The Monster-Movie Version of Hulk

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2008)

This for me was the live-action MTV-styled re-make of the old campy cartoon version of Hulk. It essentially consists of 3 action sequences heavily underscored with music that tells the audience what they should feel, interspersed with exposition scenes so basic that the cast (with the likes of William Hurt, Edward Norton, etc.) can't really do anything with it-- complete with a predictable plot that makes all the other summer blockbuster movies of 2008 look smart by comparison.
But were the action sequences worth it? I'd say it yes, if that's the only thing you came for (and I admit I loved the "Hulk Smash!" bit). I didn't even mind clock-watching in-between the action sequences when the phoned-in (un)dramatic performances made me groan-- at my age I am no longer such a fan of the cartoon Hulk or the campy characterizations in this movie.
So this is almost the exact opposite of the moody old live-action TV series or Ang Lee's 2003 movie version of Hulk, where Banner spends more time in human than in Hulk form and you get some kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde drama. The 2008 Hulk is Frankestein-styled movie, where you go just to watch the monster do his stuff, and any drama is directed MTV style so as not to slow the movie down.