Despite a ton of smashing, this film actually was a tad dull...but watchable.

Rating: 6/10 (24 July 2010)

Before getting into the film, I should probably point out that I am not the best reviewer for this film--unless, like me, you aren't all that familiar with the Hulk. Apart from seeing the pilot of the TV series and riding on the Hulk ride at Universal's theme park, The Island's of Adventure, I have never seen anything of the green guy--not a single comic book nor the previous movie from 2003. So, for the die-hard Hulkophile, I am certainly not the best person to review the film. In fact, I only have watched super hero films because I have a friend and daughter who push me to give them a try. And, in general, I have enjoyed them...but I am still not a big fan.
This film is a sequel (of sorts) and it's obvious from the beginning that the film has come after a lot of things have occurred. Bruce Banner is already the Hulk and how that all came to be was explored in the first film...or at least that's what I've been told. Oddly, he's in Brazil and perhaps he chose this nation because of their spiffy green flag. After a short time, the evil general (William Hurt) and his minions pounce on Banner and try to kidnap him. Not unexpectedly, Banner becomes Hulk and kicks butt. Later, they try the same thing repeatedly, but this time they give Tim Roth (why is an English guy playing a guy in the US Army, by the way--he certainly was no Rambo!) a series of injections to make him a super-soldier--and giving him a chance to defeat the Hulk. The only trouble is--who is going to control this new insanely dangerous nemesis.
Despite my being a relative Hulk newbie, I was surprised that my opinion AND the opinion of both my daughters (including the comic book geek one) was pretty much the same. The film had some nice action but not a whole lot else. As for the rest of the film, it was a tad dull and the relationship with the girl really seemed to slow down the film. As a result, the film is a time-passer and not a whole lot more. I sure hope that the folks at Marvel think twice about all their many, many announced upcoming films. If you keep making mediocre super-hero films, you might just end up killing the genre. This is NOT a film of the same quality as "Iron Man" or "The Dark Knight" (yes, Marvel fans, I know this is a DC franchise--back off, nerd-boys!!!).