Stars: Tim Roth, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Edward Norton

Director: Louis Leterrier

Summary: Hailing more from the pulp-melancholic spirit of the 1978-1982 Hulk television series than its 2003 predecessor did, THE INCREDIBLE HULK wordlessly tells the entire gamma ray-afflicted origin story of scientist Bruce Banner's alter-ego within its first two-and-a-half minutes. This sequence makes at least two things clear. First off, the Edward Norton-starring THE INCREDIBLE HULK is not a sequel to or a remake of the 2003 THE HULK, but a reboot complete with an alternate plot, a new dynamic, and a different set of rules. Second, director Louis Leterrier (UNLEASHED, THE TRANSPORTER) intends to deliver an economically paced, tightly wound thriller in which drama and action scenes are not mutually exclusive.

Hailing more from the pulp-melancholic spirit of the 1978-1982 Hulk television series than its 2003 predecessor did, THE INCREDIBLE HULK wordlessly tells the entire gamma ray-afflicted origin story of scientist Bruce Banner's alter-ego within its first two-and-a-half minutes. This credit sequence evokes--albeit with more cinematic weight--the premise-informing quality that might be found before every episode of a cult hit series. This sequence makes at least two things clear. First off, the Edward Norton-starring THE INCREDIBLE HULK is not a sequel to or a remake of the 2003 THE HULK, but a reboot complete with an alternate plot, a new dynamic, and a different set of rules. Second, director Louis Leterrier (UNLEASHED, THE TRANSPORTER) intends to deliver an economically paced, tightly wound thriller in which drama and action scenes are not mutually exclusive.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK replaces cerebral family drama with a coping scientist who, at the start of the movie, is in hiding and training his mind-body dichotomy. So much of Banner's plight is effectively conveyed with simple 'days without incident': title cards that inevitably reset. The Hulk's previously poetic weightlessness is rejected in favour of gargantuan physicality akin to seeing huge robots face off in TRANSFORMERS, but with more flesh, muscle, and bone. The angst, of course, isn't gone from this incarnation--not if Norton's intelligently passionate Banner and his tender, forbidden relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler) have anything to say about it--it's simply that this Hulk always smashes before he ponders. Rounding out THE INCREDIBLE HULK's main players are William Hurt as General Ross and Tim Roth as marine Emil Blonsky, two antagonists in pursuit of the Hulk who, like Banner, are not so much evil as consumed by tragic character flaws.

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A more accessible and less heavy-handed movie than Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk, Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk is a purely popcorn love affair with Marvel's raging, green superhero, as well as the old television series starring Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the beast within him. Edward Norton takes up where Eric Bana left off in Lee's version, playing Bruce (that's the character's original name) Banner, a haunted scientist always on the move. Trying to eliminate the effects of a military experiment that turns him into the Hulk whenever his emotions get the better of him, Banner is hiding out in Brazil at the film's beginning. Working in a bottling plant and communicating via email with an unidentified professor who thinks he can help, Banner goes postal when General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and a small army turn up to grab him. Intent on developing whatever causes Banner's metamorphoses into a weapon, Ross brings along a quietly deranged soldier named Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who wants Ross to turn him into a supersoldier who can take on the Hulk. The adventure spreads to the U.S., where Banner hooks up with his old lover (and Ross' daughter), Betty (Liv Tyler), and where the Hulk takes on several armed assaults, including one in a pretty unusual location: a college campus. The film's action is impressive, though the computer-generated creature is disappointingly cartoonish, and a second monster turning up late in the movie looks even cheesier. Norton is largely wasted in the film--he's essentially a bridge between sequences where he disappears and the Hulk rampages around. As good an actor as he is, Norton doesn't have the charisma here to carry those scenes in which one waits impatiently for the real show to begin. --Tom Keogh

Aspect Ratio:	2.35 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Feature commentary with director Louis Leterrier and Tim Roth
Year:	2008
Release Date:	October 13, 2008
Runtime:	108 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	8255602
Keywords:	Action, Incredible, Hulk, English, General, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure