Whats With The Hype?!?!

Rating: 6/10 (18 June 2008)

Everyone LOVES this movie.
I just like it. I don't really see what all the hype is about and why everyone thinks its so much better than all the other big summer blockbuster hits that shamelessly parades PG-13 violence and charming entertainment but lacks clear narrative, dialogue, or character development. Out of all these comic book adaptations, Spider-man has been the only one that has touched a human nerve and it was still rather corny. This movie is absolutely unbelievable (not just unbelievable in the "comic book" sense), but rather because the plot is completely undeveloped! Robert Downey Jr. makes his big comeback as charming bad boy Tony Stark but fails to save the entire movie with only his blindingly white smile. Paltrow is horrible and needs to go back to acting school (which is sad because I rather liked her in Shakespeare in Love which proves that she does have the chops but is just dusty from being out of the game for so long). Stark's "helper" machines provide some comic relief in a scene that is memorable only in its absurdity and the bad guy is so cliché he reminds me of the kingpin from the summer flop: "Daredevil".
Overall, its good entertainment but it doesn't deserve a high rating. It is mindless fun, it doesn't make you think but may make you laugh, it doesn't call for intense emotional investment but it makes you feel good and happy at the end. All in all, its rather conventional fare and so it deserves a rather average rating.
On the other hand, I rather enjoyed The Incredible Hulk with E. Norton. So if you have to pick between the two then pick Norton, who brings vulnerability to his role and who actually has chemistry with his leading lady (Liv Tyler).