A sequel that's not a sequel, but acts like one

Rating: 5/10 (24 June 2008)

"The Incredible Hulk" accomplished a few things. It gives a lot of nods to the old TV show, brings in some things from the comics, borrows elements from the "Ultimate Destruction" video game, and drops cameos and hints to the upcoming Avengers movie. On it's own? It doesn't do too much. Although, Ed Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, and William Hurt offer decent performances, it's not their best.
The story itself is kind of sloppy and very predictable (partially because most of the plot is given away in the trailers). Also, even though it's supposed to be an entirely new film and not a sequel, it kind of plays like a sequel... of a movie that never existed. There's a brief explanation of how Bruce became the Hulk and his relationship with Betty Ross, but not enough to fully understand or to suck you into the story. It rushes through those parts like we're supposed to "already know" all that. It even begins where the first movie left off; yet, it's not a sequel!
When the actual Hulk action picks up, you can tell there's some cool stuff happening, but the camera is too erratic, and he Hulk himself is too detailed and animated; moving around way too fast. It loses the realism. That seems to be a problem with CGI these days. It's harder to enjoy the effects when your eyes are trying to keep up with what's going on. Plus, slowing things down a bit can add much more weight, strength, and solidity to characters like the Hulk... especially when mixing CGI with real life.
Overall, as hard as I tried, I couldn't find much to like about "The Incredible Hulk" other than the music score. Basically, this movie is made for people who hated the first one; but it actually made me appreciate Ang Lee's "The Hulk" even more. I was disappointed with the first film because there was too much plot, heart and quiet moments for a movie about a guy who turns into a green monster whenever he gets mad. But, I disliked this movie because it lacked in those same areas. This film tries really hard to distance itself from the first Hulk film, but it might have been easier to make it a straight sequel.