big and loud but with a certain amount of heart

Rating: 7/10 (7 July 2008)

Louis Leterrier's "The Incredible Hulk" dispenses with all the how-Dr.-Bruce-Banner-became-a-hulking-monster stuff in the opening credits (the result of gamma ray poisoning from an experiment that went terribly awry, for those who don't already know), thereby making the film more of a sequel to the Ang Lee version from 2003 than a remake of it (even though all the parts are played by different actors). Though far from perfect, that earlier "Hulk" was, I believe, unfairly pilloried for being just a tad too brooding and a trifle too thoughtful for a mind-numbing, feel-good summertime blockbuster (it WAS an Ang Lee film, after all). Well, most of that "problem" has been eliminated in this new version, which has streamlined its story into a virtual nonstop orgy of chase sequences, exploding vehicles and general CGI mayhem. The good news, though, is that "The Incredible Hulk" boasts the highly gifted Edward Norton as Bruce, who gives the film a human heart anyway.
For the most part, "The Incredible Hulk" is one big long chase story interrupted by occasional romantic interludes between Bruce and his former girlfriend, Betty Ross (Live Tyler), the fellow scientist who accidentally helped to make Bruce the man/monster hybrid he is today. Bruce's main nemesis is Betty's father, General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), the military officer who wants to capture the young man - who has spent the last several years in hiding, futilely searching for a cure - so that he can replicate the experiment and turn out a veritable army of indestructible incredible hulks.
Norton and Tyler make a fine romantic pair, and Tim Roth does his usual superlative job as the villainous (are there any other kind?) former KGB agent who wants to be first in line to volunteer to be "hulked." The filmmakers, moreover, manage to fork over a little screen time to Lou Ferrigno in a cameo appearance (he also provides the voice for the Hulk) and even the late Bill Bixby who shows up in a brief clip from TV's "The Courtship of Eddie's Father." The controversy over which of the two "Hulk" films is better (i.e. more faithful to the spirit of the original) is sure to rage on for years to come. I have no real desire to either enter the fray or belabor the point (I like them both about equally), but let me just say that this latest "Hulk" is really all about the action and, for the most part, it delivers on that level. But thanks to Norton and Tyler, like the Lee version, it has some much-needed soul as well.