7/3/08

Hulk and Hancock


HULK
We visited the movie theater for Hulk over a week ago, so this review is a tad on the late side, but still applicable. This movie was a pleasant surprise. I had said before I was holding off judgment due to the last movie, but I was rather pleased with this result. This version did have a storyline that far outpaced the one before it. While its predecessor lacked much of any kind of story, this one came with a good direction and a strong idea on how to get there. What was more impressive was that this is truly an action film, where the action makes sense and is not just to show off the Hulk's raging strength, although it accomplishes that quite impressively too.
"Thuderbolt" Ross gave the story a much better twist than last time and his character is well thought out and played. The Abomination has a good start, though not quite true to the comic, he is a evil character that is easy to root against, even better is Emil's degrade into the Abomination. Edward Norton did indeed prove he could make the Hulk more than just a stark raving monster and gave him quite a lot of depth and imagination. His eyes were especially fun to watch in this film as they were filled with expression that something else was going on inside the Hulk's mind.
In keeping with the new comic genre this movie also pulled out some very good one-liners. Some things do happen a little to conveniently, but hey, its a comic, give it some slack!
The most impressive thing about the film, however, and really nothing to do with the Hulk himself, but rather the insight of the creators. The beginning of the film, involves quick flashes that give you a really brief backstory, inside those flashes are some hidden surprises. One such, is that Nick Fury is mentioned, name stamped boldly across a sheet of paper. The other is in the form of a Hummer (HMVV) made by Stark Enterprises. Comic book fans can quickly catch on to the meaning of this one!
The surprise scene, usually after the credits, was moved up and pasted to the tale end of the film, so that no one could miss it. Bold move.
***SPOILER ALERT*** In It Thunderbolt is buying a drink when Tony Stark - Yes, Robert Downy Jr. - walks in and says he might have a solution to his problem. See, he is helping to put together a team.... That had me sit back in my seat for a few minutes. It took some creative planning and quick thinking on the directors and producers parts to come up with that little flyby.
All thoughts that the Avengers movie might not happen are a thing of the past. The question is, besides Hulk and Iron Man, who will be in it? They have done a very good job of setting up both the movie and the fans for the movie. This will be so much fun to watch play out.
Back to the Hulk's movie. It was a good action movie, with a much better story, decent characters, and a pretty good Hulk. While The Incredible Hulk is not as good, in my opinion, as Iron Man (which gets an A+) it does qualify its self for a solid B.



HANCOCK
My siblings and I took a trip out to see Hancock with Will Smith last night (opening night). The theater was sparsely populated, however, the crowd was enthusiastic for a good movie. When the lights dimmed and the opening credits rolled, so was I. What I got was an interesting feature.
Hancock is a down on his luck, don't care about anyone, wannabe superhero and Will Smith played the part to perfection. He did a great job with each stage his character went through, making the transitions believable and had everyone rooting for John Hancock to find his place in the world of superheros... eventually.
In comes the PR rep, his son, and wife, the latter who is obviously hiding something. The twists of their story and their facial expressions, especially for Charlize were quite good, though nothing to write home about. As Hancock fights to reveal his backstory it is an interesting one that was put together with just enough information to make it semi-believable and not to hard to understand.
The movie had quite a few laugh out loud minutes which had even this sparsely populated theater ringing. My personal favorite takes place in the kitchen with a quite a few handy kitchen objects, but I won't spoil that surprise.
I did have one major problem with the movie. It was rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence scenes as well as language. The language needed a higher rating. Hancock, in tune with his character, used quite a few words the teen audience could have done without, but even that wasn't the biggest problem. Hancock had sort of a code word that pushed him over the edge, every time he was called by it. I'm sure I don't need to mention what it is. However, this two part word was said extremely frequently throughout the movie. When one movie goer was told the rating, he looked shocked and commented they had really lowered their standards. Hear is my issue, it wasn't needed. They are other words that could have very easily been substituted and worked just was well. No, I'm not being overly sensitive. A second code word in the movie was 'crazy.' It provoked the very same angry reaction from its subject that Hancock gives for his, but without the curse.
All in all, it was a good movie for laughs, but not serious entertainment for the mind, enjoy this one just for fun. If you do have an issue with language, this is one you are going to want to skip and warn the teens don't use that language at home! Overall grade: B-

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hancock looks like interesting spin on the latest superhero movie craze... if nothing else at least Will Smith tends to be pretty funny

Anonymous said...

When does GSTM come out? I really loved it and can't wait to read it again.

Emily Nelson said...

Reading your Hulk review was fun because it made me remember when we went together!! Ahh, good times, good times. I love you, Sis! Miss ya! ;-)

Charissa Taylor Lees said...

Actually, Katie, The Guardian Star's True Mark is out and available for you to buy! Simply, go to my Charissa's Store link on the side bar and you will come to the purchasing page! Enjoy rereading it!

Anonymous said...

I will enjoy rereading it.:)I LOVED it. You're such a good author. And thanks for the help.