Holli Rausch

The Movie Club decided to see The Hulk on Friday. (This does not replace TMC’s Tuesday meeting.) We were invited, via Twitter , by a former L&S intern and friend of Miles’s (internet friend of mine), Mike Billeter . Since The Movie Club was going to see it anyway, we decided to attend. It’s probably best we saw it with him (and another L&S coworker, Wade) because he’s way into comics. At least, he has been since I’ve known him. (That’s a joke, he has been a comic nerd for much longer.) And he explained a lot of things and kind of gave the movie a bit more depth – though it really didn’t need it. We intended to see it at the Carmike because it has DLP and we’ve decided DLP is the best thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, they were having technical problems with the hard drive (in the projector?) so we went to the more expensive (and cleaner) Century. We ended up standing in a line while waiting for the previous showing to clear out and have the theater clean. The only other movie I’ve had to wait in a line for was Pirates of the Caribbean 2 . Nice. Turns out, DLP is a lot better than I thought. You probably wouldn’t notice unless you have something to compare it to, but if you ever go to see a movie, especially action, and you have the choice to see it in a DLP theater (and the showtimes are similar) then always always ALWAYS choose the DLP theater. That’s my blurb on that.

The opening titles is a very vague sequence that I assume is intended to give back story and catch people up as to where we’re at in the story. For me, it was uber-confusing. Luckily, my questions from what was going on in the sequence were each answered at some point in the movie. I think it’s safe to say that overall, I would have been better off if I knew anything about the comics. In any case, it wasn’t what I would call an action movie. While there *was* "violence", it certainly wasn’t focused on that and that’s what makes these movies interesting. The plot, was really good – which I didn’t expect to be the case, and I was often pleasantly surprised by the turn of events throughout the story. Marvel Studios has their finger on something here and I know Miles and I plan to attend all future Marvel Studios productions. They’ve done a really great job of setting up for future movies and future characters.

The acting was excellent. Edward Norton (playing Bruce Banner/Hulk) was an excellent choice. He seemed so perfect, to a non-comic enthusiast, because he was this small unassuming man, who looks like he can’t hurt a fly. Even to the point right before he transforms, he’s in this very calm state and it was really great to watch him work. Such a different front-man from the former Hulk, Lou Ferrigno who made a special appearance in this movie. (I was proud of myself for recognizing him before Miles. I give thanks to King of Queens for that catch.) While looking up how to spell his name on IMDB , I found he also played the voice of the Hulk. Which reminds me, I wish the Hulks were entirely non-verbal, though Miles did convince me as to why they might conceivably have the dialogue going. I also was a fan of the segmented flashbacks Bruce experiences after transforming back to his normal self.

Liv Tyler did a great job with her character, Betty Ross. I don’t know if this is what she always looks like, but it she often looked like she was on the verge of tears and had chapped lips. I’m not complaining, I liked it, whether intended or not. It gave her sort of a innocence that most 30-something people don’t have. Also, the romance between Ross and Banner was cute, not "sexy" as portrayed in the trailers, which I found to be very refreshing. I enjoyed several scenes between the two characters.

The visual effects could have been better in my opinion. My biggest complaint is that when any of the animated objects (non-human and non-Hulk) were on screen, it looked like video game quality. The Hulks were probably as realistic looking as technology allows right now, but I *know* photo realistic animated helicopters exist in other movies and so I wish they had been better quality. Part of the movie is set in a city in Brazil, which was especially neat, not just because visually the shots of the city were amazing, but because
my sister will be going there in a month and so it made me all jealous inside. I hope she gets to run on rooftops like Edward Norton.

Even though some commercials for the movie are saying "Just as good as Iron Man ", but don’t be fooled, this movie is not "just as good" – see my star rating on both posts for proof! But it’s at a similar level. You can’t compare the two fairly, because the characters are so different, resulting in movies that are entirely different. Tony Stark chooses to become a superhero. And he’s got cool hardware because he’s rich so there’s a lot more things going on that really wouldn’t make sense to do similar things in this movie. Plus Tony Stark’s personality is just fun to observe. Bruce Banner is a different character with different struggles and his flashiness is very minimal if at all, right down to his laptop computer. But his story is just as interesting. He’s more in torment than enjoying himself because what he’s experiencing he didn’t choose.

Overall, if you saw Iron Man , you’ll want to see The Incredible Hulk . If you want to see any future Marvel Studios movies ever made, you’ll want to see both.

I give The Incredible Hulk a 4.5 out of 5 stars.