Starring Edward Norton, Tim Roth. Written by Zak Penn. Directed by Louis Leterrier. (PG) 112 min. Opens June 13.
Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003) was a case of a director setting daunting challenges for himself and coming up short. Its marriage of pseudo-Freudian psychodrama and panelled-off comic book aesthetics didn’t work, but one could recognize the ambition of the enterprise. Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk is ambitious in a different — and less endearingly ridiculous — way: its more conventional construction represents an effort by Marvel Studios to revivify a potential tentpole franchise.
Marvel will probably have to content themselves with the zillion or so dollars earned by Iron Man.
Hulk 2.0, which substitutes Edward Norton for Eric Bana, Liv Tyler for Jennifer Connelly and a mutated Tim Roth for a power cord–chewing Nick Nolte, is just the latest example of the Event Movie as Non-Event: the various set pieces pitting a big green CG-guy against extras with heavy artillery feel perfunctory (one exception: a first-act standoff in a Brazilian soda factory that finds the Hulk in unexpected stealth mode), and the plot machinery creaks so loudly as to be audible over the amped-up soundtrack. Norton apparently rewrote Zak Penn’s original script, which may be why Bruce Banner is the only remotely detailed character here. Still, there are traces of the Last Action Hero author’s prankster wit, such as the well-prepared bit where Banner mangles his trademark warning in another language.