Edward Norton-led Marvel film does little to get your heart racing

“Hulk smash!” is a statement all its own, and Marvel Studios’ “The Incredible Hulk” revels in the Hulk’s longstanding creed — much to the film’s detriment. Yes, you can expect a glorious amount of carnage caused by a beefy, green, monosyllabic alter ego with anger management issues, but it’s more than just the scenery that gets smashed along the way: It’s the script, the character development, the overall sense of purpose. Giant rage monsters punching things is good fun all on its own, but that’s all you’re getting here.

“The Incredible Hulk” (not to be confused with the Ang Lee’s 2003 “Hulk,” which has nothing to do with this film; this one is directed by Louis Leterrier) expects a certain base knowledge of the Marvel comic book character (other than that Lou Ferrigno played him on TV in the 1970s), because the film spends about a nanosecond explaining anything about how brilliant scientist Bruce Banner (a ripped Edward Norton) gains the ability to transform in a hulking, well … Hulk. (Long story: It involves gamma radiation, Project: Rebirth from “Captain America” lore and good ol’  human mistakes.)

And matters just escalate from there: Bruce’s first transformation is uncontrollable and violent, leaving scientists (including his girlfriend Betty, played by a rather forgettable Liv Tyler) and military personnel bloodily strewn about the lab. Not wanting to be a glorified experiment for the U.S. government, which funded the science behind his transformation, Bruce flees, taking refuge in Brazil in an effort to gain some semblance of control of the angry green monster that lives inside him now — it involves a lot of meditation, deep breaths and slaps to the face.

Bruce, of course, is not left to toil away in obscurity in South America: The U.S. government tracks him down (in a completely asinine scene featuring an awesome cameo), bullets start flying and hulking alter egos (there are more than one in this movie) destroy everything in sight. 

Much of the rest of the film plays out as a kinetic brawl. Gen. Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt) is myopic in his quest to capture Bruce, willing to cause massive destruction without hesitation in an effort to create the perfect soldier. The leader of his special forces, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), is even more unhinged, more than ready to accept a devil’s bargain for power. Bruce just wants to be left alone, to “cure” himself, but always finds himself in the middle of the mayhem. 

But little of that actually matters; the script, from a screenplay by Zak Penn based on the comic books by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, is spartan and mostly unnecessary. There’s a love story that’s meant to add emotional depth to Bruce’s plight and humanity to the Hulk, but it comes across feeling forced. We see the creation of the Abomination, a being whose strength rivals the Hulk’s, but it’s hard to actually care about said backstory because it’s obviously nothing more than a vehicle to give the Hulk a nemesis that can actually take take a hit. 

What will maintain your attention, however, are the action sequences. You won’t ever forget that the Hulk is a CGI creation (a well-done one, to be sure), but the beautiful bedlam the Hulk unleashes is simply awesome. It’s chaotic and violent, worthy of the Hulk’s superhero-level abilities; once he gets back stateside, the carnage is on a whole other scale.  

In the end, the only thing incredible about “The Incredible Hulk” is the Hulk himself. There’s a story there, but it falls victim to its own blandness. The film’s only saving grace is the action that finally hits the screen once the necessary exposition is out of the way. The addition of another notch in the universe Marvel is creating is worthwhile on its one (make sure to stick around during the credits), but it’s a shame this entry rarely ever gets the heart racing. 

Two “You wouldn’t like me when I’m hungry” stars out of five.