I suppose I'll start with the previews. Tropic Thunder looks fun, nothing else really noteworthy other than Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which our audience met with a resounding "meh".
Could it be that, in an audience full of comic fans, not one single person could bring themselves to care about another Star Wars film? Are we so inured? Granted, it's animated. Granted, it ties into a cartoon series. I'm of the opinion that the prequels would have been a lot more appropriate in similar format, but whatever.
On to the film.
The Incredible Hulk is a slice of really good pie. It's not a meal. It's not ultimately fulfilling. But it's very tasty, and if you're in the mood for pie, accept no substitute. From start to finish it's enjoyable, really good if not stellar. The directing was very decent, along with the cinematography (an opening shot of Brazil was simply breathtaking). The acting was above-par, given the material (it's not like any of the characters are particularly deep or multi-faceted). Liv Tyler impressed me especially, since she is a the lynch-pin holding several storylines together. Not a great deal to work with, but she sells it. William Hurt was adequate, as was Tim Roth. As for Edward Norton... well, he gave his usual sublime, thoughtful portrayal.
There's really not much to say about the story, so I'll describe it in broad swaths. Banner is calculating and clever, having spent years on the run, studying Eastern anger-management techniques. The Hulk is a force, an unrelenting reactionary animal. For the most part, the characters are undefined--one of the virtues of this Hulk is its lack of an origin story. Well, minor origin story. We get a montage under the opening credits that points at the three main characters and labels them "good guy", "bad guy" and "love interest". Everyone seems to come into the movie mid-stride, without bothering to explain themselves, and I enjoy that sort of brevity, it gives depth to the artificial world created by the film.
And something tells me that the aforementioned world-creation is Marvel's ultimate goal. Now that they've started making films by themselves, it looks like they're intent on developing an Avengers-related overarching continuity, and I find that intriguing. Both The Incredible Hulk and last month's Iron Man set up the upcoming Avengers film (even though it's two years off). It certainly provides some justification for revamping the franchise so quickly after Ang Lee's less-entertaining-but-somehow-more-credible Hulk.
And more than anything else, the movie knows that it's a comic book. It's quick, flashy, violent, chaste (humorously so, in a way that makes me suddenly empathize with Bruce Banner) and provides just enough grounding in reality to feel more believable than Indiana Jones 4. So I wonder what Marvel's going to do next in terms of revitalizing spent franchises with the cunning addition of adjectives. The Uncanny X-Men (after Brett Ratner's X3 terd) or The Amazing Spider-Man 4 (After Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 terd), or Daredevil, the Man Without Fear (or eyesight, or excessively wooden dialogue).
End note: not as good as Iron Man, but still quite fun. Enjoy the cameos, keep an eye out for Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno (sp?) and don't bother staying after the credits--there's no stinger in this one.
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