Sunday, June 15, 2008

Incredible Hulk


I just returned from seeing The Incredible Hulk. When I saw the first Hulk movie that came out several years ago, I enjoyed parts of it but was disappointed on the whole. This new Hulk movie, though, did not disappoint me at all. There really is little plot -- the movie is basically an extended chase sequence -- but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Part of the problem with the first Hulk movie was that it had an overly developed and convoluted plot. This movie focuses on what audiences want to see (at least comic book audiences): Bruce Banner's desperate attempts to contain the monster within and his continued failure to do so. The final confrontation between the Hulk and Abomination also provides the thrill of seeing Hulk fully unleashed and fighting a worthy opponent -- something that has never yet been achieved in a Superman film. With Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in theaters and The Dark Knight just around the corner, this is shaping up to be the best summer yet for superhero movies.

10 Comments:

At 9:36 AM, Blogger Jared Cramer said...

The problem of a hero meeting a true opponent is one of the reasons I've always thought a film version of the Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen/Return of Superman story would be terrific.

 
At 12:21 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greg:

Who is behind the production of all the comic book movies? Hollywood?

 
At 10:40 AM, Blogger Greg said...

I'm not sure what you're asking. The Hollywood studio system has produced most of the comic books until recently, although just this year Marvel comics created their own movie studie and are now producing their own movies, with Iron Man and the Hulk being the first two.

 
At 2:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

this new Incredible Hulk is a lot more fun than the first one with Eric Bana; Ed Norton does his usual specialty -- the "split personality" role...

 
At 10:50 AM, Blogger Adam Gonnerman said...

I caught the tail end of Superman Returns last night on HBO. I'd seen it before, but who cares, right? So I notice that on re-entry at the end Superman's hair doesn't burn up. Good enough.

But how does he cut it?

I can only imagine that fingernails would be a problem too.

I've heard good buzz about the new Hulk movie. The last one was so bad I couldn't finish it (tried to watch it at home).

 
At 12:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greg:

How should one go about answering ministers who condemn its church members for watching a movie like Ironman?

 
At 12:38 PM, Blogger Greg said...

Well, that's a very complicated issue and not one that there is a single answer to. Partly it depends on what their complaint about the movie is. If, for instance, the issue is the violence of the film, then the question becomes about what function the violence serves. For instance, the Bible is one of the most violent books ever written. Many of the OT stories contain scenes of violence that would make many Hollywood producers think twice about putting in a movie. What that says is that a story can have violence in it and still be moral. If you check out my earlier post from last year about Spider-Man and Samson, it addresses some of these issues. Anyway, a lot more could be said on the issue, but without knowing what the specific complaint or issue is, it's hard to go into any more depth.

 
At 11:31 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Greg:

The main issue concerning ministers who condemn movies like Ironman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings,is the issue they feel that in the Old Testment, God forbid anything to do with the occult. Thus all the above memtioned would lead people to start to take an interest into the dark world of Satan and the demonic realm and thereby all movies like Ironman should be avoided.

 
At 11:56 AM, Blogger Greg said...

Except that I'm not clear on how Iron Man involves the occult in any way. Also, there is an odd inconsistency among many Christians on this point. Many who condemn shows/books like Harry Potter are all in favor of shows/books like the Chronicles of Narnia which also utilizes the occult.

 
At 12:20 PM, Blogger Jim said...

This is a complicated issue, too. I think the way I've seen it done is based on the assumptions that Superman's heat vision is essentially a laser, and that mirrors reflect light. If I remember correctly, I've seen Superman cut his own hair with his heat vision by reflecting it through a mirror. I hate to imagine how much practice that would take.

 

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