Broken Frontier

Back in the summer of 2003, Ang Lee’s Hulk landed in theaters with a deafening thud, turning a beloved Marvel Comics’ character into an Oedipal mess of a film that tried to combine tragic melodrama with gamma-irradiated poodles and an incoherent Nick Nolte. In 2008, Marvel Studios is resurrecting the franchise with The Incredible Hulk, a film that acts as both a quasi-sequel and a reboot to that misfired first adaptation.

With Lous Leterrier at the helm, known for the bombastic Transporter 2, fans were promised more “Hulk smash” and far less “Hulk mope.” The verdict? While The Incredible Hulk is no match for Jon Favreau’s phenomenal Iron Man, it’s a darn good superhero movie. Marvel Studios, you’re officially two for two.

After The Incredible Hulk gets the character’s irradiated origins out of the way during its opening credits, things kick off in Brazil where former scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is trying desperately to both control his temper and cure his condition, through correspondence with an American researcher known only as “Mr. Blue.” He makes his living working at a soft drink bottling plant, where an unfortunate accident alerts the authorities to his location. Led by General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt), the father of Bruce’s estranged love Betty (Liv Tyler), the United States military tracks our hero down to capture him. Bruce gets angry, things get ugly (and green) and you know the rest.

What is most striking about The Incredible Hulk is that it manages to correct many of the major flaws present in Ang Lee’s film rather effortlessly. The film gives glimpses of Bruce's torment without dwelling on it, and seems aware of when we’re supposed to cheer along with the character and when we’re supposed to feel sorry for him. The film is, thankfully, anchored by three action sequences where the Hulk comes into conflict with the U.S. military, led into battle by snarling mercenary Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). Each confrontation ups the ante in terms of scale and collateral damage until Hulk and a crazed, gamma-mutated Blonsky—the Abomination—tear up the streets of Harlem in the film’s frenetic final showdown.

And therein lies this film’s strength. Leterrier is no stranger to the action genre and it shows. The Incredible Hulk never skimps on the smashing, something sorely missing in the 2003 film. When the Hulk tears a police car in two and uses the halves as boxing gloves to fight Abomination at the film’s climax, audiences will be hard-pressed not to crack a smile. Watching the character cause havoc onscreen is a pure, visceral joy.

The film is chock full of winks and nods to both the comics and the popular 1970s Incredible Hulk television series, including cameo appearances by Lou Ferrigno and the late Bill Bixby. Yes, Stan Lee also makes an appearance here, this time playing an all-too critical role in the movie’s plot. There’s even a few nudging references to the Hulk’s pants, which thankfully never seem to rip entirely when Bruce transforms. Some of these scenes are a tad too self-referential, threatening to take the audience out of the film almost entirely, but they at least show the filmmakers’ commitment to the character and his history.

If the film has one true weakness, it’s the script. Written by Zak Penn—with reported yet uncredited help from Norton—the dialogue tends to get clunky when things aren’t exploding, particularly during some of the scenes between Bruce and Betty. The Incredible Hulk is so squeamish about intellectualizing the character that it seems to get uncomfortable in-between action sequences. Since this film is a direct response to Lee’s Hulk, it avoids even the things that worked in that previous adaptation—namely its quieter character moments.

The Incredible Hulk is no masterpiece, but as Marvel Studios’ second effort in building a cinematic Marvel Universe, it delivers everything it should. Watch for the highly-publicized Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) cameo among other bits of Marvel fan-service throughout. If this summer’s one-two punch of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk is sign of things to come from Marvel Studios, they may make "True Believers" out of us all.