I'm trying to be fair... but it's hard

Rating: 1/10 (14 June 2008)

OK, let me start off with a confession, I do not like Edward Norton. I do not like him as an actor, and I do not like him as a person. I believe he is the product of all the worst aspects of the misused and misunderstood practice of method acting, and I think he's an egomaniac and a terrible "Film maker", see "American History X" for what I mean. So lets get to "The Hulk". This film was of course going to be compared to Ang Lee's commercial and critical failure "Hulk". I myself did not like "Hulk", but I have to admit that it had more to do with the writing and the story than with the actors and film makers. "Hulk" actually had some original ideas in how to present the mythology of a comic book on film. The cast i felt in that movie was actually good, they just had a crap story to work with. "Hulk" was really an overwrought soap opera between the title character and his father, which to be fair in 80's the comic did explore Banner's relationship with his father and it explained his anger issues.
Now we come to the new film "The Incredible Hulk", he we have a story less melodramatic, but somehow even more hollow and lacking in any intelligent subtlety. Edward Norton can not write. let me put it this way, as a writer Norton is a great actor, and as an actor, Norton is a great paralegal (please someone get that joke). Much was made about Norton writing a draft for the film to give the character more depth, but its not there. Also, Norton has made a huge deal out of not promoting the film as he feels its poorly made, the editing in particular. On that we can agree, but I have no doubt in my mind he could only make it worse. With "American History X" the director found it unbearable to work with Norton and left. Norton than re-edited the film, and gave himself more screen time and took the focus of the story from the white power movement and it's complexity and frightening aspects, to his acting abilities. "The Incredible Hulk" is edited perfectly naturally and well, so all Norton could do is add more footage of himself, and less of the actual Hulk. There are no opportunities to do and dialectic Eisenstien editing in Hulk, or and Bressonian elliptical editing, its just not that kind of movie.
I understand not every film needs to be "Au hasard balthazar" or "The 400 Blows", but even the summer blockbusters can be smart and entertaining, but "The Incredible Hulk" is neither. Unfortunately I believe most people don't care how crappy a movie is, just that is has lots of CGI and explosions, and they'll be happy. I on the other hand will be making better use of my time watching Willam Friedkin's "Sorcerer" on DVD, or "Mon Oncle Antoine" when it comes out on CC.