 Ang Lee’s Hulk was a disappointment to fans of comics everywhere, not just in the box office receipts. The Hulk is one of the flagship A-List comic book heroes, and although Lee’s attempt at the Hulk was certainly bold, it was too mired in Lee trying to be too artistic, whereas he could’ve left it at “Hulk Smash” and been good. Early this year, director Louis Leterrier (The Transporter) was hired by Universal and Marvel to do a reboot of the franchise. 2008’s The Incredible Hulk isn’t necessarily a sequel to Hulk directly, nor is it really a re-imagining like Batman Begins. Its kind of a sequel, kind of a re-imagining, but either way, it simply works, and does so much better than its predecessor.
This time around, Bruce Banner (American History X’s Edward Norton) is on the run in South America, feverishly learning to control his temper and lower his heartbeat, in an effort not to unleash his gamma side effect, Hulk. General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) has his team fast on his trail, headed by rogue Royal Marine Emil Blonsky (Pulp Fiction’s Tim Roth). Chase ensues, and Banner has his first Hulk out early on in the film, and right from the start, we know this is NOT Lee’s Hulk. Still CGI, the new Hulk looks much more human, and isn’t twenty feet tall like Lee’s Hulk.
After making way back home to the US, Banner seeks out his lab results and data from his gamma experiment gone wrong, and crosses paths with his former love, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). In one of the film’s best, if not the best, sequences, Blonsky’s team corners Banner in the University library, and one kick ass battle ensues with Hulk versus a hit squad sent to capture him. This sequence has more mayhem and carnage than the entire Lee Hulk film in total.
Director Leterrier doesn’t stray too far from his Transporter and Unleashed days, and this Hulk retains a fair amount of PG-13 fast editing and quick cuts where some of the hand-to-hand fight sequences are difficult to follow entirely, but not even close to the shaky cam cuts in the second and third Bourne films. Norton is great as always, and has the looks of the “ninety pound weakling” of the comic book Banner, but yet maintains an intensity not found in Eric Bana’s same role.
The new Universal blu-ray of The Incredible Hulk is the reference disc so far of 2008, on par with Iron Man and Indiana Jones, if not slightly surpassing them. The video is 1080P AVC, and looks pristine in every frame, and black level and shadow detail never falters, even in the film’s many dark sequences. High definition always shows off weakness when it comes to CGI versus real photography, and the Hulk looks especially nice in the University battle sequence. This is especially telling as CGI characters usually look best in night shots, and here the day shots look stellar.
Universal really has raised the bar on all of their BDs so far with audio, and this disc is no exception. The DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track is one of the very best available today on any format, and really will blow you away. The bass is tight and controlled, and you literally feel Hulk’s footsteps and can virtually feel his deep breathing. The surrounds are engaged from the start, and filled with ambiance and localized F/X, making this one a disc that will surely send your neighbors packing.
The Incredible Hulk is loaded with goodies, including BD-Live chatting with other fans while you watch the film. Loaded with featurettes, the transformation diary is definitely one to watch. Don’t let the first Hulk film scare you off, The Incredible Hulk is on par with Iron Man in quality, and certainly one of the better films of the year, and definitely one of the very best blu-ray discs to date. A must-have for comic book fans and home theater fans alike. |
