A pleasant surprise!

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2008)

HULK SMASH! 'The Incredible Hulk', while not without it's flaws, is a much leaner and meaner version of the comic book tale than Ang Lee's disappointing 'Hulk'. Instead of delving too deep into psychological issues and family trauma, the new film keeps moving and never strays from the action.
Now let's get something out of the way that bothered me a lot. 'The Incredible Hulk' cheats here by being a sequel to a film that doesn't exist! It's not an origin story but it's not a sequel to Lee's film either. The opening sequence recaps events that didn't actually take place in 'Hulk' and this makes the first ten or fifteen minutes especially awkward. It's almost like you have to do your homework on HOW the Hulk gets created before turning up, which is OK I guess because it's such a well known character.
Now onto the positives. The opening action sequence in Rio's shanty towns is amazing, up there with something out of the Bourne movies, except with the added bonus of including a Hulking-out scene! Ed Norton and Tim Roth are both good as enemies while their digital counterparts are also rather impressive but more on those in a sec. There's some nice humour thrown into the mix, stopping the film from getting too serious.
With ten times more energy than 'Hulk', the movie leaps from one action sequence to another and although it gets a little bit choppy later on, it's much better than the incoherent finale of the other version. The effects range from fantastic to that kind of gravity defying look that most comic book movies seem to pick up. But on the whole I was impressed and every time the Hulk gets mad (which is a lot in this film) it always makes you smile.
The final battle between Hulk and Roth's Abomination is savage stuff, with the pair roaring and growling like wild beasts. If you a bit let down by the Transformers-lite showdown of Iron Man, then you might prefer this one which I'd say is better.
Sorry if this review is all over the place, I just felt I needed to say that 'Incredible Hulk' is a pleasing entry into the genre and I'm actually looking forward to the inevitable sequel!