Saw “The Incredible Hulk” today with my brother and my dad for Father’s day.

Quick spoiler free review before delving into details for those who have already seen it as well: we all loved it. One of the movies big marketing selling points was that it was a lot like the old TV show. There were a lot of really great nods to the old show (they even found a clever way to get Bill Bixby on screen), and that was a joy. But the truth of the matter, and the biggest selling point of this movie, is that it was a lot like the old Hulk COMICS.

Banner is haunted by his curse, only able to lead half a life for fear he’ll lose control of what’s inside him. The Hulk is angry only at things that are bothering him. Several times in this movie, the Hulk expresses his exhaustion that he just won’t ever be LEFT ALONE. Banner is frail and full of rage he has to control. The Hulk is the embodiment of rage that just wants a moment to be calm with himself. Neither side can ever get what it wants and that’s the tragedy of the character.

I’m happy to report that all of that is very much on the screen and truly enjoyable to see.

My only complaint is as follows: fights between two powerhouse characters always bore me. Iron Man vs. Iron Monger, the Hulk vs. The Abomination. Neither side has the advantage over the other. Both combatants can take an eternal beating and there is nothing on the line if one or the other loses.

In this movie, we must suffer one of these fights. The good news is that it’s at the climax of the film. The first 3/4 of the movie is filled with incredible fight scenes between The Hulk, the Army and a human sized almost-as-strong combatant. Here there are real consequences in these battles and both sides take turns getting the upper-hand. And all the while, the poor Hulk just WANTS to be LEFT ALONE!

Marvel takes the time to pepper the movie with enough references, open-ended character arcs, and even outright promises of future team-ups. It’s clear they’re trying to recreate on film the same feel of an overlapping universe that we get with their books.

Okay, that’s it for spoiler free. READ NO FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE RUINED.
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Another thing that I really loved about this movie was how mid-film, Bruce is adamant that he is not after CONTROLLING the Hulk. He is only interested in a cure. How cool is it that in the last scene of the movie, we see that Banner has moved on to experimenting with controlling the Hulk. I felt like it was this movie’s version of “Yes. I’m Iron Man.” It made the picture for me.

I was also surprised to see that another Hulk villian, the Leader, didn’t just get a nod in this film. He actually had his origin story. That’s pretty cool.

One last thing. In the scene where the Hulk takes Betty to the cave and screams at the thunder-storm. How awesome. Not only did we get a great King Kong parallel, but we also got to see a James Kochalka Hulk story brought to life. James is an independent cartoonist who once did a cute story about the Hulk fighting the rain. I can’t help but wonder if that scene was a nod to James’ contribution to Hulk lore.