NOW WITH FULL REVIEW!

Dr. Bruce Banner re-appears in this new re-imagining of The Hulk story, after the disastrous 2004 film by Ang Lee starring Eric Bana. Now director Louis Leterrier picks up the reigns and Edward Norton steps into The Hulk's massive green shoes.

Irradiated by an experiment with Gama Radiation, when the mild-mannered Dr. Bruce Banner's heart rate raises beyond a certain point the giant raging Hulk emerges from his subconscious, transforming him into the massive monster.

The US government, seeing The Hulk as a threat, decides to employ soldier Emil Blonsky to take out the threat through any means necessary - including turning himself into the monstrosity The Abomination.

Will The Hulk ultimately play the hero in stopping a beast of greater evil? Or is he doomed to play the tragic role of misunderstood giant?

Find out how The Hulk fits into the newly established MARVEL universe, consisting of Iron Man and Spider-Man - will the other heroes be making cameos? Find out tonight!

WARNING: THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS

HULK SMASH!

Wow, I enjoyed this waaaaay better than Ang Lee's hideous flop of a superhero flick. Sure the two have some similarities in being emotionally angled, but that's the source material.

The Hulk is a hero burdened by his gift, much akin to Spider-Man, but not like a Captain America or Iron Man that sought out their abilities. Dr. Bruce Banner doesn't want The Hulk, he wants to live a normal life, not to walk on eggshells to avoid catastrophic property damage and possible loss of life.

Yes, he's going to be mopey. Yes, it's going to have a love story. He wants a cure, not to stop crime.

Let me just begin the official review by saying that almost all the actors do amazingly. Norton, Roth, and Hurt all do great jobs. I wish they could have done a better casting job on Liv Tyler because I hate her and her horrible acting, but whatever.

Norton does a much better job than Eric Bana in the role of Bruce Banner - after all, he's supposed to be a nerdy scientist, not some tough guy action star.

There are a bunch of wink-and-nod cameos and references that comic book fans "get" - like Betty Ross's boyfriend, Psychiatrist Dr. Samson, Lou Ferrigno (The TV Hulk) with a cameo, Samuel Sterns getting infected, Stan Lee's usual Cameo, and the "hinting" at The Avengers. It's enough for a fan to understand, but someone like my girlfriend was completely clueless.

The non-hulk action is very Bourne series-esque with Dr. Banner evading the US Military, and the Hulk action gets over-the-top and incredible. Destructive and gorgeous, with some very original sequences.

However the non-action bits tend to drag. The aforementioned love story puts the brakes on the pacing, but is a necessary evil unfortunately.

I love the way the character's origin is all explained via flashback in the opening credits. It's a great way to get past the roadblocks of taking half the movie to give the characters their abilities.

All-in-all the film is very enjoyable. Clearly Marvel is entering a new phase in film-making, but this Hulk flick is hardly Iron Man caliber. There's less humor available to a grunting, growling Hulk than the smart-assed Peter Parker or suave Tony Stark.

It's still an amazing film - beautiful, fun, and thrilling. My Verdict?

VERDICT: SEE IT

ALSO: The DVD version will contain copious amounts of deleted scenes: Even scenes shown in early trailers were cut!!