After the overwhelming disappointment of 2003’s Hulk, the Marvel film franchise was faced with a dilemma: would it press on with a sequel and attempt to salvage the series or begin anew with a straight-up remake. The Incredible Hulk lies somewhere inbetween and, despite its somewhat unclear continuity, it is a drastic improvement over Ang Lee’s original film.
The Incredible Hulk does not re-tell the title character’s origins in full rather it succinctly summarizes them in an opening credits montage. This leaves open the possibility of it being a sequel by not directly contradicting Hulk, while also not getting bogged down in the details of the original film and allowing this version to stand on its own.
The Hulk proper begins where the previous one left off (which is, again, left open for interpretation) with Bruce Banner on the run from the U.S. government, desperately in search of a cure to rid him of his alter ego, Hulk.
In a complete cast turnover from Hulk, Edward Norton replaces Eric Bana as Banner and is much more natural in the role than his predecessor. In addition to his excellent performance, Norton also made notable contributions to the script.
Banner’s chief pursuer is the boisterous General Ross, played memorably by William Hurt. Ross has personal connections to Banner through both the experiment that created Hulk and his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler), Banner’s love interest. Tyler’s performance is on par with Jennifer Connelly’s from the previous movie, but her chemistry with Norton and their dynamic throughout the film makes the Bruce/Betty relationship far more interesting and relatable.
Filling the role as the physical villain opposing Hulk is Tim Roth as task-force specialist Emil Blonsky. Through Ross, Blonsky becomes involved in a secret super-soldier program for the government. At first this gives Blonsky increased stamina, healing ability and physical prowess, but it eventually causes him to mutate into the grotesque Abomination.
The climax of the film consists of these two computer-generated titans battling it out on the streets of New York. While this approach may seem a bit too monster-movie to have any real drama, Incredible Hulk does a good job of developing the characters well enough so when they transform into their monstrous alter egos, viewers are still invested in them, if for nothing else than the ramifications on their human halves.
The special effects are top notch and while they may go a bit too far in the final battle, for the most part the film delivers high quality, convincing CGI. The Hulk himself resembles his comic book counterpart far more than his 2003 incarnation did, while looking much more realistic as well.
The Abomination is less so but is a more extreme character and being seen only at night does help the believability factor.
While completely accessible to the general audience, Incredible Hulk isn’t afraid to throw in a few treats for the fans either. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk in the 1970s television series, not only makes a brief appearance as a security guard, but also provides the voice of the Hulk in the film. Also be on the lookout for Marvel patriarch Stan Lee in his best cameo yet. ?The Incredible Hulk delivers†an entertaining cinema experience with characters that are both interesting and entertaining, a story that is straightforward and believable (as far as comic book plots go) and special effects that are incredible (pun int
Marvel took a gamble on revisiting a character that had been the cause of much negative backlash, but the effort was well worth it
