The Incredible Hulk [Blu-Ray]

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

The Skinny: Concerned that Ang Lee's Hulk movie was too heavy on the daddy issues, Marvel Studios went back to the green well for a semi-sequel, semi-reboot of comicbookdom's angriest hero. This time, Ed Norton is Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler is Betty Ross, and Tim Roth is a villain who finally lets Hulk pick on someone his own size.

The Good: After another viewing, the movie definitely holds up. It's fun and it delivers more comic book bang than its predecessor. On Blu-Ray, the image is bright and crisp (especially during the early, Brazil-set sequences), and the CGI is able to withstand the extra, hi-def scrutiny. In fact, details pop out that might have gone unnoticed during your first, theatrical viewing.

The Bad: The few minor quibbles with the movie don't magically go away, but this is a pretty solid disc overall. Ed Norton's lack of involvement in the extras isn't surprising, but it is a little disappointing. A commentary with director Louis Leterrier and Tim Roth isn't bad, but we wish Norton could have taken himself a tad less seriously and had more fun with this movie.

Best Reason To Get Blu-Ray: The sequence during which Hulk brings Betty to a rocky outcropping in the middle of a thunderstorm is a home theater home run. The distant thunderclaps, the pounding rain, and the photorealistic Hulk remind you why you sunk so much money into all that surround sound, HD business.

Best Extra: The alternate opening sequence. Included among a bunch of deleted scenes (mostly unneccesary padding), the original opening finds a distraught Banner attemping to commit suicide on a frozen block of ice. It's notable because, if you pause at the right moment after Banner's Hulk out, you'll clearly see a man in a red, white, and blue costume and shield frozen in the ice. Judging by standard DVD screengrabs, we had our doubts. Blu-Ray cleared them right up.

Buy, Rent, or Give Away: Definitely a buy. Watching it as a double-feature with Iron Man is almost mandatory.