The Incredible Hulk

Reviewed by:
Eric Alt

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

The Skinny: Don't call it a sequel. This "reboot" of Marvel Comics' Big Green stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner, a research scientist who accidentally dosed himself with gamma radiation and now turns into a giant muscle-bound monster whenever he gets angry or excited. The U.S. military is willing to do anything to hunt down the on-the-lam Banner, even going so far as to juice up a hard-nosed merc (Tim Roth) with an experimental, Hulk-like serum.

The Good: To be honest, we were expecting a disaster. Instead, we got a kick-ass superhero movie. The critic soundbite you'll most often hear is "this is the movie they should have made the first time," but it's true—where Ang Lee gave us King Kong with daddy issues, Leterrier finally gives this superhero some heroics. Norton, Roth, William Hurt (as "Thunderbolt" Ross), and Liv Tyler (as love interest Betty Ross) are all on board with the concept and seemingly having fun. Nods to the classic TV show are all over the place, and they're great.

The Bad: You won't 100% believe the Hulk is living and breathing, but the CGI has improved slightly over the 2003 movie (the shot of Hulk raging against a thunderstorm is the kind of iconic shot Lee's turn lacked). There are also some plot elements left hanging and the final battle looks more like a video game level than real New York.

Avengers Assembling: Just as Iron Man ended with Nick Fury recruiting Tony Stark into a little something called "The Avengers" (you did stay after the credits?), so Incredible Hulk features a neat little Stark cameo (before the credits, so no need to hang around) in which the billionaire hero does some recruiting of his own.

Theater, DVD, or TNT in Five Years? Go see it. We know you were disappointed by the first one. This ain't the first one.

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