The Amazing Bulk, er, The Dramatic Sulk, er, The Fantastic Caulk, er, The Incredible Hulk!

To the surprise and amazement of all, I'm sure, Stacy and I did not choose to celebrate our tenth anniversary by going to see The Incredible Hulk on opening day. I know, I know, I loose some geek cred. Then again, I'd rather have a happy wife than the adoration and respect of millions of geeks. See what I did there? I made a funny. Anyway, back to the point, I saw it last night with Jon of Threshold fame and a friend of ours, Jamie.

I went into this movie with mixed feelings. Having already been burnt by one offering in the Hulk franchise, it was natural that I'd be a bit gunshy. I took solace in the fact that it wasn't likely to be worse than its predecessor, regardless of the Internet rumbling that it was more inspired from the TV series than the comics. I also had a bit of trepidation that Edward Norton's widely publicized creative changes may make it even worse. As we all know, actors get paid to lie well, they are not generally valued for anything creative beyond delivering lines in a certain way.

As far as I know, Norton's changes didn't screw up the movie. Not seeing what it would have been without him, I can't really say. However, the movie with him delightfully exceeded my expectations. He and Louis Leterrier, director of Transporter 2 of all things, delivered a solid entry into the Hulk mythos.

Thankfully, Bruce Banner/Hulk's origins are told during the credits. The credits also introduce much of the supporting cast. Such as Bruce's One True Love™, Betty Ross, played by the surprisingly un-annoying Liv Tyler. I suppose if you just don't have her speaking in Elvish, things aren't nearly as bad. We also meet Betty's blowhard father, Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross, played by William Hurt. I like Hurt, but he is no Thunderbolt Ross. As Jon mentioned, Thunderbolt should be constantly screaming, veins bulging, eyes wide, "Get me that Hulk!" kinda urgency. Hurt's Ross is good, he's just not Thunderbolt good.

The supporting cast is rounded out by some good, some bad. Dr. Samson was played by Ty Burrell. I just don't like Burrell. He always seems slightly, I don't know, douchy onscreen. I don't know if he'll grow muscles and a long, flowing mane of green hair by the sequel, but it's hard to imagine him as Doc Samson, shrink to the superheroes. He had a good snarky line at Thunderbolt in one scene, I have to give him that. The mad scientist that tries to help Banner is Samuel Sterns, played by Tim Blake "We Thought You Was a Toad" Nelson. We get a sneak peak into what he may become in his final scenes. You're going to have to click on the link if you want the spoiler, though. Although, if you recognize the character name like I didn't, you already know who he is.

Finishing up the cast is our villain, Emil Blonsky, played by Tim Roth. Roth was a good choice for Blonsky. He definitely has the normal guy/psycho guy transformation down pat. It's not too much of a stretch to picture him making the leap into the Abomination's Speedos. I know, Jon, I know, he didn't wear his Speedos in the movie. Is that really such a bad thing?

There's really not a lot to say about the plot that those familiar with the theme of Hulk don't already know. Banner is on the run from the government in general, General Ross in particular and Emil Blonsky, Ross's bulldog. While he evades capture, he seeks a cure for his condition and strives to keep the Hulk in check. Betty loves Bruce, no matter what he does, so it's no surprise when she dumps Samson like he never existed to jump into Banner's arms at the first opportunity.

Too bad they changed the rules on her! Instead of only showing up when Banner gets angry, Hulk makes his appearance any time Brucie's heart rate exceeds 200. Kinda arbitrary, but it's not a significant change, at least not to me. Betty didn't seem too happy about it.

Anyway, back to the story. Whilst fleeing Thunderbolt, Bruce and Betty seek the help of the enigmatic Mr. Blue, or Samuel Sterns. Sterns, the amoral little rascal, had been reproducing Banner's blood from a sample he sent early on. Meanwhile, bad little Blonsky has been juicing up with Super Soldier Serum, or some variation, and wants more. After Bruce is out of the picture, Blonsky forces Sterns to give him a transfusion of Bruce's blood.

Blonsky + Super Soldier Serum + Gamma-irradiated Blood = Abomination

That's when the real fun begins. The whole movie is a ramp up to the ultimate battle between the two behemoths. It does not disappoint. Hulk gets whacked around pretty good, but we all know who's the strongest one there is. It's not until this battle that we get to see some of Hulk's trademark moves, such as the thunderclap or the earthquake-producing ground pound. They're well worth the wait, though.

Jon mentioned that the pacing of this movie wasn't very good, better than the previous movie, but not as good as it could have been. I agree that the portions between Hulk's appearances felt long, but I can't think of how they could have paced it better. We definitely get some good Hulk scenes. The first appearance in the bottling factory only gives us tantalizing glimpses of him. Hulk's next scene is out in the open, fighting the army. It's just as good as the best Hulk scene of the previous movie, when he fights the army in the desert.

There are plenty of nods to fans of the comics and the old TV series. Naturally, Stan "The Man" Lee makes a cameo. So does Lou Ferrigno, doing double duty as a security guard (mit lines!) and as Hulk's voice, nice touch. Even dear, departed Bill Bixby makes a cameo on a TV. There's a character named McGee that is a reporter for the college paper. For those of you that don't remember, McGee was the reporter that continually hounded Bixby's Banner in the TV series. The Super Soldier Serum had the name Reinstein, code name for Abraham Erskine, the inventor of the Super Soldier Serum that transforms 98-pound weakling Steve Rogers into Captain America. Even Robert Downey Jr. makes an appearance as Tony Stark to tease Thunderbolt Ross and the audience about a team they're putting together.

Besides the pacing issues, which are by no means a deal breaker, and some deviations from the original source material, which is commonplace in the transition to the silver screen, The Incredible Hulk comes out on top. As far as recent Marvel movies go, I'd put it below Iron Man but above Spider-Man 3.

I give The Incredible Hulk seven out of nine non-existent gamma bombs on a scale I just made up that doesn't mean anything.