The Incredible Hulk movie review

The summer of 2008 will be known as the starting point for something great. This will be the time we look back and see how Marvel Comics was able to take their properties and move them forward into one big movie universe. Some will say Spider-Man started it, but it didn’t start to merge till now, till Iron Man laid the groundwork of something large. The Incredible Hulk builds on this groundwork giving us a movie that fits in with the rest of the movie Marvel Universe but also is able to stand alone and deliver it’s own themes and ideas. For those of you that don’t know the background of the Hulk, here it is in song form. Catchy, isn’t it? One thing to keep in mind is, this isn’t the Ang Lee 2003 Hulk which was a very stylized movie based off of the comic book. Some liked it, some hated it. I was among those that liked it, even if the Hulk didn’t appear till almost an hour into the movie. This isn’t a continuation or sequel either. It’s a “reboot”, a do over if you would like. Marvel took a chance to re-image the Hulk’s world for the big screen and they delivered on this by getting Louis Leterrier on board to direct. He brings a real world feel to the movie that some thought was missing in the 2003 version. Plus he knows how to stage an action sequence and we get to see plenty of it in the 2008 Incredible Hulk. Here is a quick run down of the plot. Doctor Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) was belted by gamma rays and turned into the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno, providing the voice). During the accident, he injures long time girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and her father General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt). Like the TV show, we see Bruce trying to find a cure to remove the Hulk from him. Like the comic book we see Bruce running from the United States military in hope of not being captured and used as a weapon.  Two great tastes that go great together. Assisting General Ross with his quest is Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), on loan to the US from the UK. Blonsky is a warrior that lives for the fight, the adrenalin rush, the thrill of the hunt, and the capture of the prey. He’ll stop at nothing till Bruce Banner/the Hulk is captured. Bruce has help as well in the form of a mystery Mr Blue who is trying to come up with a cure. We later learn that Mr Blue is Professor Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) and he has plans of his own for Bruce’s blood.

Unlike the previous outing, this movie picks up the action right away and we see the Hulk within the first 30 minutes of the movie. Between a roof top chase in South America, a fight between the Hulk and General Ross’ military forces, and a showdown in New York City we get to see tons of action. So in honor of this movie I am going to debut a new feature called “The Good, The Bad, and The Geeky.” The Good:

• Action and lots of action
• True to both the TV version and the comic version
• Bill Bixby is in the movie, keep your eye out
• Cameo appearances by Lou Ferrigno and Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee
• The HULK seen within the first 30 minutes is a plus
• William Hurt did a great job as General Ross; He was on-par with Sam Elliot’s version in the 2003 Hulk
• Ed Norton showed that he was a fan of the source material and respected both the TV and Comic fans with the script that he helped write