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June 14, 2008 -- Marvel Comics recently got rid of the middle man and started to make its own movies based on its own comic book characters. So far so good. “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” are both solid, entertaining films. The edge has to go to “Iron Man,” which successfully mixed comedy with action, but “The Incredible Hulk” is better than the original “Hulk” film released five years ago.
This time, the Hulk looks more impressive and Bruce Banner is played by a better actor, Edward Norton of “The Illusionist.” In fact, it seems all the main actors are different than the first film, except of course for Lou Ferrigno (the original Hulk from the old TV series of the same name), again playing a security guard, and Marvel Comic editor Stan Lee, who gets a cameo in every Marvel movie. This time around the love interest, Betty Ross, is played by Liv Tyler of the “Lord of the Rings” movies. Her father, the world's worst dad, unveiled just in time for Father's Day, Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, is played by William Hurt of “Vantage Point.” Character actor Tim Blake Nelson (“The Astronaut Farmer”) creates a kind of comic mad scientist character, Samuel Sterns, who is a nice addition to the story. The bad guy, a mercenary named Emil Blonsky, is played by Tim Roth of “Dark Water.”
The story has Banner hiding out in Brazil still searching for a cure to his gamma radiation condition, which causes him to morph into a powerful monster when his heart gets beating too fast. A secret military “super soldier” unit, led by General Ross, is still searching for Banner. The idea is to find out what makes Banner so strong and turn it into a weapon. When Banner contacts another scientist on the Internet who might be able to cure him, he heads back to the states. A military team, led by Blonsky, is in hot pursuit. Blonsky is given a secret serum to make him stronger. He seems to get addicted to the stuff and wants more. The final battle between the two super-steroid creatures is suitably action-packed. It is a pretty good yarn and Banner is an interesting character. Pretty much everyone else, except for Sterns, is a cardboard character.
The computer animation and special effects in this film are well done. The Hulk looks both larger, stronger, more bulletproof and more real than he did in the previous Hulk film. Advances in computer animation during the last few years are probably the reason. This is a solid, if somewhat shallow, action film. It rates a B.
Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.
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