First off, I have to spend a little time to give praise to Marvel and the filmmakers behind Iron Man. It’s one of the most satisfying comic book films in recent memory, and easily the best Marvel-based film since Spider-Man 2. Beyond being such a great film on its own, it’s Marvel’s opening salvo in their attempt to create an expansive cinematic universe where all of their characters can co-exist. It’s something we’ve been denied for years, but now with Marvel acting as its own independent studio, the possibilities really are endless. And while it was meant to be a surprise for general audiences, commercials for the upcoming Incredible Hulk show us that it’s already starting, with Robert Downey Jr. appearing as Tony Stark, meeting with William Hurt’s General Ross. Suddenly, the prospect of a full-blown Avengers film is becoming more and more likely.

Getting back to The Incredible Hulk, though, I had been somewhat excited, but not necessarily totally amped for the film. I won’t talk about Ang Lee’s Hulk, as I’ve come to accept that there as just as many people who find merit in the film as people who downright loathe it. As one of the producers from Marvel put it, we should think of this new film the way we think of comics, this is just a different creative team, like how creative teams change on an comic book series. I suppose that’s an acceptable analogy, and a nice way of going into the new film objectively. Still, I was more anxious than excited, more on the fence than jumping for joy at the thought of another Hulk film. Iron Man was clearly the more high-profile of the two projects, and I wondered how much effort would really go into making The Incredible Hulk the best film possible. One of the biggest factors in setting my mind at ease was the casting of Edward Norton. One need only look at Fight Club and see that he’s perfectly suited for the role of Bruce Banner. Add in a supporting cast that includes William Hurt, Tim Roth, and Liv Tyler, and you can definitely get the sense that the filmmakers aren’t half-assing it.

Then there’s the director, Louis Leterrier. The French actioneer behind the Transporter films also directed Unleashed, a film I thought illustrated why he would be a good choice for a Hulk film. Jet Li’s character was essentially a real-world equivalent to the Hulk, and the journey of that character was brutal and surprisingly dramatic. I think in terms of directing action, the man is fantastic. He shies away from the clunky quick-cut editing that plagues a lot of other action films, and shows viewers everything in full-frame as it’s happening. Say what you will about the Transporter films, but outside of Asian action films, I’ve rarely seen martial arts fight scenes as kinetic and as inventive as Leterrier’s. Furthermore, he understands how to use action to shape how the audience relates to the characters and push the story forward. The action and violence actually adds to the depth of the characters, at least in the case of Unleashed. It’s the kind of quality you want in a director when dealing with the Hulk. Still, this is somewhat new territory for Leterrier, as he has to deal with shooting action in relation to computer-generated characters. Having spoiled myself with clips online from a number of action set pieces, It would appear that he’s done a more than admirable job, especially one scene between Hulk and the Abomination, with the Hulk taking full advantage of his environment and the objects in that environment. For the love of God, he actually takes two halves of a cop car and essentially uses them as boxing gloves!!

As for the Hulk himself, I’m actually very impressed with the look they’ve chosen. I like the more muted shade of green for his skin, and the musculature is much more defined. The character designers appeared to have been very much inspired by the version of the Hulk drawn by Dale Keown. I also like that he’s a little more monstrous in his facial features. There’s just a lot of rage in the eyes and the gritting of the teeth. And while probably not completely on par with the work done by ILM in the Ang Lee film, the CGI for The Incredible Hulk still looks very impressive, especially the climactic battle with Abomination, where a lot of attention to detail must have been required to compensate for all the different lighting that happening on the busy city street.

All things considered, I’m hoping The Incredible Hulk will continue Marvel Studios’ creative winning streak.