The Incredible Hulk
June 14, 2008 at 10:04 a.m.
With an entirely new cast, a new director and a darker, more sinister (and ripped!) Hulk, Director Louis Leterrier takes the challenge of rebooting the series after the utter disappointment that was Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003). From the surface, it looks like we’ve seen this movie before—it still features an unstoppably huge green monster and the confident scientist determined to find a cure for his explosive temper.
Only this time, the movie is a less moody and more faithful adaptation of the comic book series. Edward Norton seems to be the perfect casting choice for the role of Dr. Bruce Banner, the unassuming scientist plagued by the inclination to bust out of his shirt and begin tossing cars like softballs when he gets excited.
The film injects the audience into action from the get-go, assuming that audiences’ have some knowledge of the basic Hulk premise beforehand. The opening credits give a brief, obscure synopsis of the genetic experiment that created the green monster before catching up with the escaped Banner, on the run and hiding deep in Brazil.
The first hour progresses in a wild, Bourne-esque game of cat and mouse, with Banner narrowly escaping the grasp of overzealous bad-guy Emil Bronsky (Tim Roth), a commando determined to do whatever possible to personally ensure Banner has a bad day.
Ultimately the film is a refreshing take on the Hulk saga and a thoroughly entertaining movie. However, its close proximity to the release of Iron Man reduces whatever novelty The Incredible Hulk might have held as the summer’s blockbuster comic book adaptation. As for the previous Hulk movie it replaces, Norton’s Banner seems to sum up the overall attitude when he says in the movie, “I don’t want to control it… I just want to get rid of it.”
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