The direction is so good, the acting is best quality, the story is well told. It's a terrific blend of action movie and comic book story. It's full of heart, and depth. The Hulk's story is a good one. It deserves as reverent a telling as, for example, the Batman story, and it gets it here. I really enjoy the old-timey feeling - it's told in contemporary times, but with a retro, 1950s nuclear-age feel.
Nick Nolte is wonderful, as always. It might not have been a boon to Eric Bana, because the movie didn't do so well, but he was really quite good in the role. Everybody played it straight, no arch acting, which is due to the Ang Lee's direction. Think about it, the actors in the various key roles have played these roles before (and since), but in this movie, there's no hammy acting - these associations are there, but, as I said, played straight. It's fascinating and wonderful to see. Sam Elliot is the gruff military guy, but is human. Nick Nolte is the loony, but human. Eric Bana is full of quiet strength as Bruce Banner, and wild strength (and freedom) as Hulk but *human*. It's not a formula action hero/superhuman movie at all, it's art. Underrated art.
