- Title: The Incredible Hulk
- IMDB: link
Athough not a sequel to Ang Lee‘s Hulk the film, after a brief introduction, picks up with Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) on the run trying to control his condition and find a cure. His search will lead him back home into the arms of Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and the sights of Gen. Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and his new protege (Tim Roth) who has agreed to be enhanced by process which created the Hulk. For more on the film read December’s original review.
Learning from the mistakes of Hulk this film stays truer to the characters and amps up the action. This comes with the cost of replacing what worked Lee’s film (the actors), and although this version is a better representation of the character it lacks some of the style of Lee’s film.
Even though I enjoyed this film much more than Lee’s, writer/director Zak Penn does however make one of the same mistakes. The Hulk should be an unstoppable force, both hero and insatiable Id to the story. In a Hulk film we don’t really need a high-powered baddie. The early scenes with Roth work pretty well, but after his transformation into the Abomination the film devolves into a Hulk Smash video game. Simply leaving Banner on the run and allowing Ross and the military to play the opposing force to the Hulk’s unstoppable power would have made a better film.
In a great comic book year The Incredible Hulk doesn’t measure up to The Dark Knight (read that review) or Iron Man (read that review), but it is a fun ride with tons action. There’s isn’t enough on the one-disc version to recommend buying, but it works fine as a rental. Those wanting to add this film to their collection might want to look to the more feature friendly special edition.