“The Incredible Hulk” is a smashing good time.

The plot: In this reboot of the series, scientist Bruce Banner tries to find a cure to his condition which causes him to transform into a giant, green monster (the Hulk) whenever he gets angry. As if Bruce didn’t have enough problems, he is also trying to avoid being captured by the military and must also face off against a power hungry military soldier turned monster (Emile Blonsky/Abomination).

 

Even though I was a fan of Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” “The Incredible Hulk” is superior in every way. Director Louis Leterrier wisely makes “The Incredible Hulk” more accessible to audiences while also delivering THE Hulk film that comic fans have been waiting for. Not only does the movie contain a pitch perfect cast (Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, and Tim Roth) who absolutely nail their parts, but the movie delivers plenty of rip-roaring action that was sorely missing in the first film. Yes folks, we are finally able to see hulk smash and I have to tell you it was worth the wait. The Hulk/Abomination fight on the streets of New York in particular is exteremly impressive as it is an intense, messy, and brutal battle.

 

Comic and Hulk fans will also be pleased to know that there are tons of references to the television series and to the comics. My favorite bits were the Lou Ferrigno cameo, the “Lonely Man” theme, the appearance of Jack McGee, a hint at the villain The Leader, and the geektastic cameo by Tony Stark.

 

Summary: “The Incredible Hulk” is one of the best Blu-ray discs available. Simply a must buy!

The 2.35:1 1080p picture quality is crystal clear. The colors are incredibly sharp looking, especially the jungle and British Columbia locals.

The DTS-HD 5.1 audio track is top notch. The exciting score, the hulk roar, gun fire, helicopter crashes, the Abomination fight all put the speakers to work. Well done Universal!

* Alternate opening with Banner trying to kill himself in the Arctic. Note: If you do a frame by frame of the last shot, you can see Captain America frozen in the ice.
* BD-Live with a new My Chat feature.
* 23 deleted scenes. I was looking forward to the hyped deleted scenes, but there is nothing too exciting here. Most of the scenes are just needless filler or extended character bits. I can honestly say that the right cut was released as it is a much tighter film without these scenes.
* Digital Copy.
* Thunderbolt Files- Character, mission, and location information.
* “The Making Of Incredible” (30 mins.)- This comprehensive making of contains set footage, concept art, information about Louis’s directorial style, interviews with the cast and crew, etc. Fascinating stuff.
* “Becoming The Hulk” (9:30)- The F/X team chats about creating the CGI Hulk.
* “Becoming The Abomination”- A 10 minute featurette on designing Abomination.
* “Anatomy Of A Hulk-Out”- Featurettes on the three main Hulk set pieces at the bottling plant, the campus and in Harlem.
* “From Comic Book To Screen” (6:30)- Comparisons between comic panels and film scenes.
* Commentary by Louis Leterrier and Tim Roth. The two talking about the opening credits, set experiences, the Stan Lee cameo, Roth’s acting, directorial decisions, etc. A fun track that is worth listening to.
* “Scene Explorer”- An option that shows a scene in 4 stages- Storyboard, animatics, scenes without CGI and the final version.
* Comic Book Gallery- A U-Control feature showing comic images.
* Picture In Picture- The usual interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.