The Modern Tale of Dr. Banner and Mr. HULK

Add a fine base of the classic Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, mix in some radiation and a mutant, stir constantly and bring it to a nice green boil and you've got a healthy helping of THE INCREDIBLE HULK starring Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, and Tim Roth.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK wisely side-steps the terrible and forgettable Ang Lee version of the HULK released in 2003 who used the B-Star power of Eric Bana, no super-villain, and flat-lined storytelling to ruin the franchise with the abomination. The new version of the HULK gives us all that was missing and a definite super-villain named The Abomination. A shout-out to that failed movie? No. The Abomination is one of the Hulk's greatest nemesis from pre-movie days.

Ed Norton brings a healthy tinge of humanity to the green monster. We see (and for those who read the comics, this is nothing new) that The Hulk is a deeper soul than the thickness of his skin and muscle. Rumours tell us that Norton was upset with post-production on this movie because they cut out a lot of scenes which would've allowed Bruce Banner's character to grow in lieu of more action. And that's exactly what I found I was yearning for by the end of the movie, more of Norton's Banner and less Hulk.

Liv Tyler plays her normal sweet girl-next-door persona that she utilizes in most of her movies as Bruce Banner's love interest, Betty Ross. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but I fear that (with the exception of Arwen in LORD OF THE RINGS) this is the only character she can play successfully. And again, I still was waiting for more of her and Banner interacting as when they were together they were golden.

Tim Roth, however, steals the show as Emil Blonsky and his alter-ego The Abomination. Evil, intelligent, flawed, and intense, Tim Roth was an excellent choice as the Hulk's main antagonist.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK roars with intense action, a decent plot, strong characters, a Stan Lee sighting, and a (not-so) subtle nod to another Marvel movie that came out earlier this summer, IRONMAN. I enjoyed this movie and will be looking forward to a sequel.


8 Mutated DNA Strands out of 10