Consolodated Movie Reviews
My summary opinions of The Incredible Hulk, Charlie Wilson's War, and Hancock: Not as bad as I'd feared, not as good as the book (but still quite good), and vaguely enjoyable non-adapted superheroic fare.
The Incredible Hulk isn't something I'm entirely comfortable reviewing, as I never actually saw the Ang Lee's Hulk, never saw more than a handful of episodes of the thirty year-old television series, never read Peter David's run on The Incredible Hulk, and in general, am not much of a Hulk fanboy. That said, I think they did a tolerable job. Norton was excellent, the transformations were over the top but appropriately so, Roth chewed a bunch of scenery, and Liv Tyler didn't hurt my brain too much. They established a credible enemy in the Abomination, and they also offered a good seed for the Leader's genesis. Metacritic gives it a 61, but on the scale of comic book adaptations, it's in the upper quartile in my view, though not anywhere near Iron Man or Batman Begins.
Charlie Wilson's War was about what I expected it to be, given the relative lack of media buzz after it was released. It was a solid Sorkin-written adaptation of George Crile's book, which I highly recommend. There were only a few scenes which were significantly embellished or added, and the spirit stayed close to Crile's work. That said, I found it somewhat lacking in the sparkle and polish of the book, which held me riveted when I went through the audiobook during my daily commutes to Indianapolis. Overall, I recommend it, though I recommend the book more.
Hancock didn't have the Bekmambetovesque kineticism of Wanted, the quality actors of The Incredible Hulk, or the graphic novel origin of either, but I found it fairly enjoyable. It had a twist about thirty-odd minutes in that I really didn't see coming, and I respect that. Likewise, although the movie can be read as a parable of how to "keep the black man down" or how relationships can sap your strength (and I've read both in other reviews already), I don't believe that was the intent, and I can't really see my way clear to damn the movie based on those assessments. It was enjoyable, superheroic action without any significant superhuman antagonists. The conflict was primarily emotional and internal, and I found that refreshing. The execution was still somewhat lacking, however, so I'd probably rate this as a cut above most superhero movies, but under the top quarter that TIH managed to enter, above.
The Incredible Hulk isn't something I'm entirely comfortable reviewing, as I never actually saw the Ang Lee's Hulk, never saw more than a handful of episodes of the thirty year-old television series, never read Peter David's run on The Incredible Hulk, and in general, am not much of a Hulk fanboy. That said, I think they did a tolerable job. Norton was excellent, the transformations were over the top but appropriately so, Roth chewed a bunch of scenery, and Liv Tyler didn't hurt my brain too much. They established a credible enemy in the Abomination, and they also offered a good seed for the Leader's genesis. Metacritic gives it a 61, but on the scale of comic book adaptations, it's in the upper quartile in my view, though not anywhere near Iron Man or Batman Begins.
Charlie Wilson's War was about what I expected it to be, given the relative lack of media buzz after it was released. It was a solid Sorkin-written adaptation of George Crile's book, which I highly recommend. There were only a few scenes which were significantly embellished or added, and the spirit stayed close to Crile's work. That said, I found it somewhat lacking in the sparkle and polish of the book, which held me riveted when I went through the audiobook during my daily commutes to Indianapolis. Overall, I recommend it, though I recommend the book more.
Hancock didn't have the Bekmambetovesque kineticism of Wanted, the quality actors of The Incredible Hulk, or the graphic novel origin of either, but I found it fairly enjoyable. It had a twist about thirty-odd minutes in that I really didn't see coming, and I respect that. Likewise, although the movie can be read as a parable of how to "keep the black man down" or how relationships can sap your strength (and I've read both in other reviews already), I don't believe that was the intent, and I can't really see my way clear to damn the movie based on those assessments. It was enjoyable, superheroic action without any significant superhuman antagonists. The conflict was primarily emotional and internal, and I found that refreshing. The execution was still somewhat lacking, however, so I'd probably rate this as a cut above most superhero movies, but under the top quarter that TIH managed to enter, above.