RELEASED TO TV IN 1989 and directed by Bill Bixby, "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" is the second of three movies in the wake of the TV series that ran from 1977-82.PLOT AND MAIN CAST: Drifter David Banner (Bill Bixby) is held as a suspect in a crime connected to the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk (John Rhys-Davies), but is helped by blind lawyer, Matt Murdock (Rex Smith), who knows he's telling the truth and just so happens to be the masked crime-fighter Daredevil. Lou Ferrigno plays the jade giant while Nancy Everhard appears as Murdock's office associate. Marta DuBois plays the crime victim manipulated by the Kingpin.This one isn't as good as the previous "The Incredible Hulk Returns" (1988) because it's hard to beat Eric Allan Kramer's charismatic performance as Thor. The way Daredevil is depicted in his first appearance on the screen is pretty faithful to the comics (a mix of Stan Lee's original version with Frank Miller's early 80's version), except that the creators inexplicably opted for an all-black costume rather than dark red. Perhaps it was cheaper to have a black costume or maybe they felt it would be more realistic. Either way, it was a mistake. Nevertheless, the costume's not bad and it sorta makes Daredevil look like a ninja.Daredevil's origin is eventually divulged and it's pretty interesting. I always felt he was one of the more fascinating superheroes due to his blindness and heightened other senses. It would take fourteen more years before Daredevil would make his theatrical debut (2003) and 26 years before he'd get his own TV series (2015). Ferrigno is effective as usual as the green goliath. Unfortunately, the creators fumble the ball in the female department as the characters played by Dubois and Everhard are pretty unsubstantial.THE FILM RUNS 93 minutes and was shot in the Vancouver, B.C., area. WRITER: Gerald Di Pego.GRADE: B-/C+

I grew up watching the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno "The Incredible Hulk" television series as well as the made-for-TV movies, so in going back to watching this I am tempted to bring in a bit of nostalgia but I will do my best in suppressing that as much as possible to give a relatively objective review. However, I still found this to be entertaining. To this day I can appreciate the sense optimism in the writing and film making that came from the 1980s. Even though "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk" was 1989, I can still feel that optimism and go along with the fun that it brings; even with all its faults and missed opportunities I can still sit and enjoy it for what it is. A care free, fun comic book television film. Even with the fun I had, I do want to bring up the aspects I have against the movie first before ending on its strengths. For instance, a film called "The Trial of the Incredible Hulk"...there's no trial. Unless you count one dream sequence that runs a little too long, then that's it. This felt like a completely missed opportunity to put David Banner and the Hulk on trial. This could have been a very interesting commentary on the people who commit crimes that have been diagnosed with split or multiple personality disorders. I believe there could have been a lot of material to work off of in those regards and gave the audience something with much more depth to it in a time where comic book movies hadn't gone far down before. But to be fair, that's not necessarily what the original series was all about. It had heart of course, but it wasn't known for its social commentary. The show, as well as the TV movies are a campy good time; albeit with a grounded and internally tormented lead character. And another thing that I have a small gripe about is *SPOILER ALERT* how the villain, Wilson Fisk, gets away. He flies off in an aircraft that I would have seen the Fantastic Four riding around in, which is a little too silly for how relatively grounded the film was being prior. Yes, it did have plenty of its campy moments but it never felt like a cartoon...for the most part...until the end. Other than that this was still enjoyable for what it is. As long as you're not trying to take it too seriously then it shouldn't be hard to get into. Bill Bixby does yet another great job in the role of David Banner and shows that he did have some talent behind the camera as a director. It's always fun to see Lou Ferrigno pummeling some bad guys. Rex Smith as Matt Murdock/DareDevil is actually pretty fun and charismatic. And the Kingpin, played by John Rhys-Davies is obviously chewing some scenery. In terms of villains, he isn't a very well developed character but at that point the Kingpin was known best for just being a big bald guy that runs crime from atop his tower so the actor did what he could to at least make him a little fun to watch. So if this sounds like you could sit and have some mindless fun then here you go.

Dr. David Banner (superbly played by Bill Bixby, who also directed) gets jailed for assault after stopping two men from terrorizing a woman on the subway. Banner's shrewd blind lawyer Matt Murdock (a fine performance by Rex Smith) turns out to be vigilante superhero Daredevil, who enlists Banner's assistance in taking out arch criminal Wilson Fisk (John Rhys-Davis in top-rate smoothly villainous form). Bixby, working from an earnest and engrossing script by Gerald Dipego, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, maintains a serious tone throughout, and stages the action set pieces with a reasonable amount of flair and competence (a nightmare sequence with the Hulk trashing a courtroom rates as the definite exciting highlight). Moreover, the teaming up of two classic Marvel superheroes is both interesting and inspired, plus the Hulk (intensely portrayed with growly menace by Lou Ferrigno) seems more fearsome and dangerous than ever. Bixby and Smith display a natural and engaging chemistry in the leads, with sturdy support from Nancy Everhard as Murdock's smitten partner Christa Klein, Marta DuBois as the frightened Ellie Mendez, Nicholas Hormann as Fisk's cowed henchman Edgar, and Joseph Mascolo as hard-nosed police chief Albert G. Tendelli. Both Chuck Colwell's sharp cinematography and Lance Rubin's melodic and melancholy score are up to speed. Worth a watch for fans of the series.

David is charged with murder and Matt Murdock (aka The Daredevil) is the lawyer who's handling his case. Then the big green dude and the blind justice seeker join forces to fight The Kingpin.Ahhhhh, if you thought The Incredible Hulk Returns was a bit on the silly side, you won't think that so much after watching this. The Daredevil scenes are just painful to watch. Rex Smith isn't bad as Murdock/Daredevil but he's just too damn silly when he's fighting the good fight. John Rhys Davies is horrible as The Kingpin who here comes off even worse than Daredevil.What's worst here is that The Hulk plays second fiddle to the blind lawyer, not even appearing in the (overly silly) climax. This was originally an attempt to launch a series for Daredevil and it's obvious why it didn't take off.Bill Bixby for the first and only time looks disinterested in the proceedings. This movie has "half hearted" written all over it. The Hulk action is unspectacular (apart from one dream sequence) but Ferrigno nevertheless looks great.I just hope this was something Bixby had to do before venturing into the last installment which ended the Hulk saga on a high note.