Anger ManagementBy John DeSando, WCBE's It's Movie Time
"There are aspects of my personality that I can't control. And when I lose control, it's very dangerous to be around me." Bruce Banner
It's instructive to end the Incredible Hulk with the appearance of Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) foreshadowing the reunion of Marvel superheroes in a few years and showing how limited Hulk as character is next to the complicated, interesting Iron Man. Where Hulk has to worry only about expunging his deadly radiation poisoning (that inflates his body to Kong size when he's angry), Iron Man runs an arms industry that helps defend the greatest society in the world but spawns enemies who use his own weapons against him.
It's no Iron Man, but the Incredible Hulk will keep your adolescent boys' attention if they will stay for the hour or so of back story and set up. Maybe the lack of complicated character in Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) makes me long for Robert Downey, Jr.'s conflicted Iron Man; at any rate plenty of CGI fighting goes on here with few of the distractions along the psychoanalytical route for Iron Man.
Banner needs an antidote for his uncontrollable anger, which blows him up to King Kong size and thrusts him into a Kong-sized dilemma as he contends not only with a monster just like him (Tim Roth), but also a love for Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) that has him engage in some Kong-like rescue for her, climbing buildings--you know the drill.
Meanwhile, the consummate meany is General Ross (William Hurt), who wants more Hulks while Hulk would like to annihilate them, even his irascible self if the death could be arranged. If not, Hulk will return another day, but I won't be waiting for him: I have enough angry ex-wives who are more fearsome and more entertaining than this CGI-heavy, personality-light superhero.
John DeSando teaches film at Franklin University and co-hosts WCBE 90.5's It's Movie Time, which can be heard streaming at www.wcbe.org Fridays at 3:01 pm and 8:01 pm and on demand anytime. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.RR.com