No, no . . . please, no!  Edward Norton struggling to retain his composure as Dr. Bruce Banner, under close watch by Tim Blake Nelson (as Dr. Samuel Sterns) in Louis Leterrier's "The Incredible Hulk", now playing across North America.  (Photo: Rhythm and Hues)

THE POPCORN REEL FILM REVIEW/"The Incredible Hulk"
It Ain't Easy Being Green: Edward Norton As "The Incredible Hulk"
By Omar P.L. Moore/June 16, 2008
 
"Something very bad is about to happen here," or words to that effect, are spoken early on by Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner in Louis Leterrier's update of "The Incredible Hulk", the second feature film in a span of six years to be made from the Marvel Comics series.  Mr. Norton's words, spoken at a time when his big screen character is in distress, are prescient for this new film, which barely improves on Ang Lee's woeful 2003 "The Hulk" and stands alone as a gloomy, shadowy lifeless chunk of entertainment.  (Both films were released in North America by Universal Pictures.)  Mr. Norton, who like Robert Downey Jr. is an above average actor (at least in such films as "American History X") and who like Mr. Downey this summer makes his first foray into comic book superhero territory, here lacks the physical heft of the late Bill Bixby but supplies an emotional anchor for his character as does the film's overall tone, which resembles aspects of the famous television series -- which still remains the best adaptation of the Marvel Comics series.

"The Incredible Hulk" has a familiar plot: Dr. Banner has been overexposed to gamma rays and when he gets angry, he gets green.  The U.S. government wants to trap Banner and have ownership of his body to conduct experiments and utilize him as a secret weapon.  Colonel Ross (William Hurt) leads the charge to commandeer Banner as a physical specimen.  The colonel's daughter, scientist Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) is full square against this of course, and her romantic entanglements with Dr. Banner make her only more resolute. 

There's no Jack McGee around to make Dr. Banner angry.  There are however, numerous other episodes offering opportunities to make him green.  For all the explosions and property destruction that occur in Mr. Leterrier's film one would have hoped that the director would have re-spun the Hulk as an environmental activist -- his very green existence an affirmation of a new, friendlier, waste-wary Hulk.  But this Big Apple Hulk still smashes and destroys (though doesn't fly like the 2003 San Francisco-based edition did) and his biggest adversary is the Abomination (a scene stealing Tim Roth) aka Blount, an overzealous member of the U.S. military under Col. Ross's command.  He can't wait to tear into the Hulk -- and as Blount he wants the unbridled power to do it.

"The Incredible Hulk", which opened across North America last Friday, has a couple of cameos, both of which are rather amusing.  It is a welcome sight to see someone that people will instantly recognize and bring lots of laughs to audiences.  These moments are the most joyous in a dreary, monotonous, noisy, violent and empty spectacle.  There is enough growling and snarling by both man and beast here to scare the beejesus out of any unruly inhabitants of a zoo.

"The Incredible Hulk" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.  The film's duration is one hour and 54 minutes.  The film also stars Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Samuel Sterns.  "The Incredible Hulk" is written by Zak Penn.

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