An excellent, underrated action film

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2009)

When I first saw the teaser for this movie, I was a bit disappointed. I thought it looked too much like a cheap remake of the 2004 movie, and I had a hard time getting excited for it. Then, I saw the REAL trailer, and my anticipation grew. Finally, I saw the final film, and it became one of my favorite movies of 2008. This is a movie that IMO ought to please both hardcore fans of the comics who felt let down by Ang Lee's 2004 interpretation, as well as fans of the original TV series. It was a very tricky balance to achieve, but the movie somehow managed to pull it off.
Edward Norton is excellent as Dr. Banner, and is much more in line with what fans of both the comics and TV series would expect. Unlike rugged Aussie Eric Bana, Norton conveys the persona of a twerpy but vigilant scientist, and while his performance may not be as memorable as Robert Downy Jr's Tony Stark, he still delivers. The rest of the cast is great well, and if you've seen Iron Man the acting here is fairly consistent with it (which is good, since these are meant to be "sister movies" in the same continuity).
The action in this movie is fast paced and in good quantity, with a surprising amount of it focusing around Banner himself rather than his green alter-ego. Like I said, both fans of the comics and TV show should be pleased, because they managed to find a good screen time balance between the two, keeping our emotional investment in the movie firmly grounded on Norton's Banner. The scene where Hulk takes on the Humvees was awesome, and despite my initial skepticism based on the trailers, the climax with Abomination was top-notch monster mash goodness.
It's a shame that Hulk's brand doesn't seem to have much resonance with audiences, because this movie was pretty much exactly what I wanted when I walked into the theater. It's a fast action movie with heart and intelligence behind it, and it manages to respect the incarnations that came before it. Whether you're a fan of Superhero movies and comics or you just want a great action film, IMO this movie doesn't disappoint.