One of the biggest box office battles this summer will be a clash between titans under the same banner,Bruce Banner being one of them. In addition to the highly anticipated Iron Man movie,a remake of The Hulk( which brings back the familiar adjective Incredible back to the title) is due a month later. The reactions have been mixed so far,with some fans as pleased as punch about this while others are dreading a film that could be even worse than the earlier attempt by Ang Lee and Co.
The Incredible Hulk trailer is now making the rounds,and I have to say that based on what it has to give,the chances of this flick doing well is as predictable as Two Face's coin toss. The cast is made up of bigger names and talents(Edward Norton,Tim Roth)and the f/x looks slightly better than in the original film but not by much. Also,this trailer does the classic "let's tell you the entire plot of the movie in 3 minutes or less!" bit,which saves me some money by not having to run out and see it on opening day:
Iron Man,on the other hand,is clearly the favorite son at the moment. Even before the movie hits the theaters,folks are all abuzz about it. Advantages in it's favor include the fact that this is the first time Iron Man has been brought to the big screen and casting Robert Downey,Jr. in the lead,which is smarter than you'd think.
Downey is one of the least likely people to ever be cast as a superhero(more odder than Burton making Michael Keaton Batman,whose work in those films holds up rather well over the years)which suits the character of Tony Stark,particularly with some of his alcoholic tendencies(developed in the comic books)not being entirely diluted from the on screen version. In some ways,it's almost like typecasting:
Interestingly enough,Downey will be doing a cameo in the Incredible Hulk movie as Stark,already giving a helping hand to a potentially flailing film. The new Hulk film has been officially called a "do-over" by the studio and Edward Norton is said to be reluctant to promote the film if he disapproves of the final cut. Not looking good for the green guy here.
To give the new Hulk some credit,the plot seems to be more streamlined than the first crack at the material was,dropping all of that psycho babble that cluttered up the place and going for a simple "this power must not be used in the wrong hands" deal,a tried and true classic style. Plus,no Nick Nolte around to chomp on the scenery,smart move,folks!:
With Iron Man coming out in May and The Incredible Hulk in June,the dust from their cinematic brush-up will have been cleared away for another challenger to step into the multiplex arena,with a winner-take-all attitude. I speak of course of The Dark Knight,aka Batman II.
The tragic loss of Heath Ledger(whose final performance is preserved in this film)will not kept fans from seeing this movie in July(in fact,it'll probably bring more in-the morbid,the merrier). Even if Ledger was still with us,The Dark Knight would command a huge draw and will no doubt gather up plenty of repeat business to make the studio accountants weep with joy. So, while the men of Marvel may have to deal with some inhouse struggles,the gang at DC remain as worthy adversaries in the battle for cinematic dominance,duh duh DUM!:
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