By Kit-Kat

When I look back at the shows that fascinated me in my youth or were a 'family affair' where we all sat around and tuned in weekly it never ceases to amaze me. Oddly enough the Incredible Hulk was one of those family affair shows; we'd all sit back and watch mild mannered David Banner get upset and morph into Lou Ferrigno in a green rage. And to think, this show won an Emmy (not to mention a few Nomination Nods) - don't get me wrong, it was a good show but, compared to what is listing with Emmy's these days... well c'mon you can surely see my point right?

I do have a bit of a Hulk background. I never bothered with Ang Lee's Hulk simply because when I saw the big green monster, well... I wasn't impressed. Nor did I have faith in Lee. He is a phenomenal director, but comic adaptation just didn't fit him in the least. All this aside- comics to movies are saturating the theatres lately (hey, I like them for the most part but there is such a thing as over kill) and I find the most irritating to be the ones that are remaking an already made remake. So honestly when I heard about yet another Hulk movie hitting the theatres I was less than happy (Geez one was made already I don't care a fig what the 'content' was like). Then of course I caught glimpses of images and even forced myself to watch an internet trailer for "The Incredible Hulk" now starring Edward Norton. In this ONE case I admit I made an exception... I paid attention.

The Incredible Hulk Special Edition 2008 (One disk movie, one disk Special Features and one Digital Disk) came out on DVD October 21, 2008 and I can tell you flat out I was impressed. Even though I paid attention I never saw this in the theatre and I bet it was pretty spectacular. The way they made the Hulk look is what impressed me the most.

Academy Award nominee Edward Norton stars as scientist Bruce Banner, a man who has been living in shadows, scouring the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rage within him: the Hulk. But when the military masterminds who dream of exploiting his powers force him back to civilization, he find himself coming face to face with his most formidable foe: the Abomination - a nightmarish beast of pure aggression whose powers match the Hulk's own.

For the movie itself, I was kept enthralled through the whole thing, a rarity for me. I was so shocked to have liked it I adjusted my views of Edward Norton a tad (he's a bit below my radar generally). It was clear to me this movie paid a lot of attention to both the comic and the TV series. I had expected more than just a brief flashback during the opening credits and I wasn't expecting that so I did end up replaying that part. Something with a bit more substance would've suited me. I like the flashback in the beginning (like with the Spider-Man movies) for the most part, just not with the first film! I was delighted to see the movie didn't get ahead of itself; it didn't try so hard to be believable or force the angle of the Hulk in a way that made the movie poor. It was just a fun approach, and while there were dramatic moments, they laced enough humor throughout to bring a balance I wasn't expecting. Things like Bill Bixby on the TV, Stan Lee being the tainted soda drinker, Lou Ferrigno as a security guard - etc... you name it there are little tweaks all over the place. The effects for the Hulk were wonderfully done. The body structure, the muscles, skin, facial expressions, even the hair and eyes - all done in a terrific way I thought. That is partly why I found myself interested in the first place, considering how Lee's Hulk looked compared to this one, well for me this one wins hands down what I'd expect to see. And what they did with Abomination was a treat as well - that was one sick looking transformation.

Is it Oscar worthy, I don't believe so, though it would be nice to see some special effects recognition. Overall it was an unexpectedly engrossing movie that was just right for kicking back on a weekend. They clearly left a few loose ends should they decide to carry the Hulk torch further and I'll admit, I hope they do. I wouldn't mind watching another one (and for me that is saying a lot).

For special features on disk one there isn't much, your standard commentary of course this time around with Louis Leterrier and Tim Roth and some Deleted Scenes. I for one love deleted scenes however, I can see why they left out some of these - they would've made the story drag.

Disk Two special features were most rewarding. I often see alternate endings but never before have I seen an alternate opening. While the frozen opener was most impressive in scenery and a shocking opener possibility with the suicide motive I still say the original opening (while a bit hum drum) chosen was the better of the two. You also are treated to even more deleted scenes, and unlike the first disk these scenes should've been left in the movie without a doubt. They filled in some very key questions and situations that seemed disjointed without them. The Making of the Incredible Hulk really addressed a lot of my own questions, like why the remake of the remake and why they decided to have Ang Lee's Hulk as a stand alone movie. After watching that I do understand a lot of the choices they made and I can respect them as well. Becoming the Hulk addresses what is on everyone's mind, how a 6 ft tall TV Hulk morphed into a 15 ft tall Lee Hulk and deflated back to a more manageable 9 ft Hulk for this movie. Just how damn tall is he supposed to be! Well, you'll have to watch the bonus feature to find out. Becoming the Abomination delves into the creation of Abomination and why they took the route they did with his bones growing out of him and other key differences that totally creeped me out... Anatomy of a Hulk Out throws you into just what it takes to make a Hulk fit on the silver screen, from true props weighing in over 5000 lbs to problems and retakes, all quite interesting. From Comic to Screen feature shows you how the actual comic came into play for that scene, which I found mildly interesting if a bit confusing. The third disk was the digital copy. Odd now that they are tossing in digital copies as "special extras" but then I guess they are honing in on the iPod genre (the likes of which I cannot relate).

So on the whole the movie was good, the features compliment it and to me its definitely worth a watch and as an addition to your Super Hero collection!