Short Review: Don’t make me act, you wouldn’t like me when I’m acting.


Back in 2004 Ang Lee created a desperately boring film based on the Incredible Hulk comic books. Bruce Banner was a grim guy and the Hulk was just a think necked green lug who hit stuff. Fast forward to 2008 and now there’s an attempt to reboot the failed project. Sometimes when the body is on the slab and the heart goes silent, its best to keep the paddles away and let then thing just be dead already.

There’s plenty wrong with this movie. The characters are flat, the conflict stale and Edward Norton just isn’t right for the role. The reason he was so perfect for Fight Club is the reason he doesn’t work well with this film. He’s at his best he’s portraying an emasculated Everyman who is educated beyond his needs. When he tries to be heroic, or portrays someone with something to offer society (Red Dragon for example) he falls short. He’s a great actor and when he’s in a role that feeds his niche there is no one better. Here, he is misplaced.

For all of the shortcomings the failure of the film can be narrowed down to one simple thing. Screenwriter Zak Penn (The Last Action Hero) chose to not include a first act. Literally, he stuffs the content of what should be an engaging first act into the title sequence. While the opening credits role we see Bruce Banner (Norton) strapped to a chair in a lab. He winks to his love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) as an experiment begins. The experiment goes sour and Bruce turns into the Hulk. The Hulk then bashes everything and hurts Betty. Bruce is shown leaning over her hospital bed, wrought with guilt. He is then chased away by Betty’s father General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt). The title sequence over, the story picks up with Bruce living incognito abroad. Penn and company obviously felt that it was wasted time setting up characters, conflicts and history. This is a critical error that decimates the whole production. Without establishing the relationships between the major players, there is no depth to the conflicts as they move forward. Because of this missing segment the film is forced to lurch into second act conflicts with no explanation or warning. The script leaps from one inexplicable battle to the next sans context.

With the recent spate of superhero movies, I hope the failure of this franchise sets some executives back on the heels and slows other productions down. There was a time when talented people gathered together to make works of art, or at least memorable pieces of entertainment. This continuous stream of comic heroes updated with modern angst is getting not only tiring but just plain pathetic.


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Labels: Edward Norton, film, Liv Tyler, movie review, superhero, Tim Roth, William Hurt