Fan boys and moviegoers will enjoy the direction of Louis Leterrier’s interpretation of Marvel Comics iconic hero, “The Incredible Hulk.” Leterrier’s film of the same name delivers huge action scenes, brawny CGI characters and a strong plot.Those who enjoyed the 1970s live-action TV version of the Hulk will be pleased. Leterrier incorporated elements from the popular TV show to the movie. Most noticeably, Hulk’s origin story mirrors the old show. Edward norton’s character, Bruce Banner, (a.k.a. Hulk) is a victim of a military science experiment gone wrong. Banner and company attempted to create something that tapped into man’s adrenaline to cause super-strength.
Banner and audiences get snippets of the event that caused the creation of the Hulk. The two characters share the same body, but not the same mental capabilities and personalities. Hulk emerges when Banner gets too excited. Whenever Banner gets over excited, havoc and destruction follow because of the Hulk.
Since Banner doesn’t want the Hulk to harm anyone, he chooses to try and live a life of solitude. In the beginning of the movie, Banner is in a small Brazilian town. There he works at a bottling factory, and is being taught by a wise sage to learn a new technique to help control his emotions in an effort to get rid of his alter ego.
Sometime later, the US military finds out where Banner is hiding out. General Ross(William Hurt) send orders to his men to recover the government’s property. The orders cause a fight to ensue between Hulk and the soldiers.
Much of the “Incredible Hulk” movie revolves around the idea of change. Not only does Banner want to change, but also the power hungry soldier, Emil Blonsy (Tim Roth) believe they will be mightier if alter themselves. Banner’s ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) holds the power to change the Hulk. General Ross believes he can change the world if he can control Hulk. The theme keeps the attention of viewers.
True fans of “The Incredible Hulk” comic and TV show should go wild when cameos from the 70s Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, and Bill Bixby appear in the film. Also making a cameo appearance Iron Man himself, Tony Stark(Robert Downey Jr.). If you missed the secret ending to “Iron Man,” Stark has been recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. to be part of the Avengers team and he is looking for team members to join him, no doubt for the 2011 “Avengers” movie.
Few moments in the action flick are wasted on pointless dialogue between characters. “Hulk” keeps its momentum throughout most of the film. Like this years mega hit, “Iron Man,” Marvel Studios has produced another movie that will please both kids and adults.
Unlike “Iron Man,” though “Hulk” lacks clever dialogue witty dimensional likeable characters and solid performances by all actors. The action scenes at times seem like loud mindless destruction. There are a few unanswered questions like, “who is Mr. Blue?” that doesn’t get answered, but perhaps they’re setting up for round three. Despite some flaws in the movie, “The Incredible Hulk” is much better than Ang Lee’s “Hulk” and will thrill viewers who love action films. A wonderful performance by Edward Norton and crisp CGI earned this motion picture a B.
