Hulk is great, let down by bland human characters and story

Rating: 6/10 (5 October 2008)

Firstly, the Hulk is the star, an impressive beast that smashes things up. His expressions are soulful. His rage is real. Kudos to the effects team on creating this likable green monster and its surrounding action scenes. If this is all you want from a Hulk film then enjoy! They really deliver the goods with Hulk action.
Unfortunately, there isn't much else to enjoy about the film and it really hurts to say it. Well there are a couple of comedy moments to chuckle at there is a sprinkle of cross over elements with Iron Man and future films set in the Marvel universe which makes for an exciting prospect for fans.
This movie stars Ed Norton, William Hurt, Tim Roth, and Liv Tyler. A high calibre cast indeed with a beautiful Elf thrown in to the mix. Shame then that they are all miscast or to be quite blunt very very bland including the bad guys which is a crime for this kind of movie. The characters had zero entertainment value that I was crying for more Hulk.
Another major problem I had with this film is the story. Bruce Banner quite understandably in context with the story wants to get rid of the hulk and spends the whole movie trying to banish him whilst being on the run from the military who wants his blood to create super soldiers. That's the whole story of the film. My problem is I don't want Bruce to banish the hulk because his character is so bland I want more Hulk! Plus we know he wont succeed anyway, otherwise what kind of a hulk movie would this be if we don't see the hulk? In other words, the story had no tension.
But as I said earlier, the hulk segments are most enjoyable. There are tender scenes with Hulk and Liv that reminded me of Peter Jackson's King Kong, in fact I would have to say they blatantly ripped off a few scenes from King Kong but as I was a bit desperate to enjoy what this movie has to offer, I let that go!
This is the second movie in a new Marvel comic movie franchise. The first was Iron Man which was a far more entertaining movie because the main characters (good and bad) were dynamic and had charisma, something sorely lacking in the Hulk. I am sorry this is a rather negative review but Marvel set a good standard with Iron Man and then lowered the bar half way down on this film. Lower you expectations and you may not be as disappointed as I. I rate this 6/10.