Wanted: Hancock and the Incredible Hulk

I was in Davao City during July 2 – 6 to report to our program management office. My wife Wendy came along as she has nothing to do anyways in Cotabato City since she is still on a two-month hiatus from work due to her “raspa”.

We both are movie addicts so from July 3 – 5, we managed to watch 3 movies in 3 consecutive days! In our more than 3 years of being together, that’s our first time to do that. Eh paano ba naman kasi, nagkasabay-sabay din ang mga magagandang palabas. I’m talking about big-budget, star-studded American films here and not our local films with the same storylines and plots. I hate to be a jerk pero wala naman talagang kwenta mga pelikulang Filipino ngayon  eh, hehe…

We first got the chance to watch Hancock on July 3 at Gaisano Mall since it just in front of the hotel we are staying in at We Are Inn.
The movie stars Will Smith as a not-your-stereotypical-superhero. Ala-Superman but is very reckless and a drunkard (lasenggo) that even when he is saving lives, his actions routinely cost the city he lives in millions of dollars in property damages. At first, the movie is very engaging and fun to watch. It is when we have known who Charlize Theron really is that the movie starts to be not fun to watch anymore.

I don’t know why but the second half of the story suddenly doesn’t make sense. Ang ganda na sana ng movie pero nakakadissapoint ung biglang pag-iba ng tono ng kwento. Comedic at amusing ung simula pero ba’t parang naging tragedy at drama na nung bandang huli? Ok sana pag may twist ang kwento pero ewan ko, di ko talaga magets ba’t ganun ang naging pasok sa pelikula. Very disappointing talaga, huhuhu…

The next day, July 4, we watched Wanted at NCCC Mall.

Its trailer was very impressive and after watching the movie, I can say that it is even more impressive. Grabe! Astig ung pelikula men! Non-stop action talaga! Ganda ng simula at ending ng pelikula!

Sa simula pa lang, bilib na ako sa action sequence nung tinalon ni Mr. X ang building papunta sa kabilang building para patayin ang apat (?) na snipers. The first instance where the bullet was curved on the way to its target was shown in this sequence. After killing the snipers, Mr. X answered a phone call from Cross only to find out that the men he killed were only decoys. Ganda nung sniper rifle ni Cross, multi-stage ang bullet! Astig talaga!

The film’s story is centered on Wesley Gibson (di sikat ung artista na gumanap) who is recruited to a thousand-year old secret society of assassins called The Fraternity who get their orders to assassinate targets from The Loom of Fate. Their leader is Sloan (Morgan Freeman) who reads the binary codes hidden on the weaving of the threads. Pag ung thread eh nasa taas, 1 equivalent nun. 0 naman pag nasa ilalim. Angelina Jolie plays the role of Fox who recruited Gibson to follow on his father’s footsteps, Mr. X, the greatest assassin who ever lived who was killed by Cross. Or so it was made for him to believe. But in the end, nalaman din ni Gibson na kasinungalingan lang pala lahat.

Grabe ung training sa kanya! Brutal talaga! Pinakaastig dun ung pinacurve nia ang bala kay Angelina Jolie papunta sa target. Groundbreaking un! I don’t know but I think this is the first time that this was shown in a film. Parang curve ball kung sa baseball pa at parang ung spin din sa bowling ang dating. I bet na maraming mga future films na naman ang mangongopya nito. Parang ung nangyari din sa motion-capture sequence ng mga bulllets sa The Matrix na pelikula ni Keanu Reeves.

Ganda din ng ending. Astig ung action sequence na inatake nia ang kampo ng The Fraternity! Pati na rin ung pinacurve ni Angelina Jolie ang bala para mapatay lahat ng natirang assassins after a shocking revelation. “Oh fuck!” na lang ang nasabi ni Morgan Freeman ng maisahan din siya at malamang nakatayo siya sa target.

On July 5, we watched The Incredible Hulk and this time, sa SM Mall naman. Nalibot na naming lahat ng malls ah!

Pangit ung 2003 version na Hulk starring Eric Bana. Walang kalatoy-latoy un. This version is way much better. It is also not related in any way to the 2003 version as the story of origin of Hulk here is a totally different one. Dr. Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) is exposed to gamma radiation after an experiment gone awry in a Culver University laboratory, thereby transforming him into a giant-green skinned monster called the Hulk.

Si Lou Ferrigno pala ang nagboses kay Hulk although three lines lang naman ang nabanggit nia, “Betty”, “Leave me alone” at “Hulk Smash”. If you remember, may TV series nun na Incredible Hulk at si Lou Ferrigno ang bida. Actually, may cameo appearance din siya sa pelikula. Siya ung security guard na binigyan ni Bruce Banner ng bribe na pizza para lang makapasok siya sa laboratory. May cameo din si Stan Lee at Rickson Gracie. Si Stan Lee ang creator ng Hulk at iba pang Marvel comics superheroes. Always siyang may cameo sa mga Marvel movies. This time, he played the role of the ill-fated consumer na nakainom nung softdrink na napatakan ngdugo ni Bruce Banner. Si Rickson Gracie naman ay isang sikat na mixed-martial artist in the field of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and he played the role of the teacher who taught Banner meditative breathing techniques to help control his emotions.

Speaking of controlling emotions, mabuti na lang nakaya ni Bruce Banner nung one time na magkasama sila sa kama ni Betty (Liv Tyler) dahil pag nagkataon, baka di kayanin ni Betty ang kanyang “kalakihan!” On the other hand, malay natin, baka un pa nga ang gusto ni Betty, na mas lalo magalit si Banner, hehe…

Overall, ok lang ung film. Not so lousy but not so great either. May cameo din pala si Robert Downey, Jr. sa end ng film. He played Tony Stark who approached Gen. Ross (William Hurt) na tatay ni Betty regarding sa isang grupo na pinaplano daw nilang buuin. Tony Stark is Iron Man for those who don’t know yet. Di ko pa nga napanuod ung film eh. At ang grupo na bubuuin nila ay ang The Avengers na ipapalabas ata ang movie version by 2011.