Bruce and Tony and... Bruce, oh my!

[exsequar]

So I have now seen the Summer Trifecta of Super Hero Movie Awesome, and I can say that without a doubt, my favorite of the three was The Incredible Hulk. I know, what? I think it starts with the leading man. All three were quite fab and gorgeous, but Edward Norton really GOT to me. From the very first moment, I was emotionally attached to him, and as the story progressed I only became more so. I think this was because of his position as a victim, a fugitive, ill and desperate to stop hurting people. He felt so human and his performance really spoke to me. Christian Bale was far more remote and hard to read. I really liked his performance, but in a much more objective way. And Robert Downey Jr., while charming and gorgeous, did not start out auspiciously, to say the least, and while I appreciated his arc and change of heart, that doesn't change the fact that he was taking this massive power onto himself - regardless of how he planned to use it, he was CHOOSING to make himself super-human and then kill people with it. Evil people or not, that's still rather problematic to me.

The second factor is the leading lady, and the central relationship. (It's kind of unfortunate that all three so closely follow The Formula, but meh, they're comic book movies.) Liv Tyler... oh, how I adore her. She was so sweet and genuine. And the relationship between the two (Bruce and Betty? Really? Heh.) felt, again, extremely real. They were tugging at my heartstrings from their very first second on screen together. I loved that we were dropped into the middle of this relationship with miles and miles of history, and I still felt like I got it. Their chemistry was off the CHARTS. I loved the aborted love scene so much, hee. And the scene in the cave in the rain! *flaps hands* I need to see that one again, ASAP. As for the others - I really did like them all. Gwyneth and Maggie were both glorious and charming and lovely. (Can we take a second to stop and boggle at the casts on these movies? They are ALL STAR, and not in a flashy action movie way, in a truly-fucking-talented kind of way. I guess it's because comic book movies are the only genre doing anything exciting. SO WEIRD. Good riddance, Katie Holmes!) Anyway, while I liked all the ladies, the Hulk relationship was by far the most emotionally compelling to me.

As for the villains, well - okay, Heath Ledger takes that prize. Fucking hell. But Tim Roth was super-whoa, and I really liked that conflict a lot. It was also more complex and entangled than that, with Betty's father in pursuit of Bruce, and it was just really juicy and fascinating. The Iron Man nemesis, on the other hand, I found less than compelling - mostly I just hated him, and the evil in normal humans he represented. Gross.

As for the movies as a whole - I felt that Hulk struck a really beautiful balance between important character-centric parts, quiet and intense, and huge action scenes that really blew my mind. That battle on the college campus was fantastic. There was such a massive sense of tragedy and hopelessness to it all, that this gentle, lovely young man could turn into something so violent, and that they would try to kill him so ruthlessly. I guess the whole thing really had that emotional resonance for me - it felt like a story about people more than anything, and I am a sucker for that.

Meanwhile, Batman was exciting but really too rapidfire. It felt like you could never take a breath, especially in the last half hour or so, when I thought it was over at least twice, only for them to immediately ratchet up the pace again. It was just a bit too hectic for me to appreciate it as a whole. I'll have to see it again to get a better overall feel.

Iron Man falls somewhere in the middle. But I definitely never got an emotional lock like I did for Hulk.

So, in conclusion, Edward Norton get in my bed ASAP. <3333

Comments

[splits_thesky]

They were tugging at my heartstrings from their very first second on screen together. I loved that we were dropped into the middle of this relationship with miles and miles of history, and I still felt like I got it. Their chemistry was off the CHARTS.

DFGKHASKUDHASDH YES, OMG. I walked out of the theater with a burning desire for Ed Norton and Liv Tyler to MAKE WITH THE BABIES those two crazy kids to goddamn be together FOREVER. Because - I - just - THEM. LOVE, AUUUGHHH.<3333333

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

YES EXACTLY THAT!!!! I was heartbroken that the movie ended with Bruce all out in the boonies and not with his loverlady D: D: They were so PERFECT, sweet and IN LOVE. Gahmyheart. I totally thought, no lie, "FIC PLZ???" Haha, oh dear.

UNGH ICON.

[rogerpittman.livejournal.com]

I saw The Incredible Hulk when it first came out, and found it to be a MAJOR improvement over the 2003 version. I loved all the nods to the original series - the theme music, cameos from both Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, even how Bruce's eyes glowed green when the transformation was beginning. Lou said in an interview recently that when he saw the opening sequence (Bruce in the chair in the lab), it was like going back 30 years.

I haven't watched The Dark Knight yet - may do so later this week if time permits.

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

See, I am coming at all of this a complete virgin. I didn't even see the 2003 version. All I knew is that the Hulk was a big strong green dude. So I'm kind of treating each of these movies as independent entities, although that's really cool that they paid homage to the original. I heard that Edward Norton did it because he was such a huge fan as a kid, so I feel like the whole production was kind of approached from that angle, with respect for the source material. It definitely shows.

[musical-emjay.livejournal.com]

Ahahahaha, so, I'm not even going to pretend that Batman isn't my childhood BOYFRND 4 LYFE, so obviously that's where my heart is staying amidst all these comics films, but I still really appreciated reading this nonetheless. You kinda made me want to see The Incredible Hulk now, which I was so MEH about before! That's got to count for something at least :D

Imma just gonna go away and scream about The Dark Knight, now, okay? ;) *g*

[insevens.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that yet so I'm skipping just in case of spoilers but Edward Norton. Oh my, Edward Norton. I never have interesting dreams but I once had one where I was Lestat in victorian England, and there was a set of murders, very Jack the Ripper, which were being investigated by an officer (handsomely played by Norton.) Basically, Lestat ends up finally meeting Norton's character in an empty ballroom where a murder is being investigated. For some reason, they kiss.

Anne, dearest, dearest Anne. Let me tell you. It was the most sexy thing ever. Even if I was a boy. And he was a boy. And I was a vampire. Yeah... but yeah. Brilliant.

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeee! I WANT THAT DREAM. Om nom nom Edward Norton, fucking hell. GO SEE IRON MAN. You will come in your pants continuously, I swear. He is beautiful and angsty and compassionate and frequently sleeveless. Unghhhhh. LOVE.

I need to go watch Fight Club.