THE INCREDIBLE HULK

"HULK SMASH!!!!"

After an experiment using gamma radiation goes disastrously wrong, Dr. Bruce Banner (Norton) goes on the run to find a cure for his accidental overdose. Now a fugitive wanted by the US Army, Banner travels the world looking for rare ingredients that could be used to make a formula that could take away the beast that is caged inside him. Because when Bruce Banner gets angry he becomes something filled with rage, something impossible to stop and this is what General Ross (Hurt) wants to get his hands on and use it as a weapon, the Incredible Hulk.

After Ang Lee's take on the classic Marvel character in 2003, will this new version allow the Hulk to finally smash?

When it was announced that the Oscar winning director Ang Lee, the man behind 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was going to make a big screen adaptation of 'The Hulk', comic book fans rejoiced and salivated at the prospect of what the film was going to bring but when it arrived in 2003 the joy soon turned to disappointment. With too much concentration on character, the lack of the big green behemoth on the screen for a lot of the film and taking itself far too seriously, the fans were left disgruntled. Now Marvel have set up their own studio and after the success of their first movie 'Iron Man', the fledgling studio has decided to restart the franchise and finally allow the Hulk to really smash.

The creation of their own studio has allowed Marvel to have total control over their own material, with no interference from the mayor studios. Forgetting about the 2003 movie, Marvel decided to start again with a new director, writer and cast but adopting the new Marvel Universe concept that creates a superhero world that all their established characters can interact and exist in. This new Hulk, makes reference to characters and mythos both past and present in the Marvel Universe but not only from the comics but the classic Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno TV show as well, so keep your eyes open.

The mistake Ang Lee made in the 2003 film, consentrating on character angst, has been forgotten about here. Now we have Bruce Banner, the fugitive on the run from General Ross who wants the Hulk as a new supersoldier weapon and desperate to find a cure for the condition that he cannot control and one that he believes will become more and more dangerous. Ross and his 'Hulk Busters' have now been joined by British Royal Marine Emil Blonsky, who bring a new approach to the search but after his first encounter with the green monster, he asks Ross if there is anything to level the playing field but when he provides a serum that once worked to create a legend, Blonsky then wants more. With more US Army involvement and a villain who is taking it too extremes, the action quota is much higher than the Ang Lee version.

You would think that with the passing of five years between the Ang Lee and this new version that the visual effects would have surpassed what had come before. Since 2003, we have seen computer-generated characters grow from strength to strength but even though it is slight better than the first attempt, the new Hulk isn't as good as the old one. After seeing Gollum, Optimus Prime and the Transformers and plenty of other computer generated creatures and humanoids, expectations for the Hulk were great but again they fail to create a creature that doesn't look computer generated. While the animation on the Hulk is first class, his appearance in the daytime scenes show the limitations of having a complete CGI character. Also effects creators still struggle to get the eyes right which continue to make some creations look soulless. What they still do well however is allow the Hulk to 'Smash!' and boy does he smash things up.

As well as a change in story, 'The Incredible Hulk' has had a change in cast. Gone are Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly and Sam Elliot to be replaced by Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, William Hurt as General Ross and most notably Edward Norton as Bruce Banner. With the skinner, geekier looking Norton than the muscular Eric Bana, the Bruce Banner character becomes a lot more believe, just as we had with the immortal portrayal by the legendary Bill Bixby. In fact Norton pushed for the fugitive aspect of the TV show to be the main theme of this new version. Liv Tyler naturally steps into the Betty Ross role and William Hurt is the perfect choice for Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross. Emil Blonsky, the soon to be Hulk nemesis is played by Tim Roth, in his usual villain style. He does a decent job but lately you can help think that Roth is over acting at times. The inclusion of Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns is an excellent choice however and fans will know what he becomes for the possible sequel and an appearance by a now familiar character in the Marvel universe leads on to Marvel's big franchise plan.

'The Incredible Hulk' is a much better film than the Ang Lee version but still not the perfect Hulk movie that fans may have wanted. The 'Hulk Smash!' sequences do deliver, big style, but it is in the story development that the film falls a little short. With rumour of over seventy minutes cut out of the film in the editing process, the story is a little disjointed in parts but this aside this is another success for the fledgling Marvel Studios.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Feature Commentary with director Louis Leterrier and Tim Roth
The French director and his star come together to provide a chatty and informative commentary track for 'The Incredible Hulk'. The pair talk about the influence of the original TV series, the reboot not sequel approach, the numerous Marvel references in the film and many of the plot points of the film. This is a good commentary and one that fans should enjoy.

Trailers
Previews of 'The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor', 'Iron Man' and 'Marvel Animation'

Disc 2

Alternative Opening Sequence (2.26 mins)
Watch another scene from the montage opening sequence that shows Bruce Banner trying to get rid of the Hulk once and for all.

Deleted Scenes (42.38 mins)
Entitled 'Bruce in Brazil', 'Bruce meditates', 'Searching for the flower', 'Building the lab', 'After the bottling factory/General Greller', 'Ross and Blonsky conspire (extended)', 'Bruce delivers Pizza', 'The computer life', 'Bruce and Stanley', 'Bruce meets Leonard', 'Bruce and Betty talk', 'Dinner with Bruce' and 'The Orchid', these deleted and extended scenes suffer from the lack of a introduction or commentary to explain why they were removed.

The Making of Incredible (29.34 mins)
Director Louis Leterrier, producers Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd, executive producer Jim Van Wyck and stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt take you behind the scenes of the reboot of 'The Incredible Hulk' franchise. With the cast and crew talking about the casting, reboot problems and creating a new Hulk, this is a good featurette that fans should enjoy.

Becoming the Hulk (9.23 mins)
Director Louis Leterrier, producers Kevin Feige and Gale Anne Hurd, visual effects supervisor Kevin Williams, character designer Aaron Sims and Edward Norton talk about creating a new Hulk for the movie. Moving away from the TV version and the giant version used by Ang Lee, we see how the new Hulk was designed.

Becoming the Abomination (10.17 mins)
Director Louis Leterrier, producer Kevin Feige, visual effects supervisor Kevin Williams, movement coach Terry Notory and star Tim Roth take you through the motion capture process used to bring the Abomination to life.

Anatomy of a Hulk out (27.51 mins)
Director Louis Leterrier, producer Kevin Feige and star Edward Norton take you through the 'Hulking out in the Bottling Plant', 'Hulking out on Campus' and 'Hulking out in Harlem', showing how the films were shoot on location and how the Hulk and Abomination were added into the scenes.

From Comic Book to Screen (6.34 mins)
Watch a comparison between a scene from the movie and a scene from a classic comic book and how it was recreated, with some changes, for the film.

OVERALL

The double disc DVD treatment for 'The Incredible Hulk' is very good. The featurettes cover most aspects of the film's production and the commentary track is also very good. This is a must buy package for all Hulk and Marvel fans.

DVD

Iron Man

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2008