Tag Archives: bruce banner
One of the first thoughts I had after leaving The Avengers last night was, "How can I review this film and still give it justice?" I've been training for this movie since I was a kid by watching the television shows, playing the games, and reading the books of the various characters in this film. I have so much to say, and worried that I'm just going to start rambling about how awesome it is. I'll give it my best shot, so forgive me if I sound like a giddy school girl.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is back with a vengeance in The Avengers, with plans to take over the world using the energy of the mysterious and ominous Tesseract. Now, the director of S.H.I.EL.D, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) assembles his team of extraordinary individuals. These are: the millionaire playboy Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.); the demigod Thor (Chris Hemsworth); the super soldier Steven Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans); gamma radiated scientist Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); sharp shooter Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner); and super agent Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson). Together they are The Avengers, and Loki is in for one hell of a battle for Earth.
The outstanding thing about this movie is that every superhero gets their share of screen time. One isn't more important than the other, and every single one plays a vital role in accomplishing the mission. Even Hawkeye and Black Widow, who didn't get their own individual tie-ins get a lot of screen time and are just as significant as characters like Thor and Captain America. I can even say that each hero got their own moment of just jaw-dropping awesomeness that my friends and I are still talking about.
I was a little worried that this movie was going to feel like it went on for too long with a run time of almost two and a half hours, especially since I was at the midnight movie and I had a small inkling of concern that I was going to fall asleep. I had absolutely no cause for concern. First of all, the movie felt like an hour and a half tops. The fact that I was in that theatre for two and a half hours is mind blowing. I just did not want the movie to end. Also, when the film first started, I immediately was wide awake and ready to go.
The special effects here are absolutely phenomenal. New York City is almost annihilated at the end, and it looks great. The fight scenes were also brilliantly choreographed and edited so that we got to see how each member was contributing to the battle. There was one long take in particular that travels all throughout the Manhattan battlefield to show all of the Avengers taking on numerous villains. It was so satisfying.
The performance were top notch. Tom Hiddleston is fantastically menacing as Loki, making him a villain we love to hate. Downey Jr. is appropriately sarcastic, and Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth pull off the tough talking but heroic persona of a superhero. The scene stealer in The Avengers, however, is Mark Ruffalo, who I didn't put enough faith into. His Bruce Banner is very mild and soft spoken, but when he Hulks out, the audience is treated to the best Hulk scenes to grace the big screen.
I know I'm going to get a lot of heat from this next statement, but I believe that The Avengers surpasses The Dark Knight. Go ahead and disagree. That's absolutely fine, but I can honestly say I was never more entertained by the action and surprisingly deep characters of The Avengers, and it was awesome to see all these heroes onscreen at the same time. It is the best super hero movie ever made, by far, and the scene during the end credits make me very impatient for the next one. I 110% recommend The Avengers, and I can't wait to go back to the theaters and see it again.
Tags: black widow, bruce banner, Captain America, chris evans, chris hemsworth, clint barton, haweye, hulk, iron man, jeremy renner, joss whedon, Loki, natasha romanoff, Nick Fury, robert downey, S.H.E.I.L.D, scarlett johannson, stan lee, Steve Rogers, the avengers, thor, tom hiddleston
Build-Up to The Avengers – The Incredible Hulk
Personally, I refuse to acknowledge that the 2003 Ang Lee film Hulk exists. It simply does not. If it did, it would be the perfect example of how NOT to do a movie about the Hulk. It was dry, slow, and uninteresting. Thank goodness that in 2008, the year of the comic book adaptations, Marvel released the reboot that the Hulk deserved, this film being The Incredible Hulk.
The Incredible Hulk wastes no time getting started. In the opening credits, it is revealed that scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) was conducting an experiment to make humans immune to gamma radiation, but he was testing this on himself. Something in the experiment goes wrong and he is infected with a tremendous amount of gamma rays, transforming him into the Hulk. General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) begins a hunt to find Banner, claiming that his body is property of the United States Military. A team of Marines is assembled led by Royal Marine Emil Blonsky to find Banner, but Blonsky soon becomes envious of the power Banner has and is determined to harness that power himself, which soon turns him into the Abomination.
When The Incredible Hulk ended, I said to myself, "That is how a film about the Hulk should be made." This film is a tremendous amount of fun and had me grinning ear to ear with the multiple intense action sequences and the subtle tongue-in-cheek inside jokes that fans of the comic book and television show will love.
The special effects in this movie are also something that needs to be raved about. The Hulk looks fantastic and flows great. The same can be said about the Abomination. The entire showdown between the Hulk and the Abomination is a total CGI-fest, but it looks great and was so much fun to watch. It made me think what it actually looked like on the set as compared to what we are seeing as the final product.
Edward Norton really put his all in making Bruce Banner believable and sympathetic. Personally, I think he did a fantastic job, and it's even said that he wrote his own version of the screenplay, some of which was used in the film. Liv Tyler looks and acts great here too. Some of her lines border on the cheesy side of the spectrum, but I went along with it. William Hurt and Tim Roth made great villains who are really easy to hate. William Hurt especially.
This film does a great job at making Bruce Banner out to be a regular person who does not want this weight on is shoulders, and likewise, Edward Norton conveys this perfectly. Sure, The Incredible Hulk is about seeing the Hulk cause as much damage as possible, but it's also about the psychological and physical stress that it puts on Bruce and the supporting cast, both good and evil. There is also a small part of the film that seems to explore the morality of science.
The Incredible Hulk is, to put it simply, incredible. I laughed, I was on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. The ending scene alone is fantastic. I can't say it beats Iron Man, but that's understandable. That would be very difficult. Still, I loved The Incredible Hulk and consider it a vast improvement to Ang Lee's Hulk.
One final note, to clear up any confusion: This is not a sequel to Ang Lee's film. It is to be considered a reboot and a tie-in to The Avengers, where as Hulk is not (thank goodness).
Tags: bruce banner, edward norton, entertainment, gamma ray, hulk, liv tyler, marvel, radiation, stan lee, the avengers, tim roth, william hurt