Monday 23 June 2008

Lost time - and "The Incredible Hulk"

So you click your fingers and two weeks are gone. That's just the way it works.

So, not much to report dear reader, other than that I am working hard on getting the corrections to my thesis done so that I can then think about taking a holiday. Updates as far as the 101/1001 is concerned are just that I have read a few more good books (one of which you can download freely from here and is well worth reading) and re-read some as well. I saw "The Incredible Hulk" on Friday.

My abridged review of "The Incredible Hulk":
"...Was that it?"

No, seriously, I jest. Seriously though, considering the acting talent involved and all of the things that were said in advance, it was disappointing. There's precedent for restarting a superhero film franchise and doing away with the former (Batman did it very well), but whatever you might think of Ang Lee's "Hulk" you can at least say that there was something of interest going on. For the most part I was a bit bored by "The Incredible Hulk" - the action scenes were interesting, and exciting to watch in places, but it never felt like the Hulk was really there. It felt like he (and the Abomination) were first and foremost special effects, and any considerations of them as characters was completely secondary. Not that the usually reliable cast (Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt) were much better. With the exception of Hurt, they all just seemed to plod along through it, and most of the attempts at humour fell flat (watch your sides split as Banner explains in broken Portugese that we wouldn't like him when he's hungry - or not).

Roll on "Hancock" and "The Dark Knight" - while "Iron Man" might not have been the best as an origin movie it had a smart script and terrific performances, not to mention fantastic visual effects that convinced you of the reality of Iron Man. It's a shame that one of the highlights of "The Incredible Hulk" is a cameo from Robert Downey Jr - he's amazing, and while it's neat that Marvel are moving into this "crossovers-are-allowed" mentality, it really shouldn't be the case that his appearance is a highpoint.

Anyway, time for me to sign off. In university now, but going to skedaddle now and head for home. Got a fair bit done this afternoon, but really wanted to do more. The painting of the office which was scheduled for a few weeks ago (and which I worked from home for a week to allow) is apparently imminent, so I may be working from home again soon.

Take it easy!

4 comments:

Latharia said...

We're hoping to go see it on Thursday ... but I'm not holding my breath about being impressed. I am, however, looking forward to the Dark Knight. And Wanted.

NathanRyder said...

Yeah, Wanted looks like it could be very good too. I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't make an all out adaptation of the source material - but I can see that it would be a very tricky thing to adapt totally faithfully. I think they might have the right balance, and the director has pulled off some amazing visuals in his previous films.

Bethany said...

I really enjoyed Iron Man - thank you for the good review of the Incredible Hulk, I think I will be skipping it while it is in the theaters.

kimz said...

you're cracking me up with the jesting. :P