Liv Tyler Hulk PicturesRoss, a classic "Hulk" character from the comic book's beginning in 1962, is Banner's fellow scientist and an ally in his quest to rid him of his lurking monster deep inside. The movie will unfold with Ross estranged from Banner (Norton), but with the pursuit of the Hulk heating up and Banner on the run trying to cure his condition, Ross finds herself swept back into his life.
Good news – that isn’t the case. It’s got plenty of action but it’s got decent characters. Characters that comics fans will recognise, not the usual altered-for-movie versions we’ve often been fed. It’s actually got a story; it has violence, battles and effects but it has some heart, it has some romance, it elicits sympathy for Banner/Hulk and his predicament. In short its as good as the recent Iron Man (perhaps even better) – it’s a summer blockbuster, but its one with some style and integrity to the source comics. Hulk may smash, but he also rocks. That’s the short, spoiler-free version – if you want to go and see it without knowing any more other than its damned good and worth seeing, stop reading now. Not that I’ll blow any big spoilers, but I don’t want to hint at something some folks might not want to know before they catch it. Rest of you still with me? Okay, let’s move on.
My initial ambivalence towards this second Hulk movie started to melt away pretty much from the get-go – the opening credits fill in a bit of back story to Bruce Banner’s accident for those who weren’t familiar with the first flick. Which is maybe what you might expect, but the nice thing is in the details – several rapid sequences in these opening flashbacks reference the opening credits of the old 70s Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno TV Hulk series, which, however cheesy it might be now, a lot of us have fond memories of (some of the changes also homage the show – close-up of Banner’s eyes lit up as the rest of the face is in shadow, the eyes going green; it could almost be Bill Bixby). Little details like that may skip by the casual cinema goer, but to the comics geek they show that the film-makers are determined to stay respectful to the source and history of the character, at least as much as they can in a different medium.
Good news – that isn’t the case. It’s got plenty of action but it’s got decent characters. Characters that comics fans will recognise, not the usual altered-for-movie versions we’ve often been fed. It’s actually got a story; it has violence, battles and effects but it has some heart, it has some romance, it elicits sympathy for Banner/Hulk and his predicament. In short its as good as the recent Iron Man (perhaps even better) – it’s a summer blockbuster, but its one with some style and integrity to the source comics. Hulk may smash, but he also rocks. That’s the short, spoiler-free version – if you want to go and see it without knowing any more other than its damned good and worth seeing, stop reading now. Not that I’ll blow any big spoilers, but I don’t want to hint at something some folks might not want to know before they catch it. Rest of you still with me? Okay, let’s move on.
My initial ambivalence towards this second Hulk movie started to melt away pretty much from the get-go – the opening credits fill in a bit of back story to Bruce Banner’s accident for those who weren’t familiar with the first flick. Which is maybe what you might expect, but the nice thing is in the details – several rapid sequences in these opening flashbacks reference the opening credits of the old 70s Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno TV Hulk series, which, however cheesy it might be now, a lot of us have fond memories of (some of the changes also homage the show – close-up of Banner’s eyes lit up as the rest of the face is in shadow, the eyes going green; it could almost be Bill Bixby). Little details like that may skip by the casual cinema goer, but to the comics geek they show that the film-makers are determined to stay respectful to the source and history of the character, at least as much as they can in a different medium.
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