The Incredible Hulk

I took my daughter, young Galadriel Tanqueray Onassis, to see The Incredible Hulk today. She used to complain about me dragging her to super hero movies, but I think Iron Man was the turning point for her.

She was really looking forward to seeing the Hulk and is also looking forward to The Dark Knight.

I can review this movie with just two words.

HULK SMASH!

This was everything you could want from a Hulk movie. Forget about all of that Ang Lee/Eric Bana/Nick Nolte/hulk-dogs crap. This is the balls. Everything that Hulk got wrong, The Incredible Hulk has set right.

I won't go into a lot of minutia trying to be a movie critic. That's not my thing. I'll just toss out some of the things that delighted me.

William Hurt as General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross.


I'm starting to like William Hurt again. I had pretty much written him off after Lost In Space. But I started liking him again after History of Violence. He totally sells General Ross at every level. I think he does a better job potraying General Ross than even the comics did.

Ed Norton is a better Bruce Banner than Eric Bana.

The whole thing worked for me. The crossovers to other franchises with the Stark Industries weaponry and the electronic eavesdropping by S.H.I.E.L.D.

I am just digging the shit out this Cinematic Marvel Universe that is being created, which seems to be mining the Marvel ULTIMATES story line.

MINOR SPOILERS!

I loved the scene between Tony Stark and General Ross. I also love that they don't make you wait until the end of the credits for it.

The events in the movie are over and General Ross is sitting at a bar tossing down back-to-back tumblers of bourbon telling the bartender to "fill 'er up" as soon as the glass hits the bar.

In walks Tony Stark making comments about the stench of stale beer and failure.

Stark: "I hear you have an unusual problem."

Ross (with an pricelessly ironic expression on his face): "You should talk!"



Now, was this a battered General Ross, exhausted from dealing with the whole Hulk/Abomination thing being Ironic to Tony Stark about his Iron Man situation?

Or was this a chain-drinking, bourbon-swilling General Ross being snarky to Robert Downey, Jr.?

It works on both levels and I love it!

I LOVE this Hulk.

I can't wait for this Avengers movie they are setting up. I mean, my God, just look at the quality of the actors that could conceivably be in the same movie. Robert Downey, Jr,; Gweneth Paltrow; Terrence Howard; Ed Norton; Liv Tyler; William Hurt; all in the same movie with the added presences of Iron Man and The Hulk. And we haven't even touched on the actors who might be portraying Thor or Captain America and their supporting casts.



This could be incredible.

It fucking better be.