The Incredible Hulk

HULK SMASH!

Well, it may not quite be a smash, but it sure as hell is a good effort! A sequel of sorts to Ang Lee's Hulk (which I have never managed to sit through), this is less an arthouse film like its predecessor, and more of a big, rumbling brawl of a film that, despite its flaws, you can't help but like - not unlike the Hulk himself.

Edward Norton is well cast as Bruce Banner, for what little we really see of him. Liv Tyler does well as the Beauty to Norton's Beast, but is not exactly given an enormous leash with which to work, while Tim Roth is very well cast as Emil Blonsky, the aging soldier who is to become Hulk's rival. The Incredible Hulk is a significantly film to Ang Lee's envisioning, and despite being Marvel's second self-financed film, it is also a very different film to Marvel's first - Iron Man. While Iron Man makes sure to spend plenty of time developing the characters, Hulk assumes that we know who the characters are, and what makes them tick.

This assumption leaves a big chunk of time in the film's runtime that can spent elsewise. So Hulk spends it on action. Big rolling fight scenes, chase scenes, more fight scenes and more chase scenes. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing, because it's well done, and it doesn't feel drawn out.

There's not a whole lot else to say about The Incredible Hulk - it's well made, does what it sets out to do very well, but not a whole lot else. I'll be watching the next one when that one comes out, which is exactly what a franchise film is aiming for. B+.