Movies Daily by Zach Cannon

Imagine you’re Marvel. A few years ago, one of your most famous titles, The Incredible Hulk, was made into one of the dullest, least interesting comic book movies of the recent wave of films from the genre. So, now you want to make a sequel that kind of erases that version of the Hulk, and what do you do?

Hiring people who have almost no experience in comic book science fiction is what got you into trouble in the first place, so you do it again. But rather than going for an up-and-comer like Eric Bana, you cast a proven lead like Edward Norton. And rather than hiring a then Academy Award-nominated director (now winner) like Ang Lee, you get that French guy who directed The Transporter 2 (Louis Leterrier) and a mediocre screenwriter (Zak Penn). Then, pepper in talented character actors like Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson and hope this strange formula works.

In short, it does. The Incredible Hulk of 2008 is faster, leaner and meaner than the 2003 Hulk. It concerns itself less with the origins and psyche of Bruce Banner (Norton) and his big green alter ego, quickly recapping/rewriting the first movie during the opening credits and dives right into a chase.

Hiding in Brazil, Bruce is hiding both from the American military and the violent, destructive creature he morphs into when angry. He’s gone 158 days without “incident,” works in a bottling factory and attempts to find a cure for himself. When General Ross (Hurt), the Hulk’s nemesis and the father of Bruce’s girlfriend, Betty (Liv Tyler), finds him, Bruce transforms, smashes up Ross’s team and discreetly goes back to the U.S. in an attempt to up his success rate in a search for a cure.

What this Incredible Hulk lacks is a character arc. In the first, Bruce Banner’s emotional journey hinged on some unresolved father issues and a mystery that you learned the answer to in the first five minutes of the movie, though it took Bana’s Bruce two hours to get his own answers. It was dull, bloated and heavy. In this one, Bruce has one goal: to get rid of the Hulk inside him, and maybe get reunited with his girlfriend in the process. There feels like there was more to the movie at one point, especially in the first act and all the cuts that peeved Norton leave the plot feeling quick, but choppy.

Despite that, the film feels more organic than its predecessor and other superhero movies. The humor isn’t forced, and it never grows silly, like Iron Man did in its third act. Unlike most Superman films, Hulk is given a worthy adversary in Emil Blonsky/ Abomination (Roth), the soldier whose attempts to become a super-soldier (yes, that’s a reference to the reference to Captain America) turns him into a Hulk-like freak.

The final battle between Hulk and him both packs on the (very well done) CGI action, and furthers the Hulk as a character both separate from but connected to Banner, rather than merely showcasing Big Green as a destructive force of repressed psyche. It’s a taught, exciting climax to a movie that might not be incredible, but it’s pretty good.

Grade: B

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