The first and best of three post series Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno INCREDIBLE HULK television movies, and since Marvels' THE AVENGERS is such a hot commodity, this live-action Thor teaming with Hulk circa 1988 was decades ahead of its time...
And comparably dated, but it's hard to deny the infectious charm of Eric Allan Kramer as the Norse god who, discovered from a backstory/flashback by his dweeby keeper played by dweeby actor Steve Levitt, is a scene-stealing stranger in a strange land, making THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS more like a possible Thor pilot than a continuation of the titular green hero....
After Thor (and Levitt's Donald Blake) parties at a local biker bar, he helps Lou Ferrigno's Hulk... And that's after fighting him inside a corporation laboratory where, once again, Bixby's David Banner surreptitiously works, trying to permanently cease his roaring alter ego... And what does every mobile lonely man need?
Enter Lee Purcell as the most beautiful, understanding and science-savvy of all Banner babes: you'll wonder why he'd ever leave... And this is the only movie with Jack Colvin as snoopy reporter Jack McGee, involved in a great scene with Thor dressed in modern surfer garb and not holding back...
Meanwhile, former Hulk voice-over growl-machine Charles Napier (who replaced Jack Cassidy), along with Cajun brother Tim Thomerson, provide the antagonist roles, and what they're after really doesn't matter. RETURNS is about experiencing Thor stuck in modern times, and for the most part loving it...
Since we can't see Bixby and Ferrigno together, Levitt and Kramer are a fun and involving duo. And surprisingly, Banner's pretty much a third wheel in his own vehicle... that really rolls.
And comparably dated, but it's hard to deny the infectious charm of Eric Allan Kramer as the Norse god who, discovered from a backstory/flashback by his dweeby keeper played by dweeby actor Steve Levitt, is a scene-stealing stranger in a strange land, making THE INCREDIBLE HULK RETURNS more like a possible Thor pilot than a continuation of the titular green hero....
After Thor (and Levitt's Donald Blake) parties at a local biker bar, he helps Lou Ferrigno's Hulk... And that's after fighting him inside a corporation laboratory where, once again, Bixby's David Banner surreptitiously works, trying to permanently cease his roaring alter ego... And what does every mobile lonely man need?
Enter Lee Purcell as the most beautiful, understanding and science-savvy of all Banner babes: you'll wonder why he'd ever leave... And this is the only movie with Jack Colvin as snoopy reporter Jack McGee, involved in a great scene with Thor dressed in modern surfer garb and not holding back...
Meanwhile, former Hulk voice-over growl-machine Charles Napier (who replaced Jack Cassidy), along with Cajun brother Tim Thomerson, provide the antagonist roles, and what they're after really doesn't matter. RETURNS is about experiencing Thor stuck in modern times, and for the most part loving it...
Since we can't see Bixby and Ferrigno together, Levitt and Kramer are a fun and involving duo. And surprisingly, Banner's pretty much a third wheel in his own vehicle... that really rolls.