A fairly decent job was done this time, unlike before

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2008)

It was five years ago this month I went to see Ang Lee's "Hulk" in the theatre, and like many others, I was not too impressed. I last gave it a try on the small screen last year, and it certainly didn't improve. In fact, I probably noticed more flaws in it than before. However, when I learned that this second adaptation of the "Incredible Hulk" comic book series was coming, featuring a different cast and director, it was a film I intended to watch. Before I went to see it on the silver screen today, I knew it seemed to be widely considered superior to the 2003 film, so I was expecting it to be, and it was, even though it's not one of my favourite comic book movies.
Bruce Banner is now a fugitive from the U.S. Military in Brazil, and has managed not to turn into the Hulk for quite a while. He currently works in a bottling factory, and is learning anger management techniques. He also has conversations on the Internet with someone he knows as "Mr. Blue", discussing a possible cure for Bruce's condition. Unfortunately for Bruce, the military manages to track him down, and while they are after him, he is attacked by fellow factory employees, causing him to finally turn into the Hulk again! So, the military doesn't catch him this time, but he is once again on the run from them! He finds himself in Guatemala the next day, and soon makes his way back to the United States, where he meets his former girlfriend, Betty Ross, the daughter of General Ross. From here, his conflict with the military continues, and more trouble arises when another powerful giant green creature appears, The Abomination!
Things that sunk Ang Lee's "Hulk" include bad acting, some laughable lines in the script, Talbot being a fairly annoying character, and silly multiple scene framing. Fortunately, I didn't notice any of these things in this second attempt to bring The Incredible Hulk to the big screen. The acting isn't really anything to rave about, but at least it's better than before. The script may be a tad weak at times, but at least there are no lines as low as what Betty says to Bruce after he survives gamma radiation in the first film. Aside from that, we don't have any characters as annoying as Talbot, and there's none of the multiple scene framing. 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" is also more exciting. I had trouble staying into it for a while, but eventually, the action had me in fairly consistent suspense for probably most of the rest of the film, starting with the battle between the Hulk and the military on the university campus. To add to the entertainment, there's also a bit of humour in this film, such as the crazy taxi driver. Some of the fight sequences may be a bit overlong, but I don't think any of them have anything on the tedious sequence with the Hulk fighting mutated dogs in the 2003 film.
With all its merits, this comic book movie is not the greatest one to reach the silver screen since the '90s (there have been lots of those), but it certainly does show a vast improvement after the first "Hulk" movie adaptation, and is definitely superior to certain other comic book movies of the decade, such as the Razzie Award-winning "Catwoman". Like Ang Lee's 2003 film, this one is dark, which some would like and some wouldn't, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the quality of the film. Unlike its predecessor, this 2008 version of "The Incredible Hulk" is actually a fairly decent dark film, and if you're a fan of these comic book movies and were displeased by the first Hulk movie adaptation (like many others were, myself included), well, that's no reason to avoid this second one.