The Incredible Hulk (dir. Leterrier, USA, 2008)

Just when you thought there wasn't anywhere left for the superhero genre to go, Marvel ups the ante. The Incredible Hulk is, like many other franchise first acts, packaged with hints of what is yet to come, mostly concerning the future villains we can expect to see. Only on top of this, Marvel has decided to include a Tony Stark cameo in the final scene, foreshadowing the Avengers Initiative which is no longer a secret and will definitely lead to a feature film revolving around the team of heroes in the Summer of 2011. This is perhaps more of a big deal than most care to let on. Marvel are taking their heroes in a new direction, all geared towards one mammoth team-up at the end of the tunnel. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk are each destined to collide in The Avengers. The interconnecting grand scheme of this can only mean that each film from here on in will have its default "tie-in scene", and soon enough the Marvel films will reflect the universe of their comics, each feature dependent on an understanding of its predecessors to complete the jigsaw. Working in their own right, but part of a much bigger picture. Myself, I'm not sure whether Marvel should pin the hopes of all their big names on one final feature in The Avengers, but provided they pull it off with a great director and a worthy script to cap off all this plotting, then maybe it was always a good idea. The big issue, however, will always rear its head when watching a film series such as The Incredible Hulk, or Iron Man. Are these stories existing within their own franchise, or are they subservient to The Avengers big idea? Is what we see going to tie itself up inside its own context, or spiral out into the rest of the universe, rendering all films within Marvel's library insignificant when viewed as individual pieces of film?

This is what comes to mind when the end credits of The Incredible Hulk roll up. Having just witnessed Tony Stark explain his Initiative to General Ross, it would be fair game to immediately assume that The Incredible Hulk itself was merely a prologue of things to come. One can surmise that with Hulk's large presence, he will most certainly have a large role to play in The Avengers film, and by which time this entry into the Marvel canon will be forgotten as just another small starting point that led to greater things. It could be destined to fall alongside The Punishers and Ghost Riders of their universe, rather than with the esteemed Spider-Man and X-Men series.

To say this would assume that The Incredible Hulk is, essentially, a forgettable venture into the world of Bruce Banner and company. Evidence to support this claim would centre around the routine structure of the film; how everything seems all so familiar to Iron Man, with the way in which Tim Roth's villain mopes around for two thirds before 'powering up' in the final act; the obligatory 'love interest' that obviously can't find bliss with our protagonist until Film #3 in the trilogy...because everything has to be a trilogy these days.

It's the idea of the trilogy or the 'bigger picture', obviously geared towards turning a huge profit, that sucks the excitement out of these summer blockbusters. With the timeframe firmly in place, we're subjected to the 'origin story', the 'darker sequel' and, as proven so far, the 'disappointing threequel'.

With The Incredible Hulk, director Louis Letterier has opted for the dark tone right away, so as to mirror the inner torment of Bruce Banner. It's not easy being the Hulk, as Bruce finds yet again in this reboot (as far away from the introspection of Ang Lee's 2003 art-film Hulk as it's likely to get), travelling across the globe searching desperately for an antidote that will cure him of his aggressive, green alter-ego. Aiding him in this quest are Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Samuel Stern - hellooo, future villain. Fighting against him are William Hurt's General Ross, Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky and the entire US army.

Reports that Norton's script of depth and character development being cut up by the studio seem to be of some truth, with Letterier more or less implying the fact by stating at a recent press conference that the director's cut DVD will include an extra 70 minutes of footage not included in the theatrical cut. That's a lot of film. You can tell it's missing too, as scenes of character interaction become abruptly cut short in the midst of a conversation as we're thrown into yet another shot of Tim Roth sweating. The film moves at such a breakneck pace, that it's more than easy to see what Marvel were aiming for here. Dissatisfied with Ang Lee's entry in 2003, they felt the need to scrap what really makes the Hulk character interesting and in place of introspection, they turned up the clobbering.

The fight sequences are the best part, with a showdown between Hulk and an entire squadron of soliders and tanks on a college campus being the overall highlight of the film. The ending fight with Roth's beefed-up Abomination isn't too shabby either, and more than makes up for what some may have deemed an underwhelming last battle in Iron Man, earlier this year. Yet for all it dishes up to us in tank explosions and chopper drops, it lacks heavily in any form of substance. It tries its best to deliver a slight hint of exposition here and there, but you can tell that the meatier scenes have been misplaced intentionally, in favour of soulless references to what shorts Bruce should wear for his next trip outside.

The Incredible Hulk needs depth like Hayden Christensen needs a tonal range in his voicebox, because without it, the film is no different to watching two lions go at on the Discovery Channel. The trailer for the film gives a complete summary of everything that happens, right up to Hulk's confrontation with the Abomination. Watch this 3-minute clip show and you've seen all there is to experience from The Incredible Hulk, because there is little else to absorb. It is an empty shell of a film.

It's all very well hiring actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Ed Norton to lift the superhero genre above snide generalisations, but while these are inspired moves, it just isn't enough. We need an authorial voice coming through to the audience. Take for example Christopher Nolan's Batman series. In The Dark Knight, which I have yet to see, he has not settled for your temporary comic book summer distraction; instead he has, as the reviews are informing me, crafted a crime epic, an ensemble piece that transcends the genre of superhero movies. I have seen so many trailers and clips from The Dark Knight in the leadup to its release, and I still don't know what to expect. That is the magic. It is said to be original and unpredictable...all of the things The Incredible Hulk is not.

The Nolan Batman series is also heavily character-driven, they are in fact the first Batman films to really delve deep into what makes the world of Bruce Wayne and Batman so interesting. Nolan has raised the bar for the genre that he's almost skyrocketed out of it, and everyone else needs to catch up. The Incredible Hulk needs to be character-driven, and not feel like an extended Peter Griffin/Chicken fight from Family Guy. I want to know Emil Blonsky's motivations, why he feels the need to become who he is, what got him to that point. I want to know how General Ross really ticks. I want justification for Betty Ross, other than the studio-forced female desire she so plainly assumes.

So Lee's Hulk flopped, so what? That does not call for a complete dismissal to all semblance of character development and depth in this film. This is the result of a script butchered, amongst a summer of other scripts so wrongfully thrown on the trash pile. We've seen Darabont's superior Indy IV treatment rejected in favour of a poorly written slab of noise. On top of that we've experienced the ghastly, hideous Hancock, whose script was once a piece of interesting, poignant, if perverse storytelling that would have impressed me on the big screen; instead I was fed more cliched Americanised trash. It's a shame that the same thing has happened to The Incredible Hulk, but Marvel has the opportunity to free the strangehold on their filmmakers. Give Leterrier the creative license to build something of worth, instead of harming his reputation by reducing his work to brainless shlock. Let Favreau continue the good job he's done so far; the man admires Nolan's storytelling skills and is willing to take Iron Man to new levels of greatness - give him the benefit of the doubt.

Comic books are deeper than anyone likes to give them credit for. Behind every mask is a conflicted character, but he is only permitted room to breathe when the perfect writer comes along, fleshes that character out and takes the title to new heights. I have always said that a comic character is only as good as his writer. Comic books are capable of originality, creativity and depth under the right author, I've experienced it. I want the Marvel Universe in film form to be as strong as it has shown itself to be in paper format. If Marvel truly wants to bring itself to life on the silver screen, every production must count, must have an auteur driving force and a cast that believes in their role, not as a throwaway spandex-clad superman; as a living, breathing hero.

The Incredible Hulk is passable entertainment, but it has failed on all the quotas that are set for it in the wake of 2008, with the advent of Iron Man and The Dark Knight. There is hope for the franchise to right its wrongs and provide us with something to chew on in the inevitable second and third instalments. Unfortunately, the first instalment is off on the wrong foot and will join Daredevil in the annuls of my forgotten heroes. A second missed opportunity for Bruce Banner, a huge misstep for the Hulk.

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