THE INCREDIBLE HULK

If you have not seen The Incredible Hulk in theaters yet you are definitely missing out on one of the best superhero movies ever created. The 2003 Hulk movie left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Yeah it had a Hulk in it beating up the army but it wasn't "The Hulk". To put it in my old teachers words he looked like "Shrek on steroids". That may have been true for the old hulk but the new movie delivers on every level from graphics to story line. 

2008's The Incredible Hulk isn't exactly a sequel to the first one but it isn't dismissing the first one either. Bruce Banner is still on the run from the army who wants to do nothing but capture him as their property. All Bruce Banner wants to do is rid the creature inside of him but around every corner is somebody trying to get him angry. Good thing the audience loves him when he's angry. 

The movie starts off with a quick recap of the last film and throws us right into the beautiful setting of brazil where almost the first half of the movie takes place.  The backdrop is almost a character itself with its intricate and colorful surroundings. We see Banner's new life and side of him that wasn't previously captured before. Eventually we get to see our first glimpse of the Hulk and it was a monstrous one indeed. Later shots of the Hulk just keep getting better and better. 

Edward Norton as Bruce Banner made this picture a lot more enjoyable. 

In most superhero movies nobody wants to see the man out the 

costume but Marvel is doing a great job making their superheroes intriguing whether they're fighting some insane super villain in the streets or talking to their friend. They're still entertaining either way. Previous Marvel film Iron Man took this to a whole new level and didn't even have to show the superhero side of its star until halfway through the movie. Other actors in the incredible Hulk far from fail with their depictions of their famous comic book counterparts from Liv Tyler as Hulk's love interest "Betty Ross" to Tim Roth as Hulk's nemesis "The Abomination" who steals the special effects limelight from the green goliath. 

    The effects in the Hulk are simply incredible. The Hulk looks as realistic as a nine foot green man could be.  The fight scenes leave you satisfied 

mixing up crazy cgi with amazing choreography and camera direction. No flashy camera cuts and high speed blurry action here. All is easily seen as every blow is felt while watching this artistically created carnage. The climax of the movie is nothing to sneeze at, its definitely worth every penny you paid to see this flick times two. 

All in all the movie is complete. No lacking story line, no one dimensional weak characters, and finally some powerful bad guys that are on par with facing the Incredible Hulk. Now all us fanboys are going to sit back and wait for the Avengers movie slated for a 2011 opening date featuring the Hulk, Iron Man and a slew of other great heroes. Until then I'm going to go watch me some Hancock on July 2nd.  Superhero movies are going strong these days like the Hulk and its Marvelous.