Tighty-paced ride; great entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (14 June 2008)

I never saw Ang Lee's "Hulk," so I can't make comparisons. What I can say is that Louis Leterrier's "The Incredible Hulk" is a good action romp that is definitely worth any action movie fan's $7.00 at the theater. This is an effective companion piece to Marvel's "Iron Man", providing action and thrills and a whole lot of on-screen fun that only a character like the Hulk can bring.
The plot is pretty straightforward: Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is the victim of a military experiment gone wrong and now must evade General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) and the U.S. Army, who want Bruce as a weapon. Also involved in the hunt is Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a rouge soldier who is bent on doing almost anything to get after Banner. Also caught in the fray is Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who helps the fugitive Bruce when they run into each other at a university in Virginia.
I mentioned earlier that this is more of an action movie than an origin story. Those who come in expecting something "smart" may be disappointed. That's not to say "The Incredible Hulk" is poorly made; to the contrary it is a well put together thrill ride with many moments of suspense and anticipation. Whenever Bruce is desperately trying to evade capture, you feel his anguish. You feel his pain, yet realizing that at any moment, the beast will come out. Credit for this has to go to the consistent Edward Norton, who can now add his name to the list of great superheroes such as Robert Downey Jr. and Christian Bale. What director Louis Leterrier has done here is made a well-paced thrill ride, one that grabs your attention from the opening credits until the closing credits. In this sense, it is more like an old school action movie, one where you just sit back and enjoy the ride.
But like other action movies, there are problems. Only Norton and Roth really get to shine as actors, and you have your usual far-fetched occurrences (Banner sure seems to get from place to place easily). There are a couple underdeveloped subplots that would have been better omitted; likely because of Universal trimming the project (hopefully we will see the intended cut). But in all honesty, these are minor quibbles. With movies like these you've got to look at the big picture, and from where I'm sitting, the picture looks great. Leterrier and Norton set out to create a thrill ride, and they have achieved just that. "The Incredible Hulk" provides us with the summer fun that many of us have come to love. This, coupled with "Iron Man" does indeed create a great duo for the summer of '08, and will make almost everyone forget about Marvel's disappointments from last year. All in all, another great time at the theater, and probably a film worth a second viewing.
One final note, if you are thinking about waiting for the movie to come out on DVD, you are making a huge mistake. "The Incredible Hulk" must be seen in the theater. The widescreen action and the surround sound make this perfect entertainment that can only be enjoyed best with the company of others watching the big screen.