When Ang Lee had a stab at bringing the green giant to the screen in 2003's Hulk, the reception wasn't the best - while some think it's a decent and underrated attempt at filming the essence of the character, many fans were not impressed, so several years later Marvel Studios reacquired the rights and handed it over to writers Zak Penn and Edward Harrison and director Louis Letterier. The result, The Incredible Hulk, while certainly no masterpiece, is nevertheless a fairly solid comic book adaptation which more than compensates for the lack of action many people criticised about Ang Lee's version. Edward Norton stepping into Eric Bana's shoes to play Bruce Banner/Hulk (who in turn has since been replaced by Mark Ruffalo), as the scientist for whom getting mad is what it's all about. A lighter, faster paced and leaner movie than its predecessor, this time Banner goes up against Emil Blonsky, a soldier who takes on superhuman qualities after loaning his body for a military experiment and becomes the Abomination. The backlash against Lee - who had attempted to make a more cerebral film examining the conflicted nature of Bruce Banner, with a hit and miss finished product which had great moments intermingled with more ponderous ones - compared to the significant success of The Incredible Hulk points to the preferences of the audience, who prefer loud, action-packed spectacles when it comes to Hollywood entertainment. We'll have to wait and see if Ruffalo can carry the character through a feature of his own - for the time being, Marvel can't seem to make their minds up whether or not a sequel is in the works.
