The Incredible Hulk

[June 11th, 2008]

“Hulk smash!” When adapting Marvel Comics’ not-so-jolly green giant, we’re not talking Citizen Kane. But five years ago, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee made Hulk go tits-up by assuming salivating hordes of comic book fanatics wouldn’t notice that he turned Bruce Banner’s Gamma-ray-induced struggle with his inner monster into an arty chick flick. Hulk smashed. Hulk struggled with existential ponderings. Hulk sucked.

Welcome to the age of Marvel Studios’ independence. This summer marks the debut of Marvel’s autonomous movie offshoot with a duo of unlikely movies—the electric, box-office-defying Iron Man and now The Incredible Hulk, which pretends Lee’s film never existed and subs the excellent Edward Norton for Eric Bana as Banner.

But why? Lee’s Hulk came out a mere five years ago, and there’s barely been time for fans to get the taste out of their mouths. Christopher Nolan gave us eight years to forget Batman & Robin’s sequins-and-nipples atrocities before Batman Begins. Superman got a 19-year buffer between The Quest for Peace and Superman Returns, and The Punisher waited 14 years between Dolph Lundgren’s 1990 debacle and the 2004 Thomas Jane misfire.

Hulk smash? Indeed. The Incredible Hulk is a barrage of razzle-dazzle. Taking a cue from the comics and the 1970s TV show (Lou Ferrigno even voices the new Hulk, and has a cameo), director Louis Leterrier’s movie follows a familiar formula. Banner’s living off the grid in Brazil, trying to cure himself between mean and green “incidents.” Government officials led by a snarling general (William Hurt, a four-star ham) periodically catch up with him and Bourne-like chases ensue. Banner gets pissed, turns green and breaks some shit. Lather, rinse, repeat until a final, drawn-out battle with an equally strong monstrosity played by a seething Tim Roth.

The Incredible Hulk trumps its precursor for popcorn thrills, and is most effective when Norton’s human and maintaining his heart rate while dodging tranquilizer darts or getting hot and bothered by Betty (Liv Tyler). But when Banner turns green, the film hiccups. The monster intermittently looks breathtakingly real, like a sculpture carved from Irish Spring. But in the hullabaloo to reclaim Hulk, the film forgets to have fun. There’s some spectacular action—a battle on a college campus is pitch perfect—but there’s little joy, just brooding between explosions.

You can’t blame Marvel for reclaiming its heroes. Hulk and Punisher (itself being re-Marvelized this winter—four years after Jane) must have been as painful for Stan Lee as for fans. With Marvel behind the wheel, we get comic-book films by and for comic-book fans, complete with character crossovers (a cameo by a certain iron-clad weapons dealer is sure to make fanboys squirt) and upcoming super-team flicks such as The Avengers. But compared with Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk is underwhelming, and proves even the most primal setup—the personification of our rage and its ability to toss trucks at helicopters—will buckle when taken too seriously. Hulk need to lighten up. PG-13.