Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Liv Tyler, William Hurt
Rating: PG-13

Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk. (Courtesy photo)

Only five years after Ang Lee’s soggy, introspective The Hulk puzzled audiences across the world, The Incredible Hulk debuted last Friday. It’s the second in the summer’s series of “how come” movies—as in “how come they bothered to make this?” Teaming Edward Norton and Transporter 2 director Louis Leterrier was not a combination that got many people excited. The most promising aspect of the movie: it was produced by Marvel’s new film arm, the same team that brought us the incredible Iron Man five weeks ago. That movie’s smart execution allowed some to dare hope this Hulk might improve upon the last. But those trailers kept us from getting our expectations too high. Low expectations may have turned out to be exactly what this movie needed, but The Incredible Hulk is actually pretty good. It’s fun enough summer nonsense that it doesn’t need any other validation.

While Lee’s film took far too long to get to the green stuff, this movie starts off at full speed and seldom lets up. It’s not a sequel, but it isn’t purely a do-over either. Instead, it uses its opening credits to tell its own origin story, and starts up at a standard super hero movie’s mid-point: Bruce Banner (Norton) is hiding out in Brazil, while General “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) tries to hunt him down. Banner’s research in the military went too far, and turned him into a raging green beast. He was forced to leave his life behind—including the woman he loved, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). Now the general has tracked him down, and sends in special military operative Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) to catch him. The chase brings Banner back to the U.S. in search of the data that might save him. It also drags Betty willingly back into his dangerous world. When Bruce gets angry enough, nothing in the general’s arsenal can stop him. But when Blonsky undergoes some of the same process that transformed Banner, the Hulk may meet his match.

Where many super-hero movies go off track is when they attempt to delve too far into the psychology of the characters. Comic books may be steeped in mythology, but it’s rare that the mythology is more than waist-deep. Look too far and you tend to find yourself behind the cutout sets wondering where all the mystique has gone. Norton, Leterrier, and screenwriter Zak Penn mete out just enough of the hero’s inner turmoil to keep it emotional without taking away the fun. They deliver on the promise of the indestructible Hulk, and also have fun with Banner’s need to keep his pulse from racing. There is a fundamental problem with putting the Hulk on screen: once he changes, we lose any sense of the actor playing him. This was certainly true with the TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, and also a challenge for Ang Lee and his Banner, Eric Bana. The solution is not found in this version. Norton is a strong enough actor to reel us back in once he has shrunk back to normal size. But the Hulk still feels, at best, like a close friend he works with. This Hulk acts better than the other one, thanks to exceptional work by effects house Rhythm and Hues. And thanks to Tyler’s ability to play off the CGI version, it almost works.

The one area in which this version falls short is in the casting of Bruce Banner. Norton is good, if not much of a runner. But Eric Bana was such a terrific Banner, even without a good movie to show off the role. One could believe just enough that this massive alter ego was somewhere inside him. Norton gives no suggestion of such an inner beast. The rest of the cast is an improvement, however. Hurt is a bit silly as the general, but less cartoonish than Sam Elliot. Liv Tyler is lovely and committed, and her role is much better crafted than the one worked out for Jennifer Connelly. Roth is a rather odd nemesis—he’s just so darn small. But his intensity more than makes up for it.

One simple gauge for movies such as The Incredible Hulk is to tally how many times it made you groan. There are a few groan-worthy moments—the cameos and homages get to be a bit much, and a few times the dialogue hurts. The Hulk speaks this go-round, and it reminds me too much of Sloth in The Goonies. But all in all, it could have been a lot worse. The Incredible Hulk is designed to please. It’s low on aspirations and high on adrenalin, and that’s all we should ask of the big green man.

Alex Manugian lives in Sherman Oaks, California. He grew up in Groton and has reviewed movies for Harvard residents for many years.