The Incredible Hulk

One of the things that I think helps me standout as a critic is that I do have a fanboy side to me; and when the situation calls for it, I listen to it. So when it comes to comic book movies, there's usually no point in paying attention to the majority of professional critics, with all due respect. There are always interesting reads and opinions (Roger Ebert, James Berardinelli, etc.), but most of them will not give a great comic book movie the accolades it deserves. Granted they got it right with "Spider-man 2" and the recent "Iron Man," but I don't think they're doing justice to "The Incredible Hulk," which may be better than both of those movies. Considered the mixed reviews on rottentomatoes (none of them really praised the film) compared to the 8.2 user rating on IMDb.com.

We can now officially pretend that Ang Lee never made his 2003 misfire, "Hulk." I think this new version is exactly what summer movies are all about. It delivers on all levels. And can you believe this came from the same director of the unwatchable "Transporter 2"? While I can't soon forget or forgive a film for being that bad, I was impressed with Louis Leterrier's handling of the story. He gets it absolutely right and really nails the character development as well as Stan Lee's original message of the destruction that anger and greed can cause. There are only three action set pieces (all of them spectacular), leaving plenty of room for good storytelling. Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth are excellent here and Liv Tyler is good, but not quite as good as the Betty played by Jennifer Connelly. This movie lives up to the title. Incredible indeed.

A-