Following the success of Iron Man, Marvel Studios released The Incredible Hulk. Does it live up to the hype? Well, yes and no, is it better then the original Incredible Hulk movie? Yes, but not that much better. The problem with the original Hulk movie was that the story was too “love story” and not enough “Hulk Smash!” That problem moves over the newest incarnation of The Incredible Hulk but is toned down quite a bit. Iron Man, had just enough action to keep the movie interesting, but threw in a love story to give the movie some substance.
An ongoing joke that I’ve been making about this movie is that, it’s constantly raining, and Bruce Banner’s girlfriend Betty (Liv Tyler) is always crying. The more I think about it the less it becomes a joke, and transforms in to more of a summation of everything I disliked about this movie. It’s just so sappy over-the-top that it’s almost nauseating. It’s got more “Hulk Smash” then the previous film, that’s for sure. But the story line, and ending are predictable from the first half of the movie on. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but it doesn’t nearly live up to the hype.
I would almost classify this as a chick flick that a guy might enjoy. Yes, The Incredible Hulk just might be the perfect date movie. The character’s personalities developed in the blink of an eye, we knew where everybody stood 10 minutes in to the movie. This might have worked better if Hulk was a straight action movie, but it’s not. I did enjoy Tim Roth as Emil, he was the perfect person to cast for the role.
I didn’t think Edward Norton was the right choice for Bruce Banner/Hulk, he just didn’t seem comfortable in the role. And as stated before, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, cried the whole movie, to the point that it was laughable.The Incredible Hulk will do fine, but it doesn’t hold a candle to a movie like Iron Man. Hopefully Marvel learned it’s lesson, and will use the Iron Man formula and avoid making the mistakes that are blatantly apparent in this movie.
Oh, and make sure you stay seated until the VERY end of the movie, I won’t spoil it, but STAY don’t walk out when you think the movie might be over.
