The Incredible Hulk

The most incredible thing about The Incredible Hulk is not the special effects, great acting, or the rain-dreched lover’s reunion sequence. What truly took the honour were Hulk’s super resilient stretchy pants. They ripped in all the right places but did not malfunctioned in any way that would cost the green giant his modesty.

But beyond the incredible pants, this is the Hulk movie fans have been waiting for. There are a few flaws, the main one being that CGI technology still can’t render a perfectly believable Hulk, but there’s enough of a coherent plot and loud destruction to stay true to the main point of any Hulk story. You want to see Hulk smash.

The movie successfully washes off that odd taste Ang Lee left us with his take on Hulk. This new movie is not a sequel, but a different interpretation.

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) had a genetic-altering experience with some Gamma radiation that turns him into a savage green giant when he’s mad. He’s now on the run from the American military, estranged from the love of his life, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and the main dude after his shape-shifting ass is Betty’s dad, General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt).

Within General Ross’ ranks is Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), an ageing soldier who has an insatiable lust for power. He gets some special top secret injections later that turns him super human to help him and the General nail Banner.

Along the way, a whole lot of building, trucks and scenery get destroyed. There’s also an explosion waiting around every corner.

Norton as Banner works particularly well because he’s so skinny and posseses that scrawny nasal voice. It’s the perfect contrast to the green, death metal barking alter ego he becomes. Roth and Hurt are awesome as well, providing plenty of menace for you to hiss at and wanting to see Hulk get the upper hand. Liv Tyler though was pretty forgettable. She didn’t do much beyond looking lost all the time.

Be prepared to control your gag reflex in the scens with Bruce and Betty though. The movie really milks all the couple scenes for all its emo worth, making sure you don’t forget that the two can’t be together and every moment they have is precious.

Thankfully, you’ll get your thrills back on whenever Hulk starts going into destruction mode. The action sequences are generously long (come on, admit it, the Iron Man versus Iron Monger happened too quickly) and you actually get to see the city-destroying fights scenes properly (as opposed to the quick and blurry ones in Transformers last year).

This movie is also guaranteed to give Marvel comics fans a major nerdgasm. The movie has references to the secret organisation SHIELD, the ‘70s Incredible Hulk, a great Stan Lee cameo (twice if you watch closely) and, best of all, a brief appearance by Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.

While the movie isn’t exactly perfect, The Incredible Hulk came across as pretty decently smashing.

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Cast Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth Director Louis Leterrier Runtime 114 minutes Opens 12 June