Ryan Dillman

On Monday, I saw an advanced screening of The Incredible Hulk. As a long-time Hulk fan who was disappointed by the 2003 film, I figured this one could only be better than that Crouching Hulk, Hidden Plotline disaster from Ang Lee. The previews looked promising, so I was even starting to look forward to this one.

Fortunately, I was not disappointed. The film is definitely superior to the last movie, with better acting, a better script, an actual villain for the Hulk to fight, and even better CGI and special effects. Yes, the CGI Hulk still looks a little cartoony, but he’s definitely an improvement over the Hulk of 5 years ago, with more texture to his skin and muscles. It should be easy for fans to suspend belief and enjoy the movie.

Without giving too much away, I would recommend watching Iron Man first, as in some ways this film is actually a sequel to Iron Man. Stark Industries military technology is used to fight the Hulk, among other references, and as all Marvel fans know, these films are dropping hints left and right about Marvel’s upcoming Avengers film.

There was also a reference in Hulk to Captain America that not everyone might catch. The Abomination, the villain that the Hulk eventually fights, was originally given his powers using a form of the Super Soldier Serum, which was developed back in World War II to give Captain America his powers. Since there’s a Captain America film on the way and he’ll also appear in Avengers, this was just one more way to tie all the films together.

I think it’s nice to finally see super hero films that cross-over and reference each other, which Marvel could never do when they were licensing their properties to multiple studios. You’d think there’d be more cross-overs from their main competitor, DC Comics, as all of their films are produced by parent company Warner Bros. Yet, Warner can’t even get their Justice League film together or even the long-planned Superman/Batman team-up flick.

Anyway, if you’re a fan of the Hulk or super hero films in general, you should enjoy this film. If you thought Iron Man was great, I doubt you’ll be disappointed in the latest film starring his fellow Avenger.

The Incredible Hulk – Exclusive PremiereTrailer