The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)

OK let me get the negatives out of the way 1st, what did they do to The Hulks face? he looks odd and not like the Hulk we loved in the series. I know they had to change his hair to cover Lou's new hearing aid but it seems the teeth they used were too big. Plus what happened to the trademark changing into Hulk music? its all some lame orchestral version and talking of the music, it was pretty awful and too loud. Finally whats this Viking posing as Thor all about? No one should be summoning the mighty Thor this way. You'll see what i mean when you see in the movie a guy used Thors hammer to summon Thor like the genie in a lamp.You wouldn't think so by the above comments but i loved this movie, 1st of all after the premature ending of The Incredible Hulk TV series its a big welcome back to David Banner (Bill Bixby), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk) and Reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin), 2nd it's great to see The Hulk moving at normal speed, i mean the slower scenes in the TV series were good but to see him running towards that bad guy, grab him and throw him through the air in real time looks real good.This movie seem ahead of its time, doing what the recent Hulk, Thor, Avengers etc movie are doing, thats bringing together Marvel characters to maybe form a super hero group. This movie has Thor (It also feels like a pilot for maybe a Thor series) and future Hulk movies had plans to feature more Marvel characters.This is the last time we see Reporter Jack McGee. During the series i thought Jack was a pain in the butt to start with then the further we got into the series the more it seemed that Jack was coming around to seeing who the Hulk truly was, after being saved a few times by The Hulk Jack returned the favor by saving The Hulk too (knocked the arm of a policeman who was going to shoot the Hulk and drove his car in front of the Hulk to shield him from getting hit by a bazooka are a couple that comes to mind) and it would have been cool to have finally seen Jack and David sort things out between them.Overall this movie is on par with the best episodes of the series, it may have got 10 out of 10 if it wasn't for those few things i mentioned at the beginning of this and it really was so much a welcome return to the small screen for The Incredible Hulk.This is followed by The Trial of The Incredible Hulk.

It has been almost two years since the Hulk last made an appearance and Banner has successfully assumed a new identity and, with soft music and the love of a good woman, has managed to control his anger. Working on a device that he believes can cure him of his Hyde side, Banner thinks things are going well until a former student turns up with stories of a hammer, an ancient tomb and a man called Thor. Demonstrating what he means sees the war god Thor appear and Banner is soon pushed beyond his own limits and the Hulk returns. The ensuing battle damages the lab and produces some sensational headlines in the local papers – headlines that draw investigative reporter Jack McGee back into the picture. Meanwhile, behind the scenes a sinister plot is developing to kidnap Banner and steal the transponder device.The surprising thing about the negative reviews on this film are not that they are negative (surely this film deserves them) but that the writers seem so very surprised by the failings in it. Did they, I wonder, not expect that the acting would be average at best, the plotting corny, the effects very basic and the whole thing dated and silly. All these things are true but I had expected them and, although they are still annoying at least I was ready for them and tried to enjoy the film the best I could. Comic book fans may get a kick out of a story that sees the Hulk and Thor put together, but for many viewers it will just seem silly throughout. Annoyingly, it takes itself seriously too much of the time and this does make the whole thing seem sillier. At times it has humour (mainly from Thor) but this is nowhere near often enough to lift the film. The narrative is all about setting up a fight at the end (the usual warehouse stuff) and doesn't do anything within this of any interest.The lack of characters can be understood within a tvm but they are still a real loss. Banner is his usual haunted self (despite calling himself Bannion – what a great disguise) and all this means is he mopes around thinking calm thoughts. Bixby is part of the reason it all takes itself too seriously and his performance is too worthy and self-important for such a silly film. Ferrigno is pretty poor of course but this is to be understood and the cheesy Hulk moments are something that comes with the territory. Surprisingly Kramer dominates the film and I was glad every time he came back on the screen. This is not to say he is any good, but at least he is quite funny. Colvin shows his face a few times but adds nothing to anything; Purcell is the usual love interest role and brings nothing new and, to be honest, most of the support cast are clunky and unconvincing – a few well-known faces in there add interest but not a great deal else.Overall this is a silly film with no characters, overused slow-mo, poor effects and is pretty much basic in most regards. There is enough here to please fans and those with low expectations however please don't be surprised by how basic the whole thing is.

After six years since its last prime-time show (June 1982) Stan Lee and Nicholas Corea brought back Marvel Comics' strongman "the Incredible Hulk. Though this time David Banner has become the closest ever to be cured. He has a new girlfriend,bumped into a old colleague,and well into his medical career. Unlike in the past he worked odd jobs until his alter-ego was summons. But David banner in this movie has a new life were he doesn't feel he has to runaway anymore. Till an old colleague sneaks into David's job and his trouble begans. David's colleague tells him a story that during his journey up north he discovered a hammer that can summon an old viking hero. As the old viking hero appeared David mis-judged his well-being as being destructive which forced him to become the hulk. That was one of the best scenes in the movie were the hulk and the viking hero (Thor) battle it out. Overall the hulk over-powered Thor and Thor wanted to call a truce. A real Marvel classic!! Now that their fight got some exposure David had to put his plans for a cure on halt till the situation died down. This also brought on the attention of the trailing reportor Jack Mcgee and some bad guys who wanted to take the gamma transponder that David and his colleagues worked on. Since the hulk was seen David had to go back to his old secrecy way of life,and not letting the new relationship with his girlfriend progress. That's until he found a way of permanently curing himself. But matters got worse as the bad guys capture his girlfriend to get to the transponder. Which leaves David to team up with the viking warrior and his master to save Maggie (David's girlfriend). Though they saved her David had to leave because there was to much attention focused on the green creature and his association with his job. A sad ending as in the former prime-time series. Though I enjoyed Thor because of his comical outspoken personality. A great come-back series. But poor David must continue his journey to find a cure and live a normal life he once had.

When I heard about this in 1988, I was excited, But I was not expecting Thor, the other superhero from Marvel Comics. The story begins With David Banner(always well played by Bill Bixby)who takes on another identity. Finds work has a research scienctist. Builds a machine called the Transponder, That cure from becoming the hulk. And just when about to go ahead with it, he is interupted by an old friend named Donald Blake(Steve Levitt) who tells David a big secret of his own. He has a magical hammer that can summon a mighty warrior named(played with a lot of charm by Eric Kramer). But they both soon realize that a bunch of bad guys want to get their hands on the transponder, and they will stop at nothing. Its up to the Hulk and Thor to defeat them. The best hulk movie in years, It beats out The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk and The Death Of The Incredible Hulk. Lou Ferrigno is always good has the Hulk. Eric Kramer is also good has Thor. Why don't they another superhero team up. Like one day they could do a live action Spider-Man teaming up with the X-Men. The most interesting T.V. movie in years. Its a Marvel classic.