The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Nicholas Corea

Writers (WGA):

Stan Lee (character)
Nicholas Corea (written by)

Release Date:

22 May 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Our Superhero Is Back In A Brand New Action Packed Adventure.

Plot:

It's been two years since the Hulk has surfaced, and Dr David Bruce Banner is on the verge of curing himself of the Hulk...

Plot Keywords:

Thor | Based On Comic | Green Skin | Marvel Comics | Superhero

Cast

Bill Bixby	...	Dr. David Bruce Banner
Lou Ferrigno	...	The Hulk
Jack Colvin	...	Jack McGee
Lee Purcell	...	Maggie Shaw
Charles Napier	...	Mike Fouche
John Gabriel	...	Joshua Lambert
Jay Baker	...	Zack Lambert
Tim Thomerson	...	Jack LeBeau
Eric Allan Kramer	...	Thor (as Eric Kramer)
Steve Levitt	...	Donald Blake
William Riley
Tom Finnegan	...	Capt. Brills
Donald Willis
Carl Ciarfalio	...	Barner (as Carl Nick Ciafalio)
Bob McLaughlin

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

Bixby-Brandon Productions

Trivia:

This TV-movie served as a pilot for a proposed "Thor" TV series that never went into production.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Donald Blake is in the cave and first finds Thor's hammer inside his sarcophagus, he mentions the room was filled with thunder and the lid of the sarcophagus was blown off on its own. However, strings attached the lid are clearly visible when they pull it off of the sarcophagus.

Quotes:

Donald Blake: I just don't get it, you know. What does he want from me, why did he choose me?
Doctor David Banner: Why don't you ask Thor? After all, HE chose you. You're meant to help him, but he's the only one who can tell you what he wants, and why you.

Movie Connections:

Follows The Incredible Hulk (1977) (TV)

The Hulk returns...with a beer drinking Viking

For those who didn't exactly take the series seriously might have a heck of a time with this comeback movie for The Incredible Hulk. But for those who did take them seriously (those being me), I find this a rather silly entry.

The humane aspect is what fueled the series. Bill Bixby was an irresistible lead and his quest for a cure never failed to be interesting. In short it was the drama that made the show as appealing as it was. In The Incredible Hulk Returns we see him team up with Thundergod Thor as David's attempts to cure himself are once again thrashed. The Hulk and Thor battle criminals who are out to steal David's machine, the one he built which might have helped to cure him.

The film starts off well and then goes downward after Thor's introduction. He's made to be pretty silly but still he's engagingly played by Eric Kramer and somehow he's pretty likable. The action scenes are fine and the Hulk moments are solid. Lou Ferrigno looks incredible and everything concerning David Banner and the Hulk is good stuff. But the campy feel and humor is something the shows didn't go much for and undermine the whole proceedings, like it wasn't taken seriously enough. But maybe that's what they were aiming for.

Jack Colvin makes a welcome return as relentless reporter Jack McGee who once again misses out on the big story. As always Bixby is rock solid and the flick works in some places but misses in others.

It's still an above average entertainment for a fan of the series.