tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post7415474764678507705..comments2023-11-12T17:42:42.313-08:00Comments on The Bad Genious: THE INCREDIBLE HULK: The Movie: The ReviewThe Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13882212598013962066noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post-36017974568823585302008-06-20T14:42:00.000-07:002008-06-20T14:42:00.000-07:00I too really liked Liv Tyler as Betty, Greg. Sure...I too really liked Liv Tyler as Betty, Greg. Sure they downplayed her nymphomania (though props, they nodded to it), but her quiet, verge of tears demeanor was pitch-perfect for the movie. (What do I know though? I liked Katie Holmes in BATMAN BEGINS.)Jon Quixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11367011885259224656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post-160662653095584362008-06-19T20:27:00.000-07:002008-06-19T20:27:00.000-07:00I LOVED it. So help me, I loved it. In fact, I t...I LOVED it. So help me, I loved it. In fact, I thought it was better than IRON MAN: I found the action scenes more gripping, and perhaps more importantly, I found the relationships more engaging.<BR/><BR/>Translation: I dug the two big monsters beating the crap out of each other, and I swooned at the romance. And Greg is a big girl. <BR/><BR/>Let's look at a small scene, where Banner says goodnight to Betty at her house when she puts him up for the night. Here he is, finally reunited with the love of his life, so much to say, so much longing for so long, and yet the mandate is still to protect her at all costs, and yet here he is, putting her in jeopardy. He's at war with himself here, and in the end, there's nothing he can say. Meanwhile, Betty wants him to say <I>anything</I>. I thought so much was conveyed with that scene, and with such little dialogue, the actors really gave more than what was on the page. <BR/><BR/>And there are moments like that throughout the movie, and not just with Norton and Tyler, but with the rest of the cast too. Ross <B>was</B> written 2-dimensionally -- it would have been nice if he'd been giving a scene that made him out to be more than a standard military jagoff, and perhaps someone standing up to be <I>responsible</I> for the Hulk -- but Hurt sold it all the same. <BR/><BR/>And I've been reading a lot of flack thrown towards Liv Tyler for giving a one-note performance, so let me underline this: I disagree. She brought every ounce of compassion and love that the role needed. Like Norton, there was a lot going on through her face, through her gestures, and I really believed in her as a character. When she ran outside the pizza place desperate for Banner, I felt something there.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of characters:<BR/><BR/><B>I care that Hulk is largely devoid of personality and charm. [...] You might remember him from King Kong. And I don't really care about him too much.</B><BR/><BR/>I think you might be being a little harsh here. True, I haven't read 200+ Hulk comics in two weeks; I've read a handful plus watched the TV show. But in a lot of ways, isn't the Hulk kinda like King Kong, only smaller, green, and talks? <BR/><BR/>And I think that last item might be where the deficit really is: the Hulk really doesn't talk. I think if he'd maintained the same personality he does in the movie, but maybe verbalized a bit more, you might have been happier about things. Aside from that, I don't see too much movie Hulk versus comic Hulk difference.<BR/><BR/>I saw an arc for the Hulk character in the story as well: he begins the story as a force of nature, we see what appears to be him <I>learning</I>, and by the end, he's a hero. That's something that the Ang Lee version didn't get close to.<BR/><BR/>So again, big ups from Greggers for INCREDIBLE HULK. And I know a lot of people say this about Ang Lee's version (and so far, it hasn't really come to pass), but I think it will hold here: <B>History will be kind to this movie.</B> Right now, it's not only fighting with the stink of the Lee version, but also with the initial adrenaline wake of IRON MAN. Down the line, perhaps in the glow of a TV screen, we'll discover that it holds up even better than we might have initially expected.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05883759698579332691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post-51235764826367113482008-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:002008-06-16T11:51:00.000-07:00I will say that they did do something with the Hul...I will say that they did <I>do something</I> with the Hulk they depicted. There's an actual character arc, as both Betty and Banner realize that he's still in there when he's the Hulk, and that the Hulk is not quite the out and out menace that both he and the army think he is. <BR/><BR/>Thus, at the beginning of the movie, Banner is terrified of the Hulk, trying to avoid transforming into him, trying to cure himself. By the end of the movie, he uses the Hulk to stop the Abomination. And there's a hint afterwards that he's starting to enjoy the transformation.<BR/><BR/>It is interesting and it's clear that they put consideration and thought into it. Is it worth sacrificing the Hulk's personality so that they could have that arc, or would it have been impossible to have the Hulk with a personality AND still maintain that arc? I don't think so.Jon Quixotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11367011885259224656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post-16243262669830580922008-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:002008-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00After reading Jon's article, I actually sort of wa...After reading Jon's article, I actually sort of want to see the Hulk more, despite the slightly mixed review. I think that Jon's got an interesting point about how just subtle differences can really tweak who the Hulk is.The Generalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13882212598013962066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2892865276755822178.post-25480886708865520802008-06-14T16:32:00.000-07:002008-06-14T16:32:00.000-07:00As far as an overall "soullessness" to Incredible ...As far as an overall "soullessness" to <I>Incredible Hulk</I>, I have to agree with you. None of it quite connected. I can't quite place my finger on any one thing though.<BR/><BR/>Maybe it was due to my inability to hear Edward Norton as anyone but The Narrator in <I>Fight Club</I> when he was talking about "There are aspects of my personality that I can't control. And when I lose control, it's very dangerous to be around me" for two hours.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01471971360749802047noreply@blogger.com