Review: The Incredible Hulk

Marvel Studios is on quite a roll these days...

While not quite as engrossing or funny as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, under the direction of Louis Leterrier and starring Edward Norton (Bruce Banner/The Hulk), Liv Tyler (Betty Ross), William Hurt (General "Thunderbolt" Ross) and Tim Roth (Emil Blonsky/The Abomination), delivers the goods! It's a great mixture of what we used to get from the old Hulk TV show - a fugitive Banner, always on the run from the authorities as he roams from town to town - and what we'd expect from modern day, big-budget film-making. That last bit can be summed up in two words: Hulk smash! And there's lots of that to be found here (with nary a Hulk-dog nor super-villain Banner, Sr to be seen anywhere, thankfully!)

Liv Tyler is gorgeously emotive as Banner's love interest, although I wish they'd spent a little more time building up some credibility around her role as brilliant scientist. Roth is fine as gonzo would-be Hulkbuster Blonsky, despite being upstaged in the final act of the movie by a CGI-proxy. The two stand-out performances, for me, though, were Norton as Banner and Hurt as his army nemesis. Neither one of them has a great deal of deep material to mine - did I mention that Hulk smashes?! - but both stellar actors make the most of what they're given. True to the comic book character, "Thunderbolt" isn't really the villain of the piece: after all, he thinks that he's making the world a safer place with every action he takes! And Norton's Banner is appropriately conflicted between wanting to help at every turn and being afraid of what will happen if he gets too hungry... I mean, angry! (That's an in-joke, for those who've seen the film.)

The real jewels of the film were the many nods made to past and future moments: Lou Ferrigno's cameo, a brief appearance on-screen by the late Bill Bixby, Robert Downey, Jr's continuity-enforcing walk-on as Tony Stark, references to the Super Soldier serum (and its description of being "on ice," which all comic fans know relates to how Captain America transitions from World War II to modern day), as well as setup moments involving "Leonard" (who should eventually become "Doc" Samson) and "Doctor Samuel Sterns" (who begins the transformation into Hulk arch-villain, the Leader). I thought it would've been cool if the "Mr Blue" that Banner text messages with in the film had turned out to be Reed Richards (as happened in the comics), but I guess that would've been asking too much (and potentially crossed studio lines, as I'm not sure who produces the Fantastic Four big screen adventures right now).

It's a fun film, with no shortage of big fight scenes. I'm not sure where they'll go in a sequel, as "the U.S. army versus the Hulk" motif was already beginning to grow old even this time around. But I'm sure they'll think of something.

Rating: *** 1/2