The Incredible Hulk

Early expectation of this rebooted version of the Marvel’s ‘Hulk’ franchise was not great since some considered ‘The Incredible Hulk’ to be one of the risky releases of the summer. Since audiences were under whelmed by Ang Lee’s decent 2003 ‘Hulk’ film and in the months leading up to the release of this incarnation (co-written by Edward Norton and Zack Penn, and directed by ‘The Transporter’ helmer Louis Leterrier) the internet was rumbling of editing room arguments between Norton and the producers over the theatrical cut of the film; all this combined with a late marketing campaign boded ominously for the film’s release.

If anything ‘The Incredible Hulk’ knowingly owes buckets to the successful 70’s TV series. If you had seen that as a child you too would remember diving behind the couch as David Banner transformed into the Hulk. And it’s because of this connection that there is a warm comfortable familiarity surrounding ‘The Incredible Hulk’. Edward Norton’s ‘Bruce Banner’ reminds us of ‘David Banner’ of the series, wandering the world trying to find a cure for his green condition while encountering troublesome locals who just insist on making him angry.

But this is also a hindrance to the film. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ never feels like more that an extended television episode where the themes and the texture are thin. Edward Norton’s Bruce Banner is somewhat underwhelming and almost vacant. He’s neither as entertaining as Tony Stark or as complex as Bruce Wayne, he’s just a bit, well, boring. Which is a shame since we all know how fine an actor Mr. Norton is and the character of Bruce Banner should be fertile ground for a cerebral exploration into the root of Banner’s rage; maybe a study on repressed paternal rage… Wait, they did that and fans hated it, oh well, no character development then.

This leads us to the reputed missing seventy minutes. Certainly ten or fifteen of those are covered in the opening montage but one has to wonder what was lurking in the cut pieces of celluloid. Where the producers so scared by the underperformance of the 2003 film that they removed any material that wasn’t pertinent to fulfilling a ‘HULK SMASH’ film? Maybe a DVD cut will answer the fans speculation.

‘The Incredible Hulk’ works in its visceral set pieces when the Hulk finally gets to unleashes his fury; notably in an exhilarating sequence on a college campus where the Hulk faces off against the military. And it’s the direction of these action scenes where director Leterrier should be applauded, his experience of OTT comic book action from ‘The Transporter’ films certainly pays off here. Also, Tim Roth’s ‘Super Soldier’ antics are a pleasant surprise by miraculously not looking crap.

The film’s major down fall are it’s characters, from Liv Tyler’s shrinking ‘Betty Ross’ to William Hurt’s over distant and snarling ‘Gen. Ross’, all are literal adaptations from the comic book pages. Something which is not necessarily a good thing since film audiences are more accustomed to some sort of character development.

Of course, we are now in uncharted cinematic territory with this coming stable of ‘Marvel’ films. For the first time in Hollywood cinema, Marvel will be expanding the universe of there characters across several different franchises and ultimately unifying in a team up film of ‘The Avengers’ to be released in 2011. This ambitious and expensive endeavour in turn limits the range of movement of the individual films since they must consider a unity of tone and character for not only their own franchise but the super-franchise of ‘The Avengers’.

At the end of the day, ‘The Incredible Hulk’ looks and feels like an updated version of the classic 70’s TV show, a little bit episodic and underdeveloped but when the Hulk does rip through Bruce Banner quaint garments it’s a real treat.

3/5

Gone Baby Gone

After a four year old girl is kidnapped and a flailing police investigation the child’s aunt hires two private detectives (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) to look in the seedy crevasses the cops cannot.

For audiences who have seen the Clint Eastwood directed ‘Mystic River’ they will find themselves in familiar territory with ‘Gone Baby Gone’ since both films are adapted from Dennis Lehane novels. It’s not only the sourced author that both films share, there is a sense that director and co-screenwriter Ben Affleck was keeping a close eye on Eastwood’s film when creating this project. And in doing so, he has managed to imitate both the accomplishments and shortcomings of ‘Mystic River’

It’s in the adapting that ‘Gone Baby Gone’ begins to fall short of the mark of an altogether satisfying crime story. The second half of the film feels like an abridged version of the novel where voice over and flashbacks do most of the story telling. Despite this being a detective film where both those devices are staples in the genre, here, they feel like short cuts and take away from an engaging first half.

Despite this Affleck’s directorial debut is a solid success. He brings to what could have been a conventional Hollywood thriller a personal touch, making the landscape of the film real and harnessing solid performances from the cast, notably from brother Casey Affleck. It’s in the films final moments where it regains itself and left this reviewer feeling that writer and director Affleck could become a solid Hollywood director.

Who would have thought ten years ago that younger brother Casey will have the greatest potential to be the leading man over the Affleck brothers. But Casey is a hero for the 21st century, the disenchanted century where our heros are the trusted boys next door.

‘Gone Baby Gone’ is a solid entertaining detective film which are too far and few these days. It’s almost a four star film, almost. The trip up in the second half makes it fall just short of the mark but it will be enjoyed by anyone looking for a good old crime yarn.

3.75/5