Kris tells us why it’ll be “Incredible”!
By Kris Ashton
I watched the TV show, I watched the cartoons (including the dodgy one from the ’60s), I bought about a million Incredible Hulk comics. I love The Hulk. But Ang Lee’s version of him? Not so much.
So when I heard the Marvel franchise would be restarted, I was curious. Then as more and more details were released, I began to get excited. However, in a recent Blockbuster poll where users were asked what 2008 big-budget film they were most looking forward to, ”The Incredible Hulk” came dead last with a measly one percent of the vote – even less than ”Speed Racer”.
This is a travesty! Here are five reasons why people should give the big guy a second chance…
1. The cast.
Film history is rife with mouth-watering casts assembled for over-budgeted, undercooked turkeys – but ”The Incredible Hulk” is a little different. When it first started out, it appeared this ‘rebooting’ of the Marvel franchise would be a low-budget actioner and the big question was whether Eric Bana would return as his phonetic namesake. But after Edward Norton came on board and took a red pen to Zak Penn’s script, the whole energy surrounding the movie changed. The cast list began to fill out with consummate actors: Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross and Tim Roth as one of the villains, Emily Blonsky. These are not people known for taking on popcorn roles. The Incredible Hulk has a reported budget of $125 million, but there’s not a Tom Cruise or Will Smith in sight. So while this rebooted Hulk will dial up the action, its cast list suggests it will not dial down the storyline or characterisation. In fact, we know it won’t – see reason number four.
2. Robert Downey Jr has a cameo.
Yeah, we know this is just a cross-promotional marketing gimmick that lets ”The Incredible Hulk” ride the wave of enthusiasm surrounding ”Iron Man” since its jaw-dropping teaser trailer hit the internet last year. But what the hell – Robert Downey Jr brings class to any movie and just seeing him and Ed Norton on screen together will alone be worth the price of admission.
3. Louis Leterrier is the director.
Three capital letters and a question mark probably flashed up in your head: WTF? But we’re serious. Leterrier is a good director – it’s just that the scripts for most of his movies so far have been, well, dreadful. But it’s easy to forget he was the man behind The Transporter (2002), the most inventive martial arts film since the early 1990s. Yeah, yeah, Corey Yuen had more to do with the action side of events, but it still had a slick overall look – and how cool was Jason Statham? We reckon Leterrier is an excellent choice to helm a comic book movie adaptation.
4. The script is a winner.
We were lucky enough to get a gander at Ed Norton’s first draft script last year, and we can tell you it’s the bomb. No doubt it’s been altered considerably since May 2007, but even then it had all the right ingredients – good dialogue, interesting characters, a few in-jokes … and most importantly, a heapin’ helpin’ of Hulky action. Oh, and there are no giant dogs and the Green Goliath doesn’t sneeze once.
5. It’s been made with fans in mind.
Ang Lee wanted to make a psychological drama that just happens to feature a guy who turns into a gigantic green freak. Louis Leterrier wants to make an action movie that just happens to have a psychological subtext. We don’t need to tell you which version Hulk fans would prefer. It also features the two greatest ever foes from the ”Incredible Hulk” comics: Emily Blonsky, AKA The Abomination and Samuel Sterns, AKA The Leader. (The Absorbing Man is also right up there, but the less said about his miserable handling in Hulk, the better.
Those who enjoyed the ’70s TV show have also been catered for, as this recently released still image testifies. It’s clear Norton and Leterrier know their Hulk history.
