Pardon the pun, but this is incredibly good!

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2008)

X-Men: big franchise. Spider-Man: ditto. In fact, even Fantastic Four was granted a sequel. But not good old Hulk: despite the best efforts on behalf of director Ang Lee and a cast that included Eric Bana and Nick Nolte, the green giant's big screen outing, though lauded by most critics and, to lesser extent, fans, wasn't big enough at the box office to convince Universal another installment was a good idea. Now, with the studio merely distributing (Marvel itself threw in the cash, which is also why there are no legal obstacles to having other characters from different comics in the film - more on that later) and a completely renewed cast and crew, The Incredible Hulk is a noble and for the most part successful attempt to reboot the series, a bit like Batman Begins.
Technically, this is not a sequel to Lee's film (the opening montage depicts a completely different explanation for the Hulk's origin), but it is indicated that five years have passed since Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) disappeared from the United States (and there is a five-year gap between the release of the two movies), and the story begins in South America, where the previous version ended. To be more specific, Banner is hiding in Brazil, trying to control his rage and having no contact with the outside world, except for occasional e-mails with a certain Mr. Blue (Banner calls himself Mr. Green, obviously), who might succeed in finding a cure for the protagonist's condition. But while he may avoid others, others are looking for him, and a radiation-related accident (which has to do with Stan Lee's mandatory appearance) enables General Ross (William Hurt) to locate him and send a team, led by the slightly insane Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), to get him. The rest of the plot is rather basic: Banner is on the run, he becomes the Hulk on a few occasions, returns to the US and has no ally besides Mr. Blue and old flame Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). Oh, and did I mention Blonsky decides to become a monster himself in order to bring a little fairness to the game?
The script, which is largely influenced by the '70s TV show, with the addition of Bruce Jones' comic-book cycle (the Mr. Blue subplot is lifted from his arc), aims to solve the one problem many think caused Lee's take on the subject to alienate fans: there was too much psychology/emotion, not enough action (some people made the same remark about Superman Returns). For that reason, hiring The Transporter director Louis Leterrier seemed like a logical choice, although there was doubt regarding his ability to handle what little "deeper material" there has to be in a picture like this. That he succeeds is nearly all thanks to Norton: not only does he play Banner with a conviction few would have in a role like this (then again, he's already dealt with multiple personalities in Primal Fear and Fight Club), but he also co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn (the sole credited writer), his deep knowledge of the comic proving a great asset when it comes to finding the right mixture of action, drama and humor (the "hungry/angry" joke is one of the best). But this isn't just Norton's movie: Roth, the actor formerly known as Mr. Orange, is joyously manic, and Tim Blake Nelson's sequel-suggesting presence comes close to marvelous.
Any complaints? Actually, yes: Tyler, despite her fair share of blockbuster experience, brings very little of significance to her character, not counting a couple of scenes, and the inevitable climactic showdown between "hero" and villain could have been reduced by at least five minutes. But hey, at least we get a Hulk that looks a lot better than the "poor man's Shrek" seen in the 2003 version. Plus, he finally utters the famous line "Hulk smash!" (with Lou Ferrigno's voice, no less). That, in addition to a really great cameo by Robert Downey Jr. (which, unlike Sam Jackson's role in Iron Man, has not become a post-credits "surprise"), indicates that if a second (or third, depending on how you interpret the connection between the films) movie gets made, it's gonna be pretty, well, incredible.