Dr. David Banner walks down his lonely road once more. This time instead of making a sequel to what has come before, the filmmakers decided to reboot the series. It usually takes some time before a reboot, but I can’t say that I disagree with the decision in this case because of the results.
Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) was working on a project for the military for General Ross (William Hurt). Banner thinks that he’s working on the project to help cure diseases with gamma rays, but the General has other uses in mind.
Dr. Banner tests one of the procedures on himself and is transformed into a giant, green hulking monster. He destroys the lab in his new form and nearly kills his girlfriend Betty (Liv Tyler), who just happens to be the General’s daughter.
Banner transformed back into his normal form, but when he gets angry he has a tendency to hulk out, and you don’t want to see him angry. When he learned of the real purpose of the experiment he went on the run and has been in hiding for five years trying to find a cure for his green malady.
Banner is currently working incognito in a bottling factory in Brazil and trying calming techniques to keep his anger down. When he’s cut on the assembly line some of his blood makes its way into some of the product and an unknowing consumer (a Stan Lee cameo – Excelsior!) drinking the stuff alerts General Ross where Banner is.
Ross and his team led by Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), track Banner down and when the big green fellow escapes Blonsky takes it personally. General Ross offers to inject him with the “super soldier” serum that will make the playing field more even.
Banner then has to make his way back to the states and find the mysterious Mr. Blue aka Dr. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who just may have a cure for him. Banner also reconnects with Betty, but he may have to reverse his cure when Blonsky forces Dr. Sterns to turn him into the monstrous Abomination by injecting him with Banner’s blood.
The Incredible Hulk is not a sequel to director Ang Lee’s 2003 film, but a reboot of the series. Lee’s film did tend to be a bit cerebral. To my memory, I’m not sure that I entirely got the ending of Lee’s film and it put me in mind of Kubrick’s 2001 ending.
It seems that it was decided to start the film series over again and bring on a new director, Louis Leterrier. Not only that but the film was recast and the design of the big green guy was redone.
As far as a comparison goes, I’d have to say that I preferred Leterrier’s take a tad better than Lee’s. I think the redesign of the Hulk makes him a bit more human where the first film he was a bit too large.
This film aims more for the romance angle in that Banner is pining for his lost love Betty where’s Lee’s film was about father and son relationships. I thought the new casting to be quite good and would probably give higher marks to Norton than Eric Bana.
I do like William Hurt, but I kept wondering if it wouldn’t have been better to have Sam Elliot, who portrayed him in the first film, growling through the role of General Ross again. I probably give a bit of advantage to Jennifer Connelly, but Liv Tyler also does well as Betty.
I found this reboot more action packed and therefore I preferred it. You can’t help but love a film where Lou Ferrigno voices the Hulk (and also cameos as a security guard) as well as a well-placed scene with Bill Bixby appearing on the Courtship of Eddie’s Father.
The Incredible Hulk is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.
Disc one special features include a commentary by director Leterrier and Tim Roth and 13 minutes of deleted scenes. Disc two adds a 2-minute alternate opening and 29 minutes more of deleted scenes. The 30 minute “Making of Incredible” details the film.
The 9-minute “Becoming the Hulk” looks at how they reinvented the big green guy and the 10-minute “Becoming the Abomination” shows how they created the film’s villain. The 29-minute “Anatomy of a Hulk Out” takes three scenes from the film and details how they planned them.
The 6 minute “From Comic to Screen” disappointed me in that I thought it was going to be a history of the character, but it was a digital comic of a scene from one of the comics that inspired Leterrier. Disc three contains a digital copy that you can download to your PC or digital device.
The Incredible Hulk is an improvement over the first film and I know that I enjoyed it more. To my mind it seemed to capture the television show more than Lee’s version did and adds more action. Hulk smash!
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