"Is it as wonderful as Iron Man? No, but it is still a pretty damn good superhero film that continues to give me hope for the future Marvel films in the works..."

"Much more action-packed and entertaining than the previous Hulk movie. . ."

"The Incredible Hulk is a fun summer movie; just don't expect too many twists and turns."

Early reviews are coming in for the Marvel Studios/Universal reboot of the Hulk franchise, and so far it sounds pretty...okay. The general impression is of relief that Ang Lee's more cerebral and psychotherapeutical take on Bruce Banner's tormented dark-side (well...green side) has been abandoned for a more action-oriented approach to the character.

The first available review, from scifimoviepage.com, fails to resolve the sequel/reboot status of Louis Leterrier's release, and it seems that The Incredible Hulk may occupy the same semi-sequel netherspace as Bryan Singer's Superman Returns...

"The Incredible Hulk assumes that audiences already know the character and his back-story: following an accident involving gamma rays, scientist Bruce Banner becomes the raging super-powered, green-skinned monster The Hulk whenever he gets angry. Of course the U.S. military in the guise of the corrupt General Ross (William Hurt) - who also happens to be the father of Banner’s girlfriend, Betty - is interested in getting their hands on the Hulk and using his blood to manufacture a new breed of super-powered soldiers. Banner becomes a fugitive, hoping to find a cure for his condition before Ross and the U.S. military industrial complex can get their hands on him. In that sense it is more of a sequel than a remake than some of the “let’s give it another shot” talk may have let on."

The almost-inevitably favourable slew of reviews posted at AICN indicate that the carefully measured balance between Banner's angst and pure knock-down action leans slightly to the latter. Norton is generally praised for his portrayal of the fugitive scientist trying to cure his tendency to turn into a bone-headed, furious freight-train...

"The Hulk truly came to life for me for the first time on film. I liked Ang Lee's Hulk, but it wasn't the Hulk that I fell in love with as a child. This Hulk is. As I watched him in the kick-ass fight with Abomination toward the end of the film, I had tears well up in my eyes. "

Readers are generally complimentary towards Tim Roth's performance, but even more thrilled by Robert Downey Jr's very brief appearance as Tony Stark...

"Did you think that Nick Fury's cameo was cool in Iron Man, did it give you that nerdy tingly rush of "they're really setting it up!"? Tony Stark makes a brief appearance at the end of Hulk and takes that setup one step further...."We're putting together a team."

scifimoviepage seem to capture the general tone of these early impressions here...

"Except for one or two quiet moments shared by Banner and his girlfriend while on the lam, Incredible Hulk doesn’t waste a single frame on dull talky exposition. It is all plot-driven and action-filled. "

So there you have it - if you're looking for another deep insight into the tormented psychological landscape of Bruce Banner, looks like you're out of luck. If you want to see shit being blown up, apparently this is your film.

AICN - scifimoviepage

We'll be reviewing The Incredible Hulk next week.