It's Not Easy Being Green

The jolly green giant returns in another full-fledged movie with stronger, more convincing effects and a more central story that gives the feeling of a solid punch to the gut.

Hulk smash.

You can never get tired of that little turn of phrase. Even if the grammar is pretty bad. But it wouldn’t be any surprise if young kids are using that line when playing in their yard.

The Incredible Hulk, as it is titled, is a smashingly good film. Much of it relies on the linear narration that gives the story more flow than its predecessor does. This film feels darker, less comic-book oriented as if it is grittier. As if the entire film is shot on location. It has that kind of feeling.

There’s another kind of feeling. The one where you are about to get angry as you get a knot in your gut that’s ready to bust wide open. It’s hundredfold worse when your buttons start to pop off and your arms take on an emerald polish look. Then you realize you’re pretty ugly on the inside. The idea of the Hulk is a reworking of the Mr. Hyde story where the worst of humanity is trapped inside one’s soul before it is unleashed in a monstrosity form.

The film takes on this idea as center stage. The notion that the inner being can be provoked through anger, tapping into the most primal, ancient emotions. Thanks to a huge dose of radioactive gamma rays, scientist Bruce Banner gets a few random shots of this. Those moments are called “incident” according to the film.

The only thing well missed, for myself, is the central idea of the family which was a huge hook for me in the previous film. The notion of the daughter, her father General Ross and Bruce Banner forms a kind of soap opera triangle which really works for me. The film didn’t spare enough time for this central idea. Such a pity. It makes for a good opportunity to explore new emotions between three souls who are all suffering in their own miserable ways. Bruce Banner and his loneliness. The daughter who felt the desire for the only man she loved. And her father who is a military brute who wishes to take back his stolen secrets.

But it’s a trivial flaw that doesn’t depart from the entire narration of the film.

And what of the rest of the film?

Hulk done good.

It is very fast moving with plenty of snapping, quirky turns of dialogue by writer Zak Penn. There isn’t so much of the comic book overtones here. It feels more like an action thriller than the last one. It has a sure-fire pacing from director Louis Leterrier (who hated the first film version) that makes it feel shorter than the actual length is at one hour and fifty minutes.

Much of it contributes to the enormous acting talents of the trio of main characters: Ed Norton who gives a sympathetic portrayal of a doomed man looking for a way to destroy the monster in him. Norton is brooding, funny and has a sliver of desperation about him that makes him a pretty good Bruce Banner.

Also deserving of notion is the lovely Liv Tyler who lends a sympathetic ear to Banner and the awful soul that lingers inside him like a fiery blackness. She knows loving this man could send her down to a bottomless pit of hurt. Yet she does so. I don’t know what it is about her. She has a foreign beauty about her that is both exotic and exciting. She is a joy to watch.

Many nods to William Hurt who has transformed himself a military force who is both stubborn and relentless, recalling the reckless behavior of the Bush administration. You can either hate or love Hurt in this role. His piercing eyes hide much pain also as he plows through the film with a great presence. Also there’s a great appearance of Robert Downey Jr. as his alter ego Iron Man who sets up very nearly another possible movie. He breathes so much new life into the film with his easy charm. He suggests to sit down, shut up and listen.

“I’ve heard you got a little problem and I’d like to help,” Iron Man says towards the end of the film. It’s a great lead-in, leaving audiences another discovery: that some movies can have a shared universe. I’m surprised no one has used Tobey McGuire as Peter Parker in some of these movies.

The only thing lacking for it is the monster fight another monster in a Godzilla styled trade-off in the film’s finale. It’s not bad. But it feels a little forced and a bit silly. But none of it lowers the credibility of film’s basic notion. That a lone man travels on his own road that could lead to either salvation or destruction. Most likely the latter.

Something like this could only get worse.

It’s good to know that the Hulk is now in capable hands. And it doesn’t go away with such high-headedness that you forget those who have come before. If you look quickly, you can see cameos made by Lou Ferrigno and Bill Bixby from the original series created by Kenneth Johnson in the late seventies. Even the appearance of Stan Lee somehow figures into the plotline.

Venture further into the darkest part of the human heart if you care to. Such a discovery of self-conflict remains the key to Banner’s most complex personality. Peeling away the layers of his humanity leaves open the raw, dangerous mechanisms for anger. And that anger could explode at any passionate moment.

It's something most people can relate to in their daily lives. But the film points further that there’s always a way to control it. And that is something Banner hopes to find in his own lifetime.