ViewGuide

Created Jun 26, 2008 01:32AM PST • Edited May 30, 2013 12:03AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Very Good 3.5

   Marvel follows its lead-off ‘08 home run (Iron Man) with a stand-up double. Hulk wasn’t one of my favorite Marvel characters, yet this movie is plenty entertaining, with several marvelous scenes, a few laughs and plenty of fanboy thrills.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Edward Norton – a serious actor if ever there was one – ably plays put-upon scientist Bruce Banner.

   Liv Tyler is so-so as his love interest, but then she’s always so-so.

   William Hurt is a revelation as Gen. Thunderbolt. His bushy mustache transforms his face into a tougher, more square-jawed visage than ever before. Rip snorting his way through the movie, he’s a great bad guy in the JJ Jameson tradition.

   And how about Lou Ferrigno in the Security Guard cameo? Since he’s sitting down, his Mr. Universe body doesn’t reveal itself right away, but his Mike Tyson voice is unmistakable. It’s a sweet moment for kids like me who grew up with him and Bill Bixby as the original live-action Hulk and Banner.

5. Male Stars Really Great 4.5

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Really Great 4.5

10. Film

    Good 3.0

    For me, the Hulk is best in small doses. Marvel superheros are interesting because of their emotional complexity, and not just when in alter-ego form. Not so with the Hulk. The big lug is basically a riled up dog, dangerous but predictable.

    Plus, the fact that the Army serves as his foil is a bummer. The movie plays out like a left wing fantasy of the Patriot Act gone wild, with a misguided US Army killing and being killed by other Americans. Yes, its just a comik movie, but one that veers badly from Marvel’s generally patriotic tradition.

11. Direction Great 4.0

    Terrific opening scene in a Brazilian favela (hillside slum), with the camera flying up, up, up an endless warren of shacks until we finally come upon our man Banner sitting at the highest point.

12. Play Good 3.0

13. Music Good 3.0

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5

    So let’s deal with the matter of the Hulk’s looks. Real? No. Perhaps somewhat more so than the 2003 version, but that’s like saying Keith Richards is uglier than Mick Jagger. When both specimens are so extreme, who cares if one is more outrageous than the other? In comparison to the Hulk: Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman, even Hell Boy, are naturalistic.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.5

    Silly comik violence.

17. Sex Innocent 1.4

18. Violence Fierce 1.9

19. Rudeness Polite 1.3

21. Reality

    Fantasy 4.3

    Unlike the attractive restraint of Iron Man, this movie requires considerable willingness to sustain suspension of disbelief.

22. Circumstantial Surreal 3.0

23. Biological Fantasy 5.0

    Why is he impervious to bullets?

24. Physical Fantasy 5.0

    As with most superhero movies, Conservation of Energy is honored in the breach. Bruce Banner goes from mid-sized man to monster huge, rips apart police cars and tosses buses, runs from Rio to Mexico (!!!), then wakes up with little more than a hangover. That’s one hell of an energy drink he must’ve swallowed. Bartender, I’ll have one of those Red Bulls in the glowing green can…