A much better start to the franchise

Rating: 7/10 (22 December 2008)

The incredible Hulk tells us the story of a scientist on the run named Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). We get glimpse of an experiment gone wrong and catch up with Banner in Brazil. Banner is looking for a cure for something and since we all know what the film is about it isn't much of a mystery. Through an accident at the soda factory Banner works at a drop of his blood makes it to the US in a bottle revealing his location to General Ross (William Hurt) who is hunting Banner. An elite group of soldiers is sent to Brazil led by General Ross and a special forces legend, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). As Banner is pinned down he transforms beating several special forces agents and Blonsky. After his escape Banner seeks out his lost love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) to help him find a man who may be able to help him. As General Ross, who is also Betty's dad, closes in on Banner he convinces Blonsky to take part in several super solder experiments to help him fight the Hulk leading to the creation of another monster.
All in all this film is far better then Ang Lees 2003 train wreck the Hulk. The FX were brilliant and the Hulk looked great. The Hulk was very real looking and felt like a character not a cool addition to the film. The action was smooth and we got a good villain instead of hulked out dogs.
I thought Edward Norton was perfect as Banner both in his stature and quit desperation for a cure. It was really cool to see a skinny and weakly looking Banner turn into the huge and powerful Hulk. Tyler, Hurt, and the other actors also do a fantastic job of contributing to the story. Roth is great as an aging soldier presented with the chance to become everything he used to be and more. He provides a great glimpse into how power corrupts.
The script flowed well getting rid of the cheese the seeped out of Ang Lee's Hulk. It was funny in a realist way and still communicated what was happening. The only real issue with the story was how crammed everything felt. At times I wished I had seen more of Banners time alone and how it got him to where he was. I guess I also wished Norton had had the opportunity to really let us see Banners pain in being alone.
I must say there were a lot of tips to Hulk fans as well. The scenes that mirrored the old TV show, the use of the TV show theme, Lou Ferrigno included in a cameo and as the Hulks voice, the purple pants, Hulk in the rain with Betty. All of those things pushed my geek buttons which was a lot of fun.
The only problem this film really had was that it came out in the summer when we got Iron Man and The Dark Knight. I think that those two films helped to bury a very good story. Not that those films are evil it just may have not been the best idea to release this film in the same summer as those two.