The Incredible Hulk: a movie review

This year is undeniably one of the busiest summer movie seasons that has found its way to the Philippines. There are really great movies left and right! Well, for my taste anyway, I can't seem to get enough of the films coming out one after the other.

Last night, we watched the Incredible Hulk. I did not get to watch the Ang Lee version on the big screen but despite its lackluster performance in the box office, it was an enjoyable version, depicting the Hulk as a very powerful and agile character. The current version, however, makes the Hulk a more believable character in that it does not dwell so much on the Hulk's angst but the Bruce Banner's continuing battle with his inner demon and his search for a cure is given equal screen time as the famous green giant. In the previous version, a lot of time was spent as well on telling the story of how Banner came to be the Hulk, and that part was over and done with in the introductory sequence in the new movie and more time was thus available for plot development.

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I also like how they are trying to link the movies together. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr. a.k.a. Ironman) appears in the movie to talk about the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s initiative to form a band of super heroes. Another fun part is the appearance of no other than Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk of the hit TV series in the 80s! And the years has been kind to him; it looks like he did not age much! Edward Norton likewise fits the Dr. Bruce Banner persona, although being an 80s kid, I still like the TV version of Bruce Banner, Mr. Bill Bixby :-). However, I rather thought the pre-Abomination soldier's acting was a bit bland.
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Overall, I loved the movie. I actually thought Liv Tyler will suddenly mutter something in Elvish and have some water horses come rushing down any time in the movie (she's quite the Elf personified) but she's quite a beauty, isn't she? The plot, character development, and how everything is being fit together into one HUGE production (read: AVENGERS!) makes the movie even more interesting and engaging. After watching, I can almost feel the electricity from the comic book enthusiasts in the audience as they discussed what will happen in this franchise. Yep, comic book people are having a field day with Marvel movies these days.