Not easy being green...again. {{Spoilers??}}

Rating: 8/10 (18 June 2008)

I was always a little curious as to why,of all the directors in the world,the producers of the 2003 big screen treatment of the Hulk chose Ang Lee. Sure enough,after seeing that version in the theater,while I wasn't entirely turned-off by that version,I came away wondering why what should've been a fun,rip-roaring adventure with everyone's favorite green,muscle-bound beastie formed from gamma rays and brought on by anger/adrenaline was,instead,something of a sort of florid,artsy and visceral film that only 3/4 of the way through remembered that it was a comic book character it was trying to cover and then tried to make up for it.
This version didn't leave me feeling that way at all.
I know much less about Louis Letterier,except that he's a relatively new director whose previous efforts were basically adrenaline-packed action films(The Transporter series,I think),but with that knowledge,I know he's perfect for this.
Picking up from Dr.Bruce Banner's retreat in hiding in South America--specifically,Brazil--after the horrific gamma accident,the erstwhile quiet and unassuming scientist(Edward Norton,maybe a little too good for this type of role,but he does it NO disservice whatsoever)tries in vain to quietly live an existence of meditation and finding a cure for his situation,but that won't last(or else there's no movie). From there,it becomes a transcontinental pursuit between and among Banner,General Thunderbolt Ross(William Hurt,separated at birth from Ted Levine here),Bruce's lost love Betty Ross(Liv Tyler,soothing the savage beast)and the mysterious "Mr.Blue" that Bruce is trying to work a "cure" with. Into the mix is "Super Soldier" Emil Blonsky(Tim Roth,who's never met a nefarious role he doesn't like,it seems),a fierce fighter whose interest in the Hulk threatens to turn him into something just as or more dangerous.
Come to think of it,this movie could(accent COULD)be considered a sequel to the first version,since its line of events doesn't vary or completely contradict the Ang Lee version. But otherwise,this is more treated as a "do-over" and that's just fine by me. This treatment seems more accurate.
The summary line basically comes from the fact that it's truly tough to translate this creature or action accurately without either A)sacrificing character in favor of CGI and ear-splitting boom or B)becoming so entranced in the whos and whys that the appeal of the show gets diluted. I,were I the director,would err on the side of the former(which this show sorta does),since that's probably what most audiences will go for. The screenplay and plot are neither that bad or that good. And that's just fine so long as it serves the Dr.Bruce Banner/Incredible Hulk in the way those who've enjoyed the comics and/or TV show are acquainted. This film achieves that aim amicably.