Movie Review: The Trial of the Incredible Hulk

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk
Bixby-Brandon Productions, New World International, USA, Canada, 1989.

David 'Belson' a.k.a Banner (Bill Bixby) has gone incognito and lives doing odd jobs. Work is hard and the boss is a sadist. As living in the country is not good for his anger management, he visits New York City. But in no time he gets in trouble again. 

David Banner

Hulk

Crime lord Wilson Fisk (John Rhys-Davies) a.k.a Kingpin has arranged a jewelry heist. Two Kingpin's thugs harass a woman named Ellie Mendez (Marta DuBois) in subway, so Banner gets angry and turns into Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) tossing the evil-doers like sacks of potatoes. As an  innocent bystander is killed by a stray bullet, the cops arrest David who is conveniently at the crime scene. Also Ellie is threatened so she has to testify against Banner. Blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Rex Smith) wants to help him. Matt has a superhuman hearing and his alter ego is crime fighter Daredevil.

Wilson Fisk

Ellie Mendez

Matt Murdock

The crooks are trying to kill both Ellie and David, so Daredevil must keep them both alive. Banner is going to trial but the excitement is too much. Hulk can be seen destroying a court room but that wouldn't be proper behaviour for a comic hero so it was all just a dream. Still David thinks that would really happen and so Hulk escapes jail.

Daredevil

Nasty Nurse (Linda Darlow)

Kingpin's assistant Edgar (Nicholas Hormann)

The story is better than in the previous film. The Marvel Universe starts to expand, making steps that the big budget films followed years later. But more than a Hulk-movie this is Daredevil's movie. And so Hulk is absent from the final battle letting Daredevil do the action. Besides being a Hulk-movie it was planned to be a pilot for planned Daredevil series. Pretty assistant Christa Klein (Nancy Everhard) would have become the romantic interest for Daredevil if the series had ever been made. The action is good and John-Rhys Davies has the essence of the powerful gangster boss. Lou Ferrigno has a mute role again, showing a bit more strength than in "The Incredible Hulk Returns" The melancholic mood of the previous Hulk-movie remains in the end.

Christa Klein

Hulk's creator Stan Lee can be seen in the jury.

Rating:  Good

Starring: Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Marta DuBois, Nancy Everhard, Nicholas Hormann, Richard Cummings Jr., Joseph Mascolo, John Rhys-Davies, Rex Smith, Linda Darlow, John Novak, Dwight Koss, Meredith Bain Woodward, Mark Acheson, Richard Newman, Don MacKay, Doug Abrahams, Mitchell Kosterman, Beatrice Zeilinger, Ken Camroux-Taylor, Charles Andre, John 'Bear' Curtis, Stan Lee, Michael O'Hare
Director: Bill Bixby