On many levels, I am still trying to cope with the sheer disappoint that was Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk. I guess I can pretty much give up on the open case I have with theatre management for getting my money back after suffering through that movie. I could not understand how they could screw up a movie about such an iconic and powerful character as the Hulk. I mean, they have the successful longevity of the comic book series and the cult television series to reference and they still got it wrong. I suppose you can say I was a bit reluctant when I heard about the Hulk reboot that Universal was planning. I cannot lie, when I heard about the casting and involvement of Edward Norton in the project, I had got a momentary glimpse of hope. But still, unlike my usual movie watching habits, I waited an entire week before I caught the theatrical screening of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. That fateful night, as I sat down in a freezing multiplex theatre in Los Angeles, CA, I witnessed a visual and audible assault on my senses like none other before. The Incredible Hulk literally rocked my world. With the exception of The Dark Knight in IMAX, I have never heard a movie soundtrack of this magnitude. Ladies and gents…I am here to tell you that this Blu-ray does not disappoint either. One text phrase says it all…OMG!

From the moment the movie starts the pacing throughout never really ceases in its rapid behavior. I like that. The film’s underlying plot literally grips you right from the opening credits. Unlike the majority of super hero movies that take a bit of time to develop as you first have to witness some tragic accident while you sit through some kind of an origin story, we are treated to the birth of the Hulk’s character right from the opening scene. We are greeted with a very well edited, fast-paced montage of the experiment that created the green guy we all know and love, the Hulk.

After the opening montage and recap of his origin story we first meet up with Bruce Banner, played by Edward Norton, in South America where he is working in a soda bottling factory by day, and researching a cure for his condition with the help of a Mr. Blue back in the States, by night. An accident happens at the bottling company where a drop of Banner’s blood ends up in a soda bottle and that bottle just happens to land back in the United States where its mysterious news story catches the attention of General Ross, portrayed by William Hurt. General Ross learns where that soda is bottled and sends out a platoon of soldiers to capture Banner, lead by Major Emil Blonsky, played by actor Tim Roth. When things do not go as expected during the siege, the Hulk emerges and escapes his captors. Naturally, Emil Blonsky is speechless as he witnesses a man with strength he has never seen or dealt with before. General Ross understands Emil’s vulnerability and eyes him as a guinea pig for one of his forgotten lab experiments involving a legendary super soldier serum (one of the first references to the serum that possibly created Captain America). Emil’s lust and greed for this power is exactly the kind of test subject that General Ross desires.

Bruce Banner heads back to the States to work with Dr. Blue who is convinced that through a blood sample that Bruce sent him sometime ago, he has been able to formulize a cure to contain and possibly destroy Banner’s gamma ray condition. During this time, Bruce is reunited with his old flame Betty Ross, characterized by actress Liv Tyler. Bruce is once again the subject prey of General Ross’ never ending quest to get the weapon out of Bruce’s body. General Ross considers Bruce Banner and his condition to be the property of the United States military. This time Betty Ross witnesses the monster that Bruce becomes as he destroys the entire squad of soldiers and military vehicles that Ross sends to capture him, including the much stronger as a result of the serum treatments, Emil Blonsky. As a result of his failure, Blonsky is once again the subject of more powerful serum treatments as his desire to take down the Hulk, aka Round Three, consumes his mind, body and soul. I think it is really ingenious how the Hulk actually gets his name in this movie. The news media who witnessed the Hulk’s military escape called the creature Hulk-like.

The conclusion of the film deals with the unavoidable alliance of General Ross and Bruce Banner as they are forced to work together to stop the creature that Emil Blonsky has become, coined Abomination. Talk about a showdown. Wait until to you see the near twenty minutes of chaos and carnage that follows the cityscape battle between the Hulk and the Abomination. We finally have a movie that is as powerful as the subject character himself. While the film is nowhere as deep and intellectual as say The Dark Knight, the emotions conveyed and spot-on acting is what excels The Incredible Hulk and almost makes you completely forget and suspend disbelief of the massive amounts of CGI that is used. Edward Norton brings humanity back to the role of Dr. Banner in a way I have not seen since the television series of my youth. They even found inventive ways to inject some humor into the script. Overall, I was definitely impressed and relinquished of all my fears regarding this new Hulk project.

Video

Universal brings us The Incredible Hulk on Blu-ray disc in 1080P, AVC MPEG-4 video encode in a 2.40:1 aspect ratio presentation. Like the sonic audio, this video transfer does not disappoint. It is reference quality throughout the entire movie. In my opinion, the video was absolutely flawless. I am usually one of the biggest and most anal critics of video quality, but try as I might I could not find a bad moment that I did not like or felt the need to nitpick about. This is really the video encode of what Blu-ray stands for and should be symbolized ever after. This is a perfect example of the coined phrase 3-D pop. The characters stood out from the deeply detailed 3-D landscapes and backgrounds very naturally, like no other Blu-ray presentation I’ve ever seen. The skin and flesh tones were all natural and there was not a single piece of grain to report in the blacks. The film never looks anything but sharp. If this is proof of what is yet to come from all Universal transfers, then sign me up for one of their biggest supporters. My only complaint, and I don’t mean this in a negative context, is because of the exceptional and flawless video, the CGI does stand out a little more apparent than what you would usually expect to see, but I will not take off points for that. This video presentation is worthy of my first 5 out of 5 score. Wait until you experience the rooftop chases over the streets of Rio. It is an experience that is made breath-taking on the Blu-ray format.

Audio

As I stated before, I was nearly blown out of my seat in the theatrical viewing of The Incredible Hulk by its immersive Hulk-like audio. Subsequently, I remember watching other movies in the theatres and I literally could tell that The Incredible Hulk was playing in the adjacent theatre room, as I could hear the unreal audio coming through the walls and interrupting the movie I was currently watching. It is that powerful! I was kind of skeptical of how well the Blu-ray audio presentation would hold up compared to what I remembered in the theatre, but like my fears about the movie initially, my doubts were quickly vaporized from the very start of my first Blu-ray viewing. The soundtrack literally rocked my world as my whole 5.1 setup never worked this hard before. You are practically immersed in the middle of a rotunda of sound coming at you from all angles. Like the video, the audio is definitely reference material as well. I really thought my rear speakers were going to blow as I never heard them that loud before and I know they are not used to this kind of workout. I never once had any problems hearing the dialogue, regardless of how loud the action scenes were at times. The wreckage, destruction and tranquilizer darts being shot all around me sounded like I was in heaven. Universal…you have my undying pledge as your #1 fan to your Blu-ray movies now!

Special Features

The Incredible Hulk comes to Blu-ray with a Hulk-size quantity of Special Features. The majority of the Special Features are presented in 1080P and a digital copy of the movie is included on a separate disc. Included here is the much rumored 45 minutes worth of deleted scenes that were excised from the film’s theatrical release and highly publicized over the fact that Edward Norton disagreed with them being cut. Sadly, they are only presented in Standard Definition. That is my only beef with the huge amount supplemental goodies we get here.

The full list of Special Features include:

Audio Commentary – Tim Roth joins Director Louis Leterrier as they discuss the technical aspects of the film, the controversial deleted scenes, and much more.

The Making of The Incredible Hulk – (HD) This is a short 28-minute promo touching upon brief subjects regarding the making and rebooting of the Hulk franchise.

Becoming The Hulk – (HD) An 8-minute look at the designing and early concepts of creating the Hulk.

Becoming the Abomination – (HD) An 8-minute look at the designing and early concepts of creating the Abomination character.

Anatomy of a Hulk-Out – (HD) A 10-minute three part look into the effects required in making the Hulk emerge in each of the three sequences that are explored.

Deleted Scenes – (SD) Here it is…the much controversial 45 minutes worth of deleted scenes.

Alternate Opening – (HD) The alternate opening takes place in the Arctic. If you look hard enough, you may be able to catch Captain America and his shield frozen in the background for about 9 frames or less. I am glad they did not go with this opening. This would have opened the movie on a downer note.

From Comic Book to Screen – (HD) This is a short 6-minute animated sequence that re-enacts a scene from the movie.

BD-Live – The BD-Live functionality (provided your player is Profile 2.0 compliant and you have an active internet connection) comes enabled with features such as My Chat, My Scenes Sharing, and a link to the online Hulk site.

Digital Copy – A portable copy of the movie you can transfer to your iPod, Mac, or PC.

U-Control – U-Control is an interactive feature you can view while watching the movie. Included here is the Comic Book Gallery, Thunderbolt Files, and a Scene Explorer.

Final Thoughts

Universal brings us The Incredible Hulk in a very cool lenticular package with an exclusive transparent green case, instead of the usual blue one. Armed with one of the best video transfers, an explosive soundtrack and an endless amount of supplemental materials I have no hesitations in recommending this as a purchase, not a rental, to add to your Blu-ray library. This movie definitely rids the bad taste that was left in my mouth from Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk. I remember when that movie came out on DVD and Kraft was running a promotion that you could send away for it with three macaroni and cheese proof-of-purchases and $3. Even that sounded like a bad deal to me for one of the worst movies I ever seen. Well I am happy to report now that the 2003 Hulk movie is just a distant memory and will soon be long forgotten as The Incredible Hulk being the only real Hulk movie ever made in my mind. Coupled with the spot-on, emotional and sometimes comical acting of Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt, this movie goes down as one of the finest movies of 2008, in my opinion, joining the ranks of Iron Man and The Dark Knight as the best year of comic book movies ever. It doesn’t get any better than this. Pick up your copy today and enjoy!