The Incredible Hulk on YouTube

If you’re a fan of Marvel’s Incredible Hulk, you probably already have this DVD or Blu-ray. It’s a great movie, with plenty of big green action to make up for its occasionally puny plot. But if you’re just curious about the origins of this mighty behemoth, this is worth a look.

The film opens with a montage of science experiments. Then, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is irradiated with gamma radiation that morphs into the rage-fueled behemoth the Hulk. He seeks a cure, while he battles rogue scientists who want to steal his work. He reunites with his younger colleague Don Blake (Steve Levitt), who has found a Norse hammer that can summon Thor, an ancient Viking warrior.

Gen. Ross (William Hurt) is a sleazy, ruthless military leader who cares more about apprehending the Hulk than the safety of his troops or civilians caught in the crossfire (especially Betty Ross). He deploys Army battalions armed with everything from.50 caliber machine guns to rockets, Hummers, a helicopter gunship and two sonic cannons. Hulk shreds this equipment (and perhaps a few soldiers as well, though we never see any bodies) in a chaotic whirl of ripped metal and thudding bullets.

Hulk also shatters buildings and smashes cars, and he rips and tosses cars like they’re soft toys. He withstands a hail of bullets, a torrent of explosions and a helicopter gunship careening out of control across a rooftop. Blonsky taunts Hulk with a sharp bone spur, which the green Goliath kicks into a tree — a blow that leaves most of the bad guy’s bones looking like “crushed gravel.”

Despite its TV-budget limitations, this is an enjoyable movie. Its best sequences involve the aforementioned fight scenes and the introduction of the main villain, a bony Viking hero called Thor (Eric Allan Kramer). He doesn’t resemble Marvel’s Thor in the sense that the superhero is one-dimensionally noble, but he is a hearty, macho type who loves fighting, women and brew. He’s a lot like the MCU’s Hercules, but with a more dramatic split personality.