The Incredible Hulk: Truly Incredible

Rating: 9/10 (27 October 2008)

You certainly won't like Edward Norton when he's angry...or maybe you will and he'll entertain you for a couple of hours. He stars as scientist Bruce Banner, who takes part in an experiment that ends up turning him into a giant monster whenever he suffers stress. As he desperately searches for a cure, he is hunted by General Ross (William Hurt) who wants to extract the condition from Banner and make an army of super-soldiers.
Due to Ang Lee's very disappointing 2003 version of Hulk, the green giant was given a reboot in the form of Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk. This is far superior to Lee's movie, which was overlong and took itself too seriously. Unlike Lee's one, The Incredible Hulk doesn't dwell on the origin story for too long, which leaves more time for some kick-ass action scenes. The reboot was a great idea and I'd like to thank whoever came up with it for giving me back my faith in the Hulk.
The special effects in The Incredible Hulk are amazingly constructed and really stunned me. Although maybe not 100% perfect, they're good enough to flabbergast the average viewer. Their use in the astonishing battle between The Hulk and The Abomination is quite simply fantastic.
The Incredible Hulk contains some references to past versions of it. For example, Bill Bixby, who played Dr. David Bruce Banner in the 1980's TV series, makes a posthumous appearance on a TV screen. Also, the famous purple trousers are used for a joke. And, of course, the legend that is the creator of The Hulk, Stan Lee, has a small cameo.
Edward Norton does a far better job than Eric Bana did in the 2003 Hulk. Norton embodies the role perfectly and is very memorable, whereas Bana didn't really fit in with the character. Also on fine form are William Hurt as General Ross and Liv Tyler as Banner's love interest, Betty Ross. Tim Roth is brilliant in the part of villain Emil Blonsky, who soon becomes the monstrous Abomination.
The Incredible Hulk has many visually stunning, adrenaline-pumping battle scenes which really make the movie great. Obviously, the best is the action-packed finale between the two monsters of the film. However, the action scenes don't distract from the relationship between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross, which works a lot better than that of the 2003 version.
With fantastic special effects and great action scenes, The Incredible Hulk truly is incredible. I give it 9/10.