Great beginning

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2013)

This movie was solid, and that's really all I can say about it. It's very decent, easy to watch and as far as popcorn movies go, I've seen much, much worse. That said, it's still one of the weakest movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in my opinion. Does that make it a bad film? Not at all, but for me this film had the least amount of awe in it. It just didn't immediately connect with me like the other films did.
So what does the movie get right? Well, the cast is very solid. Edward Norton is a very good choice to play the main character, as he has that kind of geeky yet understatedly dangerous quality to him. You can see that he's a peaceful man, but you really shouldn't mess with him. Ergo, the perfect Hulk. The rest of the actors didn't disappoint either, although Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns was a bit too all over the place for my tastes. But that's just me, as I've heard that most people like him just fine. I personally enjoyed Liv Tyler very much as Banner's (ex-)girlfriend Elizabeth Ross. That woman has the ability to capture your attention by just walking into the scene. In addition, the action was very well choreographed, being fast-paced, creative and easy to follow. The special effects look a bit out-dated by today's standards, mostly those dealing with the Hulk himself, but they weren't that bad.
So what didn't work? Well, I think the biggest problem is that the film takes itself perhaps a bit too seriously. It lacked that slight tongue in cheek humour that all the other Marvel films would have after this one. They also dealt with serious issues, but they were meant to entertain first and foremost. This film had some good jokes and I laughed from time to time, but it was still kind of dark for a superhero film. Not a bad thing, necessarily, if your main character is someone like, say, Daredevil, but when he's a humongous green giant... some humour wouldn't have gone amiss. And that's not to say that there isn't great tragedy to be found in the character of Hulk, and that is explored admirably in this film, but that tragedy needs humour to balance it.
Furthermore, the story wasn't that captivating as a whole. It hit most of the right notes and was well-written for the most part, but I did find it the slightest bit boring. It just seemed to go by so fast. Hulk had a problem, Hulk was presented with a solution, Hulk tried to reach the said solution, Hulk encountered some resistance, rinse and repeat. Plus, the villain of the film wasn't that interesting either. He was played by an entertaining actor (Tim Roth), but he never really rose above the usual blood knight/wardog clichés.
Still, it's not a bad film. If you're a fan of superhero movies, I'd definitely give this one a watch, and even if you're not, I'd say that there are worse ways to spend an hour or two.