In the early 1960s, a comics writer named Stanley Lieber, writing under the name Stan Lee, instituted a major revolution in the medium. Marvel Comics, previously specializing in Godzilla-scaled monsters wreaking havoc (usually while wearing briefs, inexplicably) began publishing a new style of superhero book. Not only did his heroes have to cope with the general array of crooks and villains -- they had personal crises. Spider-Man, for example, was a young student, wrestling with guilt, his studies, supporting his elderly aunt, and girlfriend issues. Captain America was wracked with angst over the death of his sidekick, Bucky. And there was a certain scientist, who found himself with a terrible secret...

Stan Lee, along with legenday comics artist Jack Kirby, updated the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, using Marvel Comics' favored Deus Ex Machina of the day, the runaway powers of the atom. Dr. Bruce Banner would transform into a raging green (or gray, in the first issue) monster, with boundless rage and astounding power.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the comics industry changed again, in a movement generally attributed to Frank Miller's landmark rethinking of Batman, "The Dark Knight Returns". Children seemed more likely to spend their leisure dollar on video games than comic books, which due to printing costs, became too expensive for kids. The comics industry adjusted by making the stories more suited for adults. The Hulk's origin and motivations were changed greatly from the original story (in the comics industry, this is called a "retcon", which is an abbreviation for "retrocactive continuity change").

All this long winded blather is meant to explain why the film may be somewhat of a surprise to those who haven't read a comic book in a while, and even more of a shock to those only familiar with the "Incredible Hulk" TV series of the 1970s.

Director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Eat Drink Man Woman", "Sense and Sensibility") displays a profound respect for the source material. This is evident even during the title sequence, where the credits are written in comic book style lettering.

Briefly, the story concerns a young scientist, Bruce Krenzler (Eric Bana), who is researching a revolutionary medical technique, that would speed healing processes incredibly. He works with his former girlfriend, Betty Ross (Connelly), who is estranged from her father, U.S. Army General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (never called by his full name in the film; Stan Lee had a tendency to use somewhat florid dialogue in his comics, and the names were likewise somewhat silly).

The inevitable complications arise. A mysterious janitor begins poking around the lab, a noxious NSA official begins making noise about appropriating the research project for military use, while Krenzler remains adamant that his breakthrough (which he hasn't quite perfected) will be for the benefit of all mankind.

While saving a colleague from a lab accident, Krenzler is accidentally hit with a huge blast of gamma radiation, setting in motion a tragedy that had been awaiting him since before his birth.

The film is a wonder to look at. Ang Lee has captured some of the aesthetic of comic book artwork, without taking it to the campy extremes of the 1960s "Batman" TV series.

The movie may be too clever for its own good, however. The first half is largely devoted to character development, which could make children somewhat restless. Their patience will be rewarded in the last half, however, which has some breathtaking action sequences. Also, those familiar with the Hulk from the TV series may be put off somewhat by the scale and power of the movie Hulk, who is as powerful as his comic book counterpart, and incredibly, even larger.

There's been much pre-release speculation and griping about the quality of special effects. While the Hulk looks somewhat artificial and cartoonish in a few (very few) shots (Gollum in "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" comes to mind as the only digitally generated humanoid figure to be genuinely convincing throughout a film), there are some remarkable action scenes featuring the big green guy.

There's a lot more thought put into this film than the typical summer blockbuster; the summer movie crowd likely will not appreciate (both in the sense of recognizing, and in enjoying) the many allusions to classic fiction and film, from "Frankenstein", "The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde", to "King Kong" (the references to the latter occuring in a couple of the better action sequences in the film), or the Oedipal aspect to the story (in the sense of a filial rivalry, not in the less savory maternal lust aspect).

Their loss, this film is the very rare bird, the action film with a brain.