Good but I Think It Was Just a Stepping Stone

Rating: 5/10 (8 July 2008)

I think I am one of the minority who did like the first major Hulk movie by director Ang Lee, starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connely. Maybe that is why, I did not really think this movie was actually necessary to begin with. I thought Ed Norton did not fit the Bruce Banner role very much. When I watched this, I did not really snap out of my preconceived opinion of the movie. It is not a bad movie, but I still think that this new Hulk movie was not a necessary movie since there was already another good one before.
The start is very unusual. The whole origins story is compressed into the opening credits, as if this was already the sequel. If you enter the movie house five minutes after the movie began, you would feel disoriented. What was Bruce Banner doing in the slums of Brazil (man, those are really squalid living conditions there!) and working in a soft drink factory? The actors I felt did not fit their roles. Not only Ed Norton, but also and especially Liv Tyler . She looked awkward in her role as a cell biologist Betty Ross. I also thought they did not have chemistry together. I am biased with the Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly team-up in the first "Hulk".
Of course, the CG effects of this new movie was much better than the first. Including the overall scarier and rougher look of the Hulk himself (compared to the smooth green creature in the Ang Lee version). That outdoor scene on the university grounds in broad daylight was very well executed in terms of the details! Congratulations to my cousin Marc, whose name I saw in the final credits as systems coordinator of the Rhythm and Hues crew that created the special effects of this film.
There were surprises in the way of cameo appearances. Stan Lee again, this time as the old guy who drinks the gamma contaminated drink. Bill Bixby (TV's Bruce Banner) on an old TV show. And TV Hulk himself Lou Ferrigno as a security guard.
Now the very end was another pleasant surprise indeed. However, it also made me feel that this movie was just a stepping stone to the next bigger Marvel project in line. I think that is why this version was done in the first place, so that the Hulk gets a new look and treatment in preparation for the bigger things to come.