When all is said and done, will The Incredible Hulk take the spot on our Fave Movies of Summer ‘08 listicles previously reserved for Indy and Spielberg? For months, the redo’s marketing, CGI, behind the scenes differences, and purpose have been scrutinized beneath formidable anticipation for The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Hellboy 2. Early reviews are hitting the Net and it appears that the latest Marvel tale, from director Louis Leterrier and star Ed Norton, is a worthy contender and then some. I’ve compiled excerpts from what’s currently being said on the Net. If you’ve attended an early screening, let us hear all about it in the comments, or email/Twitter us. This entire post is spoiler-free.

First off, The Incredible Hulk recently screened at the championed Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas and the locals and spies over at AICN report the following…

“I was afraid going into this movie that the CGI would take me out of the movie, but it never did. The cinematography and CGI were beautifully shot. I loved the Hulk as much in this movie as I did in the comic books. …Ed Norton was incredible as Bruce Banner. But the Hulk? The Hulk truly came to life for me for the first time on film. …Is it as wonderful as Iron Man? No, but it is still a pretty damn good superhero film that continues to give me hope for the future Marvel films in the works.” - CheriBomb

The following guy nitpicks at Liv Tyler’s performance (”she’s always out of breath…”), but he’s even more excited. Given his alias, I can only imagine where and in what circumstance he typed the following…

“Really, let’s not even worry about the thin plot, the point of anything Hulk is SMASH! …In short, the geekiest comparison I can make is to Star Trek:consider Ang Lee’s Hulk to be Star Trek:The Motion Picture, a long drawn out effects heavy cerebral film clearly crafted with a fetishistic love; and consider The Incredible Hulk to be The Wrath Of Khan:shorter, faster, pure ass kicking all the way through.” - The Human Burrito

Yes mom, I went to J-school to quote a spy named The Human Burrito. And if said spy is actually a plant dressed up like my favorite food, I have to say his Star Trek comparison still makes me want to check it out. Other spy reports: This next guy admits that the CGI Hulk is pretty, uh, CGI-y and yet the effects do not “distract” from the overall badassery. He also says that the film is chockful of Easter Eggs and gushing with geek references, something we keep hearing over and over…

“The real surprise for me was Tim Roth - he’s not been this good for years and he’s great as special forces soldier Emil Blonsky, even if his character does get lost a bit towards the end and he does look a bit like Harry Potter’s Dobby at one point. There’s one sequence in particular that has me drooling at the prospect of Marvel’s upcoming Captain America movie.” - rjl1138, NYC

Yeah, but what about Professor Dark and Serious Movies Only, will that chief like it? Probably not and who cares, but Massawyrm says…

“The Incredible Hulk fucking rules. …Every bit as good as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk takes the material we all love, gets at the heart of what makes it tick and then puts it on the screen FOR ADULTS. It’s dark. It’s heavy.”

Oh, and what about AICN’s Harry Knowles?

“OH HELL YEAH!” - Harry Knowles [includes animation of himself turning into Hulk, makes token allusion to "creaming"]

Elsewhere, reactions are equally elated, like this one…

“Except for one or two quiet moments shared by Banner and his girlfriend while on the lam, Incredible Hulk doesn’t waste a single frame on dull talky exposition. It is all plot-driven and action-filled. In fact, unlike the much-hyped Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk never runs out of steam.” - Sci-Fi Movie Page

Gives yet another new meaning to “Nuke the Fridge.” Here’s an exclusive mini-reaction via txt/Twitter to Slashfilm just seconds ago…

“I was not expecting great things. I knew there was a lot of hype surrounding The Hulk, but I figured it might be just as disappointing as the first one. I am not a huge fan of fantasy/superhero movies because they can fail miserably if there’s poor CGI. But The Hulk was great! Not only was Edward Norton really convincing, but the action was on top of its game. I was pumped the whole time and waiting to see what happened next. Plus, after seeing Iron Man… I couldn’t help but feel anticipation and excitement during the last moments of the movie.” - Alana Taylor, Journalist, NYC

If a negative review(s) pops up, we’ll include it here, but for now, the buzz is on high. And we might as well tell you to stick around for the end credits. Also, the film’s ending is said to be a mega-highlight.

Discuss: HULK (not Ang Lee’s)! Look out for possible spoilers in the comments.