Did you go see that Hulk movie a few years back? Yeah, me too. We should start a support group or something. Fortunately, there is a new Hulk movie to try and keep us satisfied, and – I can’t believe I’m saying this – it isn’t that bad.

There is no way to review this movie without comparing it to the older one, so let’s start from the beginning. New Hulk tells the origin story (which everybody should know by now, anyway) over the opening credits. That’s right, we don’t have to wait 90 minutes just to see the title character this time! And when we do see him, he’s not fighting some stupid hulk-dogs in the dark, and he looks far better than before. He’s no longer cartoony green, more of an olive drab, and it suits him. It’s still obvious CG, but this is to be expected, and it’s not very distracting. The added detail makes Hulk look as powerful as he ought to.

Next, we’ll compare our leading men. I’m sorry to break it to you Eric Fanas out there (I crack myself up), but Ed Norton blows that guy away. This movie, like Iron Man before it, hinges on the lead performance. If Ed Norton isn’t present, the film is terrible. He brings enough nuance and subtlety to lend much-needed humanity to Bruce Banner, and because of this, the scenes in which he Hulks out have a little more pop. Also, credit goes to Liv Tyler for knowing her role – not being a good enough actress to distract us from Norton.

Now let’s look at the stories. Old Hulk was about 8 hours of exposition and 2 minutes of fighting, and the fighting sucked anyway. Hulk does not cry about his daddy, HULK FREAKING SMASH. New Hulk begins 5 years after the origin. Banner is being hunted the US government who wish to turn his “gift” into a weapon, so he is constantly on the move. The Army hires Tim Roth as their next Hulk-hunter, which is actually kind of funny because Roth and Norton are about as white and pasty as you can get. Roth chews the scenery, loves every minute of it, and makes it hard to hate his villainous mercenary.

But nobody goes to see a Hulk movie to pick apart the acting, you go to see Hulk be Hulk. And folks, he is Hulk this time. In the last movie, they got everything wrong. Hulk alternated between having daddy issues and running away from fights. Any comic fan will tell you, this is not Hulk. If you piss off the Hulk, you’re done. He’s not going to run away from you, he is going to smash you. This time around, Hulk means business. He takes out everything that’s making him mad, even once throwing a boulder at the sky when he’s startled by a clap of thunder. No one is safe.

Another thing this movie had that the other one didn’t was the little touches for the fans. This is important for a comic book movie, because you need to keep your primary audience happy. New Hulk features Banner turning down a pair of purple stretchy pants (so THAT’S why they never rip off…), the sonic-boom handclap, and even a hearty “Hulk Smash!” Still no clean reading of The Line – you know the one – but the “Hulk Smash” makes up for it. This seems a good time to mention that this movie gets one more thing right about Hulk – the angrier he is, the stronger he is. It is unforgivable to neglect this fact in a Hulk movie, and I was happy to see that they didn’t miss it here.

Now, let’s take the climactic battle scene. Old Hulk fell into the “what the crap is going on?” trap that sinks so many other action movies. New Hulk has taken a lesson from Iron Man, eschewing the choppy, jumpy camerawork for longer scenes of extended asskickery. Even the ending, which once again pits our hero against a larger/stronger/smarter/whatever version of himself, had a nice little twist to keep it somewhat fresh. Oh, and Hulk says “Hulk Smash”. I’m still kind of geeking out about that. Oh yeah, if you haven’t seen Iron Man, the ending here won’t make a lick of sense. Just saying.

The newest Hulk movie isn’t perfect by any means, but it is a step in the right direction. Superhero movies in general are on the start of an upswing, with Iron Man preceding, which bodes well for the inevitable sequel to which both of those movies alluded. The acting definitely saved it, but the whole mythology was handled with greater care and more love for the fans, which goes a long way. Let’s all hope this is a trend and not a blip.