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So this past Saturday I saw The Incredible Hulk with my friend Neal, who, in addition to bearing a striking resemblance to the mighty green beast, also has an awesome music blog which I highly suggest you all check out. After being disappointed with X-Men 3 and Spider-Man 3, and not being overly interested in seeing either of the Fantastic Four movies, my enthusiasm for future Marvel movies were hinging on this movie.
To say the least, Hulk exceeded my expectations, and was quite possibly the best superhero movie I've seen since Batman Begins (which, incidentally, is the other acclaimed comic retcon movie). It really seemed to do everything right. It was intelligent and well written, but wasn't self-indulgent. The movie also recognized that the Hulk back story isn't exceptionally complex, and as such didn't devote an unnecessary amount of time to the origin. Along with that, it stayed pretty true to the comic book story (as best as I could tell), unlike the Ang Lee version, in which I was left scratching my head wondering if ANYBODY associated with the film had ever even read one of the comics.
I should also note that the movie theater had a life-sized, awesome looking Hulk statue standing in the lobby. This was awesome, as it allowed us to take some dorkish photos with it. But they had the statue positioned immediately in front of the velvet rope, making it difficult to try to take photos from the front. This meant that despite managing to take a couple of front photos (shown with Neal), we were forced to take much more awkward pictures standing behind it (shown with me).
Anyway, if you click below, you can read my full, spoiler-ific comments about the film.
Like most successful comic book movies, Hulk managed to find the right combination of story, action, continuity, and humor. In fact, there were several literal laugh out loud moments (these immediately come to mind: (a) "Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry. No, that's not right." (b) "Where does she find these guys?" (c) "Is that all you got?" quickly followed by a Hulk foot to the chest, sliding the soldier across the park and crashing him into a tree. (d) Bruce Banner's "Oh SH--" reaction when he realized he might not Hulk-up). I also appreciated the "wink, wink" moments, like Bruce Banner thinking about wearing purple pants (a la the comic book character). Speaking of Bruce's pants, it was also cool getting an explanation to that whole "why don't his pants tear off" nitpick...he either wears pants that stretch or are several sizes too big.
This movie also managed to fix one of my big qualms with the last Hulk film: In the previous installment, neither Hulk or Bruce Banner ever did anything particularly heroic or selfless. Sure, there were select moments when Hulk/Bruce did something to protect Betty, but for the most part all of his actions were self-centered. While his actions in this movie were also motivated, for the most part, by saving and protecting Betty, there are several moments -- particularly at the end, when Bruce/Hulk does fight valiantly and heroically. Along with that, Bruce Banner as a character was much more likable, making him -- and Hulk, by proxy -- much easier to root for.
Finally, on a purely superficial level, Hulk looked freakin' awesome! And, coolest part of all, he ACTUALLY SAYS "HULK SMASH!!!!!" How awesome is that?!?!?! The final scene, with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Iron Man, was also really cool, although not unexpected. Might they actually do an Avengers movie? Me hopes yes!
Anyway, movie highly recommended. Go see it!
To say the least, Hulk exceeded my expectations, and was quite possibly the best superhero movie I've seen since Batman Begins (which, incidentally, is the other acclaimed comic retcon movie). It really seemed to do everything right. It was intelligent and well written, but wasn't self-indulgent. The movie also recognized that the Hulk back story isn't exceptionally complex, and as such didn't devote an unnecessary amount of time to the origin. Along with that, it stayed pretty true to the comic book story (as best as I could tell), unlike the Ang Lee version, in which I was left scratching my head wondering if ANYBODY associated with the film had ever even read one of the comics.
I should also note that the movie theater had a life-sized, awesome looking Hulk statue standing in the lobby. This was awesome, as it allowed us to take some dorkish photos with it. But they had the statue positioned immediately in front of the velvet rope, making it difficult to try to take photos from the front. This meant that despite managing to take a couple of front photos (shown with Neal), we were forced to take much more awkward pictures standing behind it (shown with me).
Anyway, if you click below, you can read my full, spoiler-ific comments about the film.
Like most successful comic book movies, Hulk managed to find the right combination of story, action, continuity, and humor. In fact, there were several literal laugh out loud moments (these immediately come to mind: (a) "Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry. No, that's not right." (b) "Where does she find these guys?" (c) "Is that all you got?" quickly followed by a Hulk foot to the chest, sliding the soldier across the park and crashing him into a tree. (d) Bruce Banner's "Oh SH--" reaction when he realized he might not Hulk-up). I also appreciated the "wink, wink" moments, like Bruce Banner thinking about wearing purple pants (a la the comic book character). Speaking of Bruce's pants, it was also cool getting an explanation to that whole "why don't his pants tear off" nitpick...he either wears pants that stretch or are several sizes too big.
This movie also managed to fix one of my big qualms with the last Hulk film: In the previous installment, neither Hulk or Bruce Banner ever did anything particularly heroic or selfless. Sure, there were select moments when Hulk/Bruce did something to protect Betty, but for the most part all of his actions were self-centered. While his actions in this movie were also motivated, for the most part, by saving and protecting Betty, there are several moments -- particularly at the end, when Bruce/Hulk does fight valiantly and heroically. Along with that, Bruce Banner as a character was much more likable, making him -- and Hulk, by proxy -- much easier to root for.
Finally, on a purely superficial level, Hulk looked freakin' awesome! And, coolest part of all, he ACTUALLY SAYS "HULK SMASH!!!!!" How awesome is that?!?!?! The final scene, with Robert Downey Jr. reprising his role as Iron Man, was also really cool, although not unexpected. Might they actually do an Avengers movie? Me hopes yes!
Anyway, movie highly recommended. Go see it!
1 comment:
hulk smash indeed!!!
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