The Incredible Hulk Review

If there were a list of recent movies no one really wants to see revisited, you would think Academy Award winner Ang Lee's 2003 take on the "Hulk" would be near the top of the list (personally, I'd rather see someone remake "The Da Vinci Code," but make it, you know, exciting).

I actually admire the fact that Lee tried to make a heady and (capital "s") Serious comic book movie. The problem, in my opinion, was that he didn't make a serious movie — he made a dull movie. The 2003 film featured the Hulk fighting a mutant poodle — I'm pretty sure that whenever a mutant poodle shows up, your film is automatically disqualified from being Serious.

Either way, Marvel recently decided to crank out its own movies based on their most beloved comic book characters and gave the big green guy another shot, resulting in "The Incredible Hulk" (You see it's different because THIS Hulk is "incredible").

Actually, it's different because, instead of hiring the director of "Sense and Sensibility", the studio hired the action-oriented Louis Leterrier ("The Transporter 2", "Danny the Dog").

So is the new "Incredible Hulk" better than the previous movie? Obviously, opinions and tastes will vary. What I will say is, um, yes. The "Hulk" is certainly more exciting and entertaining than its predecessor, which (hello!) is what you usually look for in a comic book/superhero movie (especially one about a huge green guy who smashes stuff). Then again, I could just be feeling all the "Hulk" love since they gave me a free poster with my movie ticket — apparently, I look like I'm 12 years old. I also thought it was weird that no one else seemed to have a poster.

Anyway, you may have heard this is neither a sequel nor a remake of the previous film, but — after a brisk and entertaining opening credits sequence (screw all the origin crap) — it does pick up where the last movie left off, with Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) on the run and with General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) hot on his trail.

Banner is hiding in Brazil, struggling to cope with his condition (using meditation and breathing exercises) and trying to find a cure. Meanwhile, Ross wants to capture Banner and harness his power to create super soldiers. To that end, Ross enlists the services of decorated soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) to help track Banner down.

The first thing Leterrier does right is NOT make us wait nearly an hour to see the Hulk. I don't think I have A.D.D. at all, but if I'm paying to see the Hulk, I want to see the big guy in action. On that front, Leterrier definitely delivers with an exciting chase through the streets of Brazil, as well as the film's highlight, a confrontation against the military on a college campus.

The film was also smart to actually give the Hulk a worthy adversary in Blonsky, who eventually becomes the Abomination. Watching the Hulk take on someone his own size is a hell of a lot more entertaining than watching him take down countless military personnel. Unfortunately, the climactic fight between these two, while technically impressive, is not nearly as engaging as I hoped it would be.

Lest you think the movie is just a smash-fest, the script by Zak Penn (on which Norton also did a lot of uncredited work) contains plenty of humor, and references sure to delight comic book and old-school Hulk fans (the now-requisite Stan Lee cameo, original Hulk Lou Ferrigno as a security guard and the voice of the Hulk, among others).

Speaking of Norton (one of the very best actors of his generations), he delivers another strong performance, but what else is new? The only problem is that he just can't help but give off that faint "I'm slumming in a comic book movie" vibe, but he still makes us sympathize with Banner.

The rest of the cast doesn't fare quite as well. Liv Tyler is adequate as love interest Betty Ross and has decent chemistry with Norton, but there just isn't very much for her to do. The same could be said for Roth (another fine actor), who is fine here, but probably could have been a little more menacing as Blonsky. Worst of all, is Hurt, wildly overacting as the obsessed Ross. Oh well, at least watching him ham it up with his silly hairpiece is funny (but he can't hold a candle to Sam Elliott's near-perfect portrayal of Ross in the last "Hulk", probably the highlight of that movie). I also thoroughly enjoyed Tim Blake Nelson's nutty portrayal of Dr. Samuel Sterns, who's a little too in awe of the "Hulk." I also found it fascinating, puzzling and a little sad to see Michael K. Williams (who portrayed one of the most fascinating characters in recent TV history - Omar on "The Wire") reduced to a silent cameo during Abomination's rampage.

Then again, we all know this isn't exactly supposed to be an actor's showcase. "The Incredible Hulk" is meant to be a fun summer action movie, and it definitely delivers on that front. In fact, I'd say it the best pure action movie of the year.

I still like "Iron Man" (Marvel's other summer movie) a little better overall (because Tony Stark is a LOT more interesting than Bruce Banner), but the action in the "Hulk" blows away the action in "Iron Man". Additionally, despite a few dangling plot threads, the non-action parts are interesting enough to hold your interest until Hulk goes smash.

I guess some things ARE worth revisiting.

The Incredible Hulk...B+