hulk's strength, to impress and it's disappointing to learn that a fight scene between the Hulk and a whale or polar bear is rumoured to have been removed. Also, there are moments when the story suffers slightly, such as General "Thunderbolt" Ross' almost-schizophrenic change-of-heart near the end of the film.
With opportunities for sequels dropped like bricks in the latter half of the movie, let's hope that the next installment of Marvel mayhem from the green giant picks up where the latest movie's improvements left off.
