L'Incroyable Hulk

Out of the five original Avengers, I always thought that the Incredible Hulk was the least interesting and therefore least likely character to be adapted to film (except Ant-Man, although he'll be arriving in 2010...look forward to that.) However, here we sit in 2008 with not just one, but TWO different portrayals of the less-than-jolly green giant. The main problem that the new film faces is that some people will believe it to be a sequel to Ang Lee's 2003 effort, which upon release was blindfolded, made to stand against a wall and executed by public firing squad. The fact is that it is not a sequel at all. Instead, director Louis Leterrier has pulled a 'Batman Begins' and rebooted the franchise, and not just in name only. Everything about the 'Hulk is excellent. From the special effects to the characters to the reticent nods to other superheroes within the Marvel universe, the 'Hulk succeeds on every level.

The film sidesteps the curse of the tedious 'origin story' by showing it to the audience in the opening credits. That should really be a law within superhero movies. It works so well: Bruce Banner works on a radioactive serum with love interest/scientist Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler's lips), he injects himself to see if it works, it transforms him into the Hulk. There, that didn't need to take one hundred minutes of screen time did it? This means that director Leterrier has free reign to explore how Bruce Banner lives as the Hulk and the attempts by the United States army to track him down and neutralise him, which leads to several action set pieces involving vehicles being thrown into walls and soldiers firing a nimiety of bullets at the Hulk, even when they can clearly see them bouncing off his body. Really, what is the best they are hoping for in a situation like that? "Keep firing, he might develop a vague sense of moral ill-being and stop!" Ultimately, the film boils down to a brawl in New York City between the Hulk and his evil counterpart, a special-ops soldier (Tim Roth being exemplary as usual) willingly injected with the Hulk genes, much like the climax to 'Iron Man.' The difference here is that the build up to this fight doesn't seem rushed like in 'Iron Man' because Leterrier has been able to utilise the whole of the film's running time to arrive at this natural conclusion, instead of being preoccupied with the origin story and tagging on an antagonist at the end.

Whoever cast Edward Norton as Dr Bruce Banner is almost as much of a genius as the person who asked Robert Downey Jr. To play Tony Stark in 'Iron Man' (who makes an appearance in the film inducing fan-boy erections everywhere.) Norton plays his role with understated finesse, never resorting to overly pained facial expressions, intense eye contact or shouting to display the anguish which is consuming him for the majority of the film. He simply shows that the Hulk sized burden on his back is destroying him, crushing his will to live. He looks haunted and tired, but possesses a steely resolve not to succumb to the beast within, although it would temporarily end his struggle if he did so. He's so good that Christian Bale will have to turn water into wine in The Dark Knight to retain his title as King of the Superheroes (Tobey Maguire? Hahaha, you're kidding...wait, you aren't?) There are many minor elements in 'The Incredible Hulk' that elevates it above most movies in this genre. For example, for nearly half of the film the audience are only provided with fleeting glimpses of the Hulk, much like Batman in 'Begins. His presence is not overused, though it easily could be with the bravura CGI shown at the end. Indeed, the first chase scene does not involve Banner turning into the Hulk at all, it is just an exciting pursuit across rooftops in Rio De Janeiro. Also, the orchestral score lends an air of intelligence to the film and enhances the scenes much more than an overdriven guitar track (hello, Iron Man) would have done.

The Incredible Hulk is one of those minority superhero films; it's good. In fact, with regard to any competition it faces, you (if you were looking to conclude a film review with a dialogue related pun) might be inclined to say "Hulk smash!"

First off, let's get one thing straight - - - this movie is NOT a sequel to the 2003 Hulk which had attempts to portray many things from the Hulk comics (father-son conflict, father-daughter strained relationship, a love triangle of sorts) that resulted in a confusing, sometimes scary (remember that scene where The Hulk was fighting off killer dogs?) movie.

This Incredible Hulk version is a simpler story; however, with strong performances by Edward Norton, William Hurt and Liv Tyler, it entertains (yes the key word is that it ENTERTAINS) better than its predecessor.

While it retains a more serious tone generally than, say Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk is definitely not a pushover when it comes to getting fans to enjoy a good movie. The action sequences, though not that many, were pretty good. Whatever lacking in action you think it has in the beginning, the climax between the Hulk and Abomination (you've seen that in the trailer so no spoiler there) should more than make up for it. It doesn't have many light moments (I only count about 3, really, cause they were quite few so I remembered them), but it wasn't as totally dark as the Ang Lee version.

And to some extent, at least this Hulk is less CGI/cartoony-looking than the last one. While he does have those weird ridges/lines stretching across his body, making the muscles seem different than what you'd see on a big body builder, this Hulk is more realistic (but really, how realistic can you get with a CGI-made anti-hero?), so you at least have an improvement there.

Edward Norton is more believable as the "tragic-story-of-my-life" protagonist Bruce Banner (no offense to Eric Bana, but he was just too muscular and less flawed-looking that Norton). The one actor I miss here, though, is Jennifer Connelly as Betty Ross. While Liv Tyler's portrayal was credible enough, I don't think anyone can beat Jennifer's take on Ms. Ross.

Overall, I give it a 7 out of 10. Good enough to watch, entertaining and enjoyable without the complexities that the 2003 movie brought to the table, and a worthy addition to cinematic adaptation library that Marvel's adding every year. Hopefully, it will pick up steam after people realize that it's not the complicated, semi-psychological thriller (?) movie that the 2003 Hulk attempted to be. Rather an enjoyable cinematic achievement that's good enough to watch on the big screen.

The Incredible Hulk, based on another marvel superhero and also the 1970s TV show, revolves around Bruce Banner becoming a fugitive after his science experiment exposes gamma radiation on him which transforms him into the Hulk which becomes his appearance for brief periods of time. Meanwhile, General Ross and his army including Emil Blonsky tracks down Bruce and little does he know that Emil decides to use a serum that would give him some abilities while also transforming him into an even worse creature imaginable.

Out of all the MCU films I've seen, the one that didn't make as much money compared to the others is this. Which is a shame because this is directed by Louis Leterrier, who would later direct the terrible Clash of the Titans remake, Now You See Me, and the recent TV show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (which I severely liked). And the acting from everyone involved is good. Edward Norton does a great job as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler from The Lord of the Rings trilogy does a good job too as Betty as did William Hurt and Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson. Sure, the villain could've been developed more and the second act of the film could've been better, but everything else is done very well. The cinematography is gorgeous, the pacing is decent, the editing is superb, the music from Craig Armstrong is rousing, and the action sequences are solid.

So, overall, this isn't a perfect film by any means but it's way better than the 2003 version (which isn't terrible but could've been much better). To those who have seen most of the MCU films or not, certainly give this one a go. :)

Honestly, as soon as I heard they were making another Hulk movie I was surprised. When I heard they had cast Ed Norton, I was shocked. So going into this movie I had no idea what to expect. Coming out, I feel like an idiot because it was really masterfully done. Lettier does an amazing job, Norton was fantastic, and as far as a comic book movie goes, this one is just about on top with little nods and mentions. If you don't walk out of this film screaming HELLL YEAAAA, then you are not normal. Far better than Ang Lee's attempt at the green man and as far as this year, it's definitely Marvel's year. No better way to make up for Spiderman 3 than releasing Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk just a month apart. Thank you Marvel for cleaning the mess Spiderman 3 left and clearing your name. This film just makes me thing of one word...AVENGERS

From that brilliant poster of Ed Norton dressed all in denim walking away from the huge frame of his alter ego the Hulk to the superb end fight that shows the makers of Spiderman 3 how it should be done this is a great film. Not by any means a brilliant film but a truly enjoyable superhero romp none the less. Gone is the emotion that Ang Lee tried to inject into Hulk (2003) and back is the smashing and shouting and smashing. Plagued by his demons and his uncontrollable green counterpart, Norton plays Dr. Bruce Banner a scientist with a secret, desperate to find a cure. Hot on his heels are the army lead by Emil Blonsky (Roth) under the command of General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, who just so happens to be the dad of Banners girlfriend Betty (Tyler), who wants to know how he gets all angry and use the technology to create 'super soldiers'. Plus Iron Man Tony Stark is in it. That then is about it, what you get is a chase movie with some great characters, some great effects and a couple of amazing set pieces including the end fight between the Hulk and the Abomination. All in all it's smashing stuff that should leave other superhero films green with envy.