Hamlet 2

The House Bunny

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Elegy

Bottle Shock

Pineapple Express

Step Brothers

Brideshead Revisited

Tropic Thunder

The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hancock

There's one thing you can say about Marvel Comics' entertaining newest would-be franchise movie, The Hulk, based on the 40-plus-year old comic book series and the cult show that ran from 1978 to 1982: It starts well. You can also say that this reboot aims to be nothing like the 2003 Ang Lee-directed Hulk movie version that, despite its flaws, felt personal, experimental and philosophical -- things that this Hulk could never be accused of.

So, this time out, we get Edward Norton as turbulent genius scientist Bruce Banner, already irradiated, hiding out as an anonymous factory employee in one the slummiest slums of Brazil, actively researching his bizarre condition, pining for his ladylove (Liv Tyler) and being pursued by shadowy bad guys over dizzying rooftops and through claustrophobic alleyways. He's sort of a Jason Bourne, only one with anger management issues that manifest by his turning big, green and furious if he's aroused in any way, including sexually. The latter state is mostly provoked by Tyler, who turns up in the middle section of the movie and takes things with a nice, easy stride but isn't likely to eclipse anyone's memories of Jennifer Connelly in the Lee version. By the finale, any pretense of character development gives way to bang, pop, crash as the CGI guys take over to create a blowout between the Hulk and the Abomination (Tim Roth) in the streets of Harlem.

But the action movie, efficiently directed by Louis Letterier (Transporter) from a script by superhero vet Zak Penn (X-Men: The Last Stand), doesn't give Norton the lines nor the situations he needed to really score in the role. Villains William Hurt (as dastardly Major Ross) and Roth (who also plays the Abomination's alter ego, Emil Blonsky) turn up only to be nasty and not much more. Still, with much of the country suffering a heat wave, this new Hulk is a perfectly fine excuse to kick back mindlessly in a comfortable theater that offers the incentives of good popcorn, cold drinks and a well-functioning air conditioning system.

by Stephen Rebello

credit: top: Michael Gibson; bottom: Rhythm & Hues. ©2008 Universal Studios and Marvel Studios. All rights reserved.