The Incredible Hulk

June 15, 2008

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 114 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you’re an Incredible Hulk fan, and you’reÂ contemplating letting this one pass you by with the fear that this is no better than the last, you should let that go right now… The Incredible Hulk is leaps and bounds better than the Ang Lee nightmare from 5 years ago. Louis Leterrier and Zak Penn create the perfect Hulk experience, for Hulk fans.

If you saw ‘Hulk’ from 2003, you remember that Bruce is on the run and hiding out in South America. Well, that’s exactly where this movie kicks off, but that ’s the only connection to the 2003 debacle. Yes, Bruce is on the run and yes he’s in South America but not as a continuation of the previous story. This movie starts out almost like the TV series; Bruce Banner (Norton)Â was a scientist working for the government, and an experiment involving Gamma radiation goes horribly wrong, turning himÂ into the monsterous Hulk.Â Bruce nearly kills his longtime girlfriend Betty Ross (Tyler) and racked with guilt, not to mention the fear that her father would cutÂ him up like a lab rat… he splits and heads off to find a cure to his curse.

So now that you’re all caught up on the basics of who and what the Hulk is, let’s get to the movie itself and how it stacks up to Ang Lee’s vision. To do this taste test we need to analyze the key components and go from there. You have Bruce, Betty, General Ross,Â adversaryÂ and of course the Hulk himself. Let’s see how each stacks up.Â Eric Bana was pretty good as Bruce Banner, but Edward Norton is a better actor all around so it’s really no surprise who wins that category. Next was the GF, Betty Ross; Jennifer Connolly and Liv Tyler battle that one out but in my never humble opinion, Liv loses hands down, Jennifer Connolly possesses better ‘assets’ and that’s enough for me. In both Hulk movies General Thunderbolt Ross,Â Betty’s dad is the real villain but when you have 2 outstanding actors as William Hurt and Sam Elliott, who do you choose… Either one,Â I liked both of them and they both kicked ass. What’s the one thing that has to be solidÂ for a Â comic adaptation to work? You guessed it, the Villain. In ‘Hulk’ you had Bruce’s pop as the Absorbing Man played by Nick Nolte; In Incredible Hulk you get Emil Blonsky AKA - The AbominationÂ - played by Tim Roth. Again, I’m a huge fan of both actors but the nod goes to Blonsky. If you’re bored just bare with me, there’s a point… Last, but never least, the Hulk himself. The most important character in the story is not Bruce Banner, it’s the F’N Incredible Hulk and that’s where Ang Lee went wrong and these fellas got it right. Ang Lee wanted us to feel Bruce’s pain and share in his torment… WTF! I want to see HULK SMASH and that’s what I got. Yes, you do see Ed Norton play the wounded hero filled with doubt and self loathing, but that’s ony about half of the movie. The other half is Emil evolving and Bruce learning to control theÂ power inside, and it makes a hell of a ride.

If you’re a fan of the site you know I’m almost always the oneÂ that write’s anything related to comics and this is no excaption, but in the case of Hulk, I’m notÂ a fan and I doubt I’ve read more than 3 or 4 Hulk stories in my life. So I went in with the need to be entertained, and I looked ot the hard core fans in attendanceÂ to let me know if the creators nailed it or not. Well, judging by the standing ovation the crowd gave it at the end, I think they knocked it out ofÂ the park.Â BTW… There are some nice guest appearances (of sorts) that let you know the film makers know how to show appreciation to the guys that made the character matter about 3o years ago.

Posted by J.C. Edwards | Filed Under 4 Stars, Action, Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Theatrical, Tim Roth, William Hurt