"The Incredible Hulk"- the 2008 reboot is a fun and very decent action picture with some large problems

Rating: 8/10 (6 March 2012)

I am one of the rare fans of Ang Lee's 2005 "Hulk" adaptation. It is a very underrated, provocative and cerebral analysis of the character, and is an interesting character study of everyone's favorite not-so-jolly green giant. That being said, I'm also an enormous fan of the two "Iron Man" films, "Thor" and "Captain America", and I'm very excited about the upcoming "Avengers" crossover featuring those three characters plus the title character of this 2008 reboot, so I recently decided to sit down and watch this film after having put it off for the past few years.
Directed by Louis Letterier ("Transporter 2") and written by action-veteran Zak Penn, "The Incredible Hulk" is a step-up as an action film. Whereas the Ang Lee version was a complex mind-bending genre film with little awe-inspiring action but a deep analysis of what makes the Hulk tick, this is more of what audiences were apparently expecting- a lot of "Hulk smash!" moments without a particularly deep and moving plot. That being said, it's still an involving, fun film, and despite some shaky storytelling, it's worth seeing, especially as a precursor to the upcoming "Avengers" film.
On the surface, this largely seems to be an homage to the classic Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno series from the 70's. (With a lot of references, including the use of Ferrigno as the voice of the Hulk, the iconic "Lonely Man" theme, and even some flashbacks that look startlingly like the opening of the TV-series) Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) has been on the run from the army for the past few years, and is holding up in Brazil, where he trains to control he breathing and temper, and works in a soda-packing plant. General Ross (William Hurt) is still pursuing him, and when a sample of Bruce's blood is accidentally mixed in with one of the sodas, poisoning an American man, Ross dispatches Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a Russian-born army man, to track him down and bring him back. Bruce also yearns for his past love- Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), the General's daughter. Soon, Bruce finds Betty and they most go on the run from Ross and from Blonsky, whom is given a "super-soldier" treatment and eventually becomes the Hulk-like villain "The Abomination."
The film, to its credit, is a fun movie. It's a blast to watch, and it serves as a nice set-up to "The Avengers." The action is a lot stronger, and particularly the climactic battle is very awe-inspiring. Unlike "Thor", "Captain America" and the two "Iron Man" films, the action here is very drawn out and brutal, and never feels anticlimactic. (Which is a problem I had with the other "Avengers" films- too little action, and they were somewhat anticlimactic.) The acting is generally superb as well, and despite there not being much character development, the roles are all filled perfectly, and you will feel for each one.
That being said, there are some problems. For one, as I mentioned above, there is exceedingly little character development. This takes place after Hulk's origins, so we miss out on a lot of establishments of characters. This almost feels like a sequel to a non-existent film, as we don't really get to learn about the characters, and we are expected to have built-in knowledge. (To be honest, this could very-well have been a sequel to the Ang Lee film with the omission of one or two flashbacks, as it almost feels like it was written as a sequel then retooled into a reboot at the last minute.)
Second, Hulk looks less realistic than he did in the Ang Lee film three years prior, oddly enough. People complained about him being too bright a hue of green in the last film, and it took people out of the movie, but other than his bright color, the character model, lighting and animation was suburb, and there were a few shots that were among the best CGI I've ever seen. Here, they tried (and failed, in my opinion) to redesign the character and he looks much faker as a result. They darkened his skin, which gives him the unfortunate look of a dill-pickle in wide-shots, and the lighting makes him look a bit too "plastic-like" in some moments, and the way the model's skin moves over his muscles looks fake. Also, the animation is too quick and too smooth looking, which gives him away as a CGI creation. Abomination, the "evil Hulk", actually looks far better, more detailed and more realistic.
Finally, the film does take a bit too long to get going. I had actually rented the film when it first came out, and shut it off after 15 minutes, because I was bored. It does take a good 20-30 minutes to get moving, which does hurt it.
Those complaints being said, however, this is still a fast, fun, furious ride, and it's very wild and exciting to watch. I'm giving it a good 8 out of 10. It's one of the weakest "Avengers" movies, but it's still a good film.