The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Widescreen Edition Special Edition 3 Discs Includes Digital Copy DVD

I liked Lee's Hulk, but in a "Summer of Superheroes," the Hulk finally got the attention he deserves thanks to a new director in the form of Luis Letterier(Transporter) and a batch of damn good actors to fill the shoes left behind by the terrible casting choices of the past. While I never really picture the Hulk as a superhero, but more as a beast on the run who runs into some adventures on the way, this film proves Hulk's potential for being a major action superhero...even if he does cause a lot of damage in the process. Letterier's film is what I like to call a "requel"-it's a remake and a sequel. A remake because it's a brand new creative team and cast, and a sequel because it doesn't focus a whole lot on the Hulk's origin because the last film already took up the whole movie explaining it.

The plot is simple and what a Hulk film should be like: Bruce Banner is working at a bottle factory in Brazil when the U.S. army and General Ross get wind of his presence there. Bruce finds himself yet again on the run from the army, who want to harvest the beast inside him as a weapon. Ross brings in Russain soldier Emile Blonsky to help him in his pursuit against Banner, who ultimately becomes the raging Abomination.

Both Lou Ferrigno and Stan Lee get extended screen time after thier half-assed cameos in the original. Also speaking of the Ferigno days, the movie makes an effort in adding some touches from the original TV show starring Ferigno and the late Bill Bixby(keep an eye out for him as well). It made me glad to see the filmmakers taking an interest in the show that really created the Hulk's large fan base. Now both fans new and old can enjoy the olden days, as they hear the sad "lonely man" theme song and even the origin story in the beginning credits.

The acting is great also, and when you have an all-star cast like this one, it better be damn good. Ed Norton, who also wrote the script, makes his blockbuster debut and delivers as he always does, completely destroying the performance of his predecessor Eric Bana. However, Bana's portrayal was fine also, and you have to blame the creators of the first Hulk for a story bogged down by conversations about Banner's past. The same can be said about Liv Tyler's and William Hurt's performance in this version compared to Jennifer Connely's and Sam Elliot's in the first. William Hurt as General Ross brings his character to life and captures the stubborn general perfectly, while Tim Roth creates a perfect Blonsky, being a true badass.

I've heard this movie lacks heart: bullshit. This movie has enough heart to make Hannibal Lecter hungry. Hulk's relationship with Betty is even made stronger, and it almost reminds me of Peter Jackson's King Kong: a beast who loves a beautiful women and will demolish anything to protect her. In the end, this is the Hulk film fanboy's have been waiting for...and all they needed to do was change EVERYTHING. Bravo to everyone involved for making a true monster out of the Hulk.

The special features are really great, but like I said, there could have been more. There's "The Making of Incredible," which is a making of featurette. "Anatomy of a Hulk-Out" delves into the processes behind the 3 main Hulk transformations in the movie. "Becoming the Hulk" and "Becoming the Abomination" are two really cool features that go deep into what it took to create the Hulk and Aboination for the film, from designs, to CG, to the actors's involvements. "From Comic Book to Screen" is a look at comic panels from the comic "Hulk: Gray," in which the cave scene with Hulk and Betty is based on. It's cool, but you need to be close to the TV in order to read it. Finally, there's a shitload of deleted scenes. Some of them great, but for the most part, I'm glad they deleted them to be put into "deleted scenes." However, the alternate opening is badass. You have to see it.

Disc 3 is a digital copy of the film. Haven't used it, but I guess you're supposed to load it on your computer and it can be downloaded to your IPod or what have you...because I really wanna watch Hulk smash things on a 2-inch screen...

Overall, The Incredible Hulk is an action packed ride close to the comics, but still manages to keep the heart of the TV show. There's room for more features, but what we get is still great.