The Incredible Hulk (2008)

A Failed Attempt vs. No Attempt

I must say I'm not really a fan of Ang Lee's Hulk, which was released 5 years before the studios decided to allow a remake (or a sequel?) in order to erase from memory all the traces of the original. Lee's film was a double disappointment for me because a) it didn't work well as a Hulk adaptation and b) it marked the major failure of a talented director, whom I first got to like with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (a name that was frequently spelled in Hulk's marketing campaign). Had I known a film like The Incredible Hulk was on the way, I would have been much nicer to Asian auteur's adaptation.

All this vaguely resembles a fairy tale of some sort...

Centuries ago, in an empire far far away, Dark Lord Ang Lee was planning to use, for his evil purposes, the treasure of the common people: a shiny green piece of artifact, a statuette commonly known by the townsfolk as Hulk. Previously, the gem belonged to the venerable lords at Castle Marvel, and inspired sympathy as well as admiration among the common villagers. Lord Lee deceived all these people with his promises for a bigger and more glorious statuette; and managed to get his long, pointy fingers all over it. Some called his plan a character study, some a different sort of family drama, while others were convinced that it was pure evil. Marvelian lords on the other hand, were slaves to their passion for millions of gold coins that a bigger and better statue would bring, so they gleefully accepted. No one was in any serious doubt, since only a year ago, Spider Man had proved to be extremely profitable. This time though, the result was a scandal. When it was erected in the town square and was brought into the attention of the suspicious townsfolk, no one was satisfied to see unmistakable dark spots on their beloved malachite statuette. So began the dark years, where no one wanted to work for the lords of Marvel anymore, nor pay taxes, as they felt deceived and robbed. Years of famine, plague and hatret was to follow.


Enter the honorable French knight Leterrier, who swears before the high council of hundred-million-dollar box offices to win back the villagers and clear the Marvel's name of this blasphemy. The plan is quite straightforward and formulated: Replacing Lee's dark magic with something simpler, shinier and more appealing to the eye (Hence, 'The Incredible Hulk' instead of a simple 'Hulk'). He states that he has to work with the best people in this mission; and that Jason Statham will not be sufficient this time. Therefore, Honorable Cavaliers Edward Norton and Tim Roth; Her Grace Lady Tyler and High Chevalier William Hurt will be joining in on his mission to defeat Lord Lee (while he's busy working on his next evil plan) and save the day.

Judging by the box office numbers and the overall praise The Incredible Hulk appears to be receiving, Leterrier seems to have reached his goal. Look at all those townsfolk cheering! It might be the best time for a promotion (or, in other words, more sequels).


Among the many reviews I have read on the internet and the opinions of many of my friends, I got the impression that an overwhelming majority seems to prefer The Incredible Hulk over its predecessor. Remembering how much I was disappointed with Hulk, I am inclined to sympathize. Letterier attends to the wounds of Hulk-lovers with the deceptive care of Grima Wormtongue; and I can understand anyone finding comfort in his soothing action sequences and gentle CGI treatments. I, for one, think that Ang Lee's film was a failed attempt to delve into depths of superficial-looking Hulk story and come up with an original material. But at least it was an attempt, unlike the recent film which merely copy-pastes several certified formulas that tend to work in most action films, into an inelaborate mess (or maybe a technical collage). In fact, I think I might have cracked the secret of The Incredible Hulk and, consequently, of making a successful blockbuster adapted from a comic book. First, you should have the essential components:

* A couple of James Bond style chase scenes to increase adrenaline
* King Kong style city-destroyed-by-monster sequences for a feeling of grandeur
* A Godzilla style ultimate fight for an appropriate climatic finale (which, by the way, closely resembles any fight between Popeye and Bluto, where Liv Tyler is not Olive Oyl but rather the spinach that gives Hulk the strength he requires to defeat his enemies)
* Jaws style increased suspense and tension - A 'monster' that isn't fully revealed until halfway through the film
* A cheesy 'barriers between lovers' concept or a few 'they can't even make love, how sad' sequences for emotional impact
* Some totally unnecessary 'Oh my god! Is Bruce Banner dead now?' suspense scenes for increased excitement.


Pour all these ingredients into a pot and start cooking. The dosages are not really important, because it's allright even if everything is totally arbitrary. The only thing you have to manage is to somehow be able to get mediocre performances from every single actor/actress that is involved in the production, whose skills far outreach what you get to watch in this film. Throw in a couple of logical errors and violations of common sense to spice things up and you are almost done. Cook over small fire until the monster turns green. Serve cold with a Tony Stark cameo.

What's so great about this recipe is the fact that it doesn't require any genuine time or effort on your side. You can cook 'great' meals for everyone in just a couple of minutes. You don't need to have any intellectual complexity or any finesse in making action films; because you always have the same excuse: "This is the way to make a blockbuster comic book adaptation - you have to aim for fun and nothing else." I disagree. There is an art even to making a mindless action flick, of which Raiders of the Lost Ark is an ultimate example. Leterrier runs screaming away from even the idea of sophistication, and strips Hulk from every interesting detail regarding the characters; leaving nothing but a dull hide-chase-fight-romance-hide-chase-fight-romance vicious circle with a couple of fancy scientific details thrown in between. Zack Snyder did the same thing with 300, but thanks to Frank Miller's vision and talents, his film was stylized enough that its simplicity did not stand out. Whatever The Crow lost because of its somewhat ordinary story, it made up with his extremely dense Gothic atmosphere. A History of Violence was enjoying great performances from highly-talented actors such as Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Maria Bello and, once again, William Hurt. For The Incredible Hulk, well... you don't really have anything to hold onto.


Ang Lee's extremely dark interpretation which centers more on the human aspects rather than the monster and the action sequences might not be the best thing to do with Hulk; but Letterier's version makes everything worse. A certain visual style and character should be a central element when adapting from a medium which is solely based on visual quality. If Lee was able to achieve nothing, he at least made a film which was marked with stylized transitions between scenes and meaningful as well as restrained use of CGI. He was talking with his own voice and executing his own vision when he was transferring the story of a green giant into a Freudian family drama. To me, a film's loyalty to the original material it was adapted from is irrelevant when discussing how successful it is - it should be in the judgement of the director what to add and what to leave out based on his/her understanding of cinema as well as the weaknesses & strengths of the base material. No work is holy and therefore every work is open to question - deviations and alterations do not automatically create flaws. And the dynamics between Bruce Banner and his father, both as humans and as superhuman rivals, are really worth a peek. True, Hulk's tone and pacing were not set properly, which is another central element in comic book adaptations, but at least it had the sparkles that failed to turn into flames whereas The Incredible Hulk has nothing. Whoever compaining about the Hulk-Dogs in the first film should have a better look at the 'Blonsky Creature' and try to decide which one looks more ridiculous.


Fletch of the Blog Cabins asks: "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - will you take me back?". In response to that, I will say this: "I'm sorry Ang Lee, will you take me back?"

3/10

P.S: My favorite review of The Incredible Hulk so far was the review in The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw. Have a look, and you'll see what I mean. And for those who are curious what we as the minority are able to find so precious in the previous Hulk, here is 'Wild, Weird and Wonderful: Appreciating Ang Lee's Hulk' by Rob Humanick of The Projection Booth.