DIRECTOR: Kat Coiro
CAST: Tatiana Maslany, Jameela Jamil, Ginger Gonzaga, Mark Ruffalo
RUNNING TIME: 38 mins
CERTIFICATE: 12A
BASICALLY…: Attorney Jennifer Walters (Maslany) has her life turned upside down when she turns into She-Hulk…
NOW FOR THE REVIEW…
A common complaint about some of the recent Marvel movies and TV shows revolves around their tone-disrupting moments of comedy. Admittedly, it’s a flaw that has been especially apparent in most Phase Four projects, with the recent Thor: Love and Thunder being particularly guilty of this trend (though I do still stand by my personal opinion that it’s a fun movie to watch, tonal imbalance be damned), but you can’t exactly fault Marvel for wanting their films and series to adhere close to their literal comic-book origins, which were already light-hearted for the most part.
That is also the case with She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, a new Disney+ series that embraces its comic-book origins to a point where, as in the comics, the title character breaks the fourth wall long before Deadpool comes along. Fans of the character on the page will no doubt feel satisfied with how Jennifer Walters, the superhero-defending lawyer who also happens to turn into an enormous green rage monster every now and then, is translated to the screen, and to newer viewers she’ll be an instantly charming new character to root for – but if you’re going into this first episode (titled A Normal Amount of Rage) hoping for smashing action right out of the gate, then you might have a good reason to get angry.
The episode is very much an introductory one, as Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) takes the viewer on a whistlestop tour of her own reluctant superhuman origins: whilst in a car with her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), a Sakaarian spaceship hovers down in front of it – hopefully, as the series progresses, we’ll get answers as to what it was even doing there in the first place – and sends the two of them crashing down a hill. In the aftermath, some of Bruce’s blood makes its way into Jennifer’s system, instantly transforming her into an enlarged green being who emerges when she becomes angry or emotional. It’s now down to Bruce to teach his cousin how to control her new abilities the same way that he eventually did, at his remote hideout in Mexico where the two of them engage in meditation and training exercises (more often than not involving giant killing machines and throwing rocks into the stratosphere) – but much to his surprise, Jennifer would much rather return to her job as a lawyer than adopt the superhero lifestyle, which causes some friction between the two.
So, yeah, while the purpose of this episode is clearly just to get the audience up to speed with this new character and her familial ties to an OG Avenger, it’s very light on all the other stuff that Marvel audiences may have come to expect from the word “go”. There’s definitely action in it, and tons of special effects (some of which don’t always look outstanding, but given some of the recent bombshells about VFX artists working under Marvel’s demanding work schedule, it feels improper to badmouth them too much), but ultimately She-Hulk’s debut episode is much more about establishing itself as purely a comedy show that happens to be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Naturally, it’s hard to get a read on how it’s faring when we’re only one episode in (and eight more to follow over the coming weeks), nor is it easy so far to tell if viewers that have already been turned off by Marvel’s fluctuating quality of comedy will warm to this heavily comedic premise and tone. However, what is easy to see is that lead writer Jennifer Gao (best known for penning the legendary Rick and Morty episode Pickle Rick) is perfectly comfortable with these characters, both new and pre-existing, and injects a lot of liveliness into their portrayals that make you instantly like them as well as potentially finding newer perspectives to them that hadn’t been explored previously.
There’s a lot of good stuff between Jennifer and Bruce in this episode, with the latter spending most of it in his “Smart Hulk” persona from Avengers: Endgame, which like in that film does make it humorous to see the once-uncontrollable Hulk in a more settled and civilised form. Ruffalo shares good chemistry with Maslany, who right away gets the audience on her side with indiscreet charm and charisma, making her a protagonist who will no doubt be plenty of fun to watch as this series progresses. Together, they have plenty of funny and even profound moments, particularly when Bruce is slowly realising how much better equipped she is to her new monstrous side than he is, in an interesting situation that posits him as the rather forceful teacher who can’t accept her refusal to go into traditional superhero-ing. Their dynamic does carry this first episode, and when it does indulge in some of the usual effects-heavy action it’s done in a way that feels natural to these characters’ progression and differing ideas about what they want out of the scenario.
Like I said, though, A Normal Amount of Rage is very light on most of what one would expect almost immediately, which in terms of pacing does mean that it’s not exactly getting the ball rolling right away in terms of what the overall arc of this series is going to be. Perhaps next week, or even the week after, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will find its footing and get itself firmly on track with its own story and set of supporting characters, but that isn’t to say that this episode is unnecessary, because it serves as a good introduction to this main character, her own abilities when in Hulk form, and her unique fourth wall-breaking skills that are already pretty amusing in how they’re integrated into the narrative (it’s almost like a superpower in its own right, one that confounds even her when she starts doing it). Just don’t go in expecting it to zoom straight into much of its story, action, world connectivity and so on, and you’ll be pleasantly satisfied (mostly).
Plus, if that wasn’t enough to get you excited, this episode also answers an age-old question that viewers have had since Phase One: has Captain America, y’know, done it? The answers may surprise you, and tickle you senseless at the same time.
SO, TO SUM UP…
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Episode 1 – A Normal Amount of Rage is an enjoyable but light introductory episode that sidelines most of the usual action and storytelling to establish its charismatic lead character and her new powers, and a central comedic tone which works fine here but might not immediately win over those who are already tired of the Marvel style of comedy that has plagued most of Phase Four.
