An Incredible Reboot

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2008)

I was not one of those who hated Ang Lee's 2003 portrayal of the Hulk. I did enjoy it to an extent; it was a bit slow-moving and there were some parts that needed some improvement, but it was overall a decent film. I do agree that Louis Letterier's 2008 film was a vast improvement, though. It improved on all of the issues I had with Lee's film. The film is a reboot of the dying franchise: Bruce Banner has been hiding in Brazil, attempting to keep a low profile while he searches for a cure for his condition, but General Ross becomes aware of his location and enlists the aid of Emil Blonsky, a soldier with a mean streak. A bit of non-sanctioned experimentation later and Blonsky becomes a creature rivaling even the Hulk in power.
One issue I had with Lee's 2003 film was the slow-pacing; the film felt as if it dragged forever between action scenes. It wasn't necessarily the fault of the cast, but seemed more to do with a story that didn't really grab me. Letterier's film amps up the excitement and interest levels a bit with a stronger story and better action sequences. The Hulk's fight against three gamma-irradiated dogs in the previous film doesn't even compare to the Hulk's battle against the Army on the college campus in this film. I didn't see the Hulk from 2003 as being overly-cartoonish in appearance but I can see how some others did. The new film gives the Hulk a grittier, stronger, more realistic style (as realistic as a 9-foot tall green giant can be) and the Abomination looks just as good.
In general, I also dug the new cast better than the previous. Ed Norton was great as Bruce Banner, giving him a great blend of meekness and inner strength. From what I understand, Norton is a huge fan of the source material so you know he must've given this role everything he had. I enjoyed Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, though there were times when I missed Jennifer Connelly, and Tim Roth has long been one of my favorite actors so it was great to see him go with the villainous side this time around as Blonsky. William Hurt was a fine General Ross though, just as Liv Tyler, there were times when I thought Sam Elliot would've put in a stronger performance (plus, there were a handful of instances where Hurt came off as over-acting a bit, in my opinion...).
It's great to have the character of the Hulk back in the hands of Marvel and they've done a great job of rejuvenating the franchise. I loved this film and, while it wasn't on par with 2008's Iron Man film, it was a great superhero flick. The action was brutal, the story was entertaining, and the cast was near perfect. My only real issue with the film was the ending; without going into detail, I thought the resolution of the final battle between the Hulk and Abomination was anti-climactic. I remember first watching the scene and the only thought that popped into my head was "That's IT?!". Otherwise, it's a great movie and a good way to spend two hours.