First post in the new location, and all I can think to write about is the movie Incredible Hulk, which I saw last night.
I know, it’s not super insightful or anything, but I was thoroughly entertained and the more I think about the movie the more I feel like I truly enjoyed it. The movie was loud, intense, hard-hitting, fast and looked spectacular. It also boasts one of the best opening sequences of any superhero film, as the credits roll over top of a montage of images telling the origin story and setting up the character relationships. This was a brilliant touch and a great way to have the movie jump right into the action.
And what action it was! The entire first third of the film, with Banner hiding out in Brazil only to be tracked down by a Black Ops squad led by Tim Roth was stunning. The culmination of this footchase through the city, leading to the first reveal of the Hulk in the bottling factory, was played wonderfully with the Hulk being glimpsed through shadows and dusty air and muttering, “Leave me alone.”
The later fight scenes, both in Virginia and The Bronx, are some of the most fun and compelling fights in a long while. Watching Hulk fight off General Ross’ army squad was much more entertaining and much easier to follow than any of the hunk-of-metal versus hunk-of-metal scenes in Transformers, that’s for certain.
I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone that hasn’t seen it yet, but suffice to say the theater is the place to catch it. Don’t wait for DVD. Get to the theater soon and enjoy this movie. It needs to be seen with a loud sound system and a giant screen. And, the fanboy in me is totally thrilled for the way the new batch of Marvel films are building an on-screen universe. Iron Man and Hulk are clearly in the same celluloid world and there are plenty of references in both films to tie them together, some subtle (S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Stark tech littered throughout) and some not so subtle (the final scene of Hulk will make this clear).
See it. Soon.
