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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 06/13/2008 : 10:40:58
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The Incredible Hulk
I know people moan about health and safety regulations going too far. But it seems director Louis Leterrier is using the latest Hulk incarnation as some kind of bureaucratic vendetta, particularly against the rules and regs of academia. Not just one but two college campuses are totally trashed, and why? All because health and safety have been ignored, cast to the wind, scrapped entirely in favor of some crafty military bad-guys, whose top secret future weapons development systems are tied-into a very familiar Marvel Comic R&D franchise featured in another comic-book superhero's recent outing.
Fans will know that Hulk is a mutated form of super nice-guy Bruce Banner [Ed Norton showing yet another facet of his thespian versatility, as well co-writing the script, whereas Iron Man is a super-soldier suit that Stark inhabits to best the baddies.
Norton's Hulk is full of in-jokes and cinema references, from giant monster and dwarfed maiden precariously balanced on a ledge a la Kong to McClane's copter destruction to Bourne's intricate rooftop escapes, with a cute cameo from an old bulked-up friend. Look out for a significant pizza delivery is all I'm saying!
Norton and Leterrier manage to paint some dimension onto the 2D comic portrayal of the human Bruce, and consequently of his pals and nemeses. Former significant other, the patriotically named Betty Ross evoking a revolutionary flag seamstress and played prettily by Liv Tyler, trying her best to transcend her cardboard character - and William Hurt as the devious General in charge of all the secrecy and endangerment,
SPOILER ALERT
who is her bad dad
are joined in the co-star list by Tim Roth. As Blonsky, Russian trained but UK raised, he's set up to be Hulky's big bad battle foe, choosing the very mutation that Bruce is so keen to be rid of.
But, of course, it's as Pistachio Man that both character and film will be judged. If you're not a CGI inspector the film is unlikely to disappoint, moving as it does so swiftly over plot flaws and matters of perspective and expression.
And by the time we get to the final battle which trashes NYC even more resolutely than those college campuses, the question we're all asking is: where is Mayor Bloomberg?
I'm betting he was attending a Health and Safety Conference.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 06/13/2008 10:41:59 |
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Ali 
"Those aren't pillows."
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demonic 
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 06/13/2008 : 15:43:58
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Thanks for the link Ali, that review made my eyes water.  |
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silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 06/14/2008 : 19:02:20
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Being a dedicated contrarian, I didn't think that review was any good at all.
I liked the movie, but I realize I'm being generous. It's definitely a Hulk Smash kind of movie. I certainly like it more than Ang Lee's pretentious, bizarre mishmash Hulk movie from '03. It's a dumb blockbuster but it meets the goals it set for itself. |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 06/15/2008 : 01:44:28
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| I just saw it and LOVED IT! I hated hated hated the first Hulk movie, but this one really gets it right. I'd recommend it to anybody who likes a good monster movie! |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 06/15/2008 : 06:08:18
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"Tyler not mind Hulk thing. Hulk remind her of dad. Steven Tyler. Possibly."
Now I have to see this. |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 06/15/2008 : 07:27:53
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"Roth get injected with serum. Become Hulky supervillain. Smash cars. Tanks. Only with no trousers. Roth groin area ambiguous. Groin area look lumpy. Bumpy. Perhaps odd penis. Perhaps odd trousers. Critic ... not sure."
Definitely. I've always been curious about ambiguous groin areas that are lumpy, bumpy and perhaps odd.
And is it just me, or does the reviewer Hulk sound suspiciously like Tonto used to sound in the Lone Ranger? |
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Ali
"Those aren't pillows."
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Posted - 06/16/2008 : 06:49:52
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quote:
SPOILER ALERT
who is her bad dad
Jesus wept, Baffy! If that's what you call a spoiler, then you should really go ahead an invisotext the entire review.
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Salopian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 06/17/2008 : 02:03:22
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The Incredible Hulk
Edward Norton does a fair job, but an unattractive alter ego becoming an unattractive superhero(?) does not make a good film for me. And I'm bored of a supervillain being an extreme form of a superhero.  Most of it was enjoyable enough, although I slept through Banner being back in America until the baddies came to the Culver University campus. The last few seconds were thus the best. 3/5 |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 06/17/2008 : 02:44:57
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Am I the only one that keeps seeing her dad instead of Liv Tyler?
There were spots where I thought she would belt out the chorus from "Back in the Saddle Again" or "Walk This Way." Come to think of it, when SNL does this movie, maybe she will 
Some bits were laughable, but that's okay, it's a movie about a guy that turns big, green, and maybe bulletproof when he gets excited. Fun popcorn flick.
Too bad Hurt looked constipated half the time  |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 06/18/2008 : 19:35:47
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Spoilers, spoilers, big green spoilers....
As much as I liked The Guardian review now I've seen the movie I have to heartily disagree. If he wants to see a 1* movie he only had to sit through the other "Green" movie released this week - The Happening. For what this film is... a comic book movie... I'd say it's a solid 3 or 4 stars.
I'm liking Ed Norton more and more. As a young actor he seemed full of piss and wind and was determined to show everyone how great he was. There was a distinct arrogance about his acting that left me resolutely unimpressed - all the trickery couldn't replace a genuinely felt moment. What I love is that in his later work (Painted Veil, The Illusionist) he's really nailing those internal dilemmas. Bruce Banner is another great performance from Norton; I really cared about his problems because I felt sorry for him. I wanted him to succeed, I wanted him to get back together with Betty... Liv Tyler gave a really solid reading too of a fairly lightweight girlfriend role, helped greatly by Norton's commitment to what he was doing and making the stakes high enough.
It was impressively violent and occassionally adult for a family oriented film, much like Iron Man, with "real" peril and semi-realistic action - I was particularly impressed by the helicopter gunship getting knocked out of the sky and exploding hugely in the campus section, which was a nice antidote to the boring wholesomeness of the not-very-Fantastic Four. This was also a funny film - all the in jokes seemed completely within the bounds of the world that had been created. Great to see Lou, the stretchy purple trousers, great to hear the original theme tune in the score... and "don't make me... hungry" was a great idea too. I hate seeing Stan Lee in Marvel movies - frankly he sucks and it always annoys me having to watch him gurn about - this time he doesn't get to speak, so it's probably the best cameo he's done yet. Hurt and Roth weren't especially good, more to do with their material than their respective abilities, and the climactic 20 or 30 minutes including CGI battle a real brain turn-off - a shame, but seemingly essential part of comic book adaptations.
I'm very glad I made the effort - it almost entirely works; it's a solid piece of entertainment and well worth the look.
One last thing - the General/Tony Stark conclusion, which was plainly filmed for a post-credit sequence seeing that the scene immediately before is an obvious lead into credits (the days since incident countdown, the eye opening) as well as echoing the post-credit sequence in "Iron Man", seems to be telling us something in bold capital letters... are all these movies just prequels to an big Avengers movie? It seems to make sense of the need to reboot the Hulk franchise. |
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Salopian
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 06/19/2008 : 00:55:19
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On your last paragraph, definitely yes to both halves. In particular, the placement there seems totally bizarre.
I didn't have the slightest sympathy for Banner or interest in whether he survived, so that was a big problem for me. I agree that Norton is a good actor -- certainly in The Painted Veil, though not enough to justify the totally pointless Illusionist. An issue is that he's kinda the same character in all of them. |
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Ali
"Those aren't pillows."
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Posted - 06/19/2008 : 09:18:35
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Demonic - Yes, The Avengers is set for summer 2011. The current Marvel slate is:
Iron Man 2 - 2010
Thor - 2010
Captain America: The First Avenger - May 2011
The Avengers (which will directly follow on from the Cap movie) - July 2011
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 06/19/2008 : 12:26:28
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quote:
Originally posted by Ali
Demonic - Yes, The Avengers is set for summer 2011. The current Marvel slate is:
Iron Man 2 - 2010
Thor - 2010
Captain America: The First Avenger - May 2011
The Avengers (which will directly follow on from the Cap movie) - July 2011
I'm not geeky enough. This is totally separate from the Justice League, right? Wonder Woman and all that?
In spite of my criticisms, I'm enjoying the comic book heroes on the big screen. These movies are fun to share with my kids, usually fairly entertaining. But the biologist in me (my wife teaches college biology) was just about screaming about the problems in Hulk. But hey, that's why they are SUPER powers, right? |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 06/19/2008 : 12:47:04
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How on earth are they going to pull off Thor? Does anyone think that's a good idea? There's a seriously silly character particularly in light of the realistic angle they are taking on the new Marvel films (for example the post-9/11 terrorism and US foreign policy angles of Iron Man). How does that fit in with "I am Thor, the Norse god of Thunder...."
"Oh, aren't you fictional..?"
"Um. Yes, I am. But look at my magic hammer!"
I'm also a bit skeptical of Captain America as well; a character who should have ceased to exist after the war he was created to bolster patriotism for ended. |
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The Incredible Hulk - some tiny spoilers
Great review! Wonder if I can still cancel the babysitter?