Contributed
Edward Norton stars as Dr Bruce Banner in 'The Incredible Hulk'.

LOS ANGELES (AP):

The fanboys will probably be happy with the latest incarnation of The Incredible Hulk. At least, we can say that much for it - and that's something we most assuredly could not say about Ang Lee and James Schamus' sombre, introspective and largely derided take in 2003 on the beloved Marvel Comics hero.

There's a lot more action this time around as you might expect from Transporter director Louis Leterrier - a deafening, endless amount by the colossal conclusion - as well as fond references both to the comic-book series and the television show it inspired starring Bill Bixby. (Leterrier even sneaks in some of Joseph Harnell's Lonely Man theme, or as Stewie on Family Guy refers to it, "That sad, walking-away song from The Incredible Hulk.")

This version is indeed bigger, stronger, faster, which seems appropriate in telling the story of a guy who's been juicing. The effects look way more ... is 'realistic' the right word to describe a raging green giant, rampaging down 125th Street in Harlem, flipping cop cars into the air like toys? It's Showtime at the Apollo, all right - unless it's your car.

Wit and heart

But the inevitable comparisons to Iron Man, Marvel Studios' first blockbuster this summer, serve as a glaring reminder of what this Hulk lacks: wit and heart. Despite the presence of Edward Norton, an actor capable of going just as deep as Robert Downey Jr, we don't feel a strong sense of Bruce Banner's inner conflict. And that's surprising, given that the famously detail-oriented Norton worked over Zak Penn's script. Instead, he's just a good guy trying to keep the wrong guys from getting their hands on some bad stuff - an oversized cog in the midst of a spectacle.

It's a series of increasingly bombastic showdowns and explosions leading up to the climactic battle between The Hulk and long-time enemy Gen 'Thunderbolt' Ross (William Hurt) and the hungry and slightly crazed Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth). Blonsky becomes a beast, known in the comic book series as The Abomination.

Tim Blake Nelson breaks up the third-act monotony with a hilariously weird performance as Samuel Sterns, the cellular biologist who tries to help Bruce rid his body of gamma rays. But it's the guy who walks through the door at the very end that'll really get the audience excited with the prospect of more superhero sound and fury to come.

The Incredible Hulk, a Universal Pictures release, runs 114 minutes. The Associated Press gives it two and a half stars out of four.