The Incredibly Average Hulk

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2008)

After testing an upcoming project on himself, Dr. Bruce Banner becomes a giant green monster, known as The Hulk. The father of his girlfriend is a general who wants to capture the creature and create an army of these monsters.
After The Hulk disappointed fans in 2003 because there wasn't even 'Hulk Smash', the people in suits decided to give it another go, this time less talk and more walk. This time there were changes all around. New director, new leads and a new HULK all together. This time we have a more gritty and mean hulk, yet at the same time it has that campy feel that throws back to the old TV show. While the new version is better then what Lee gave us a few years back, it still isn't an eye popper.
Out is Bana and in is Norton. A stronger actor, yet he is in unfamiliar territory. Norton is not really a blockbuster star, which begged the question "Are they really going to make a blockbuster Hulk, or another artistic piece". Norton brings more depth to the character, yet with the ongoing drama that plagued the film it is hard to tell what more he wanted to do with the character. William Hurt replaces Sam Elliott as the General, he chews the scenery he's in and plays up the comic book bad guy role very well. Finally Liv Tyler steps in for Jennifer Connelly, much like the last film that character isn't given too much to do except cry for Banner. Tim Roth makes his way into this film playing a bad guy yet again. He isn't given much to do here either and the reason behind him becoming what he becomes is a bit eye rolling.
Another problem the first film had was that the Hulk itself was too fake looking. This time they tried to ground this beast in reality a bit more, yet it still feels out of place. He is less green and a tad bigger I believe. While I still am not a big fan of this character he works better here. The Hulk finally sees his match here with the villain and no he does not battle with rabid overgrown dogs. The fight between these two beasts is action packed as they tear up the city (half of which was filmed in my hometown).
As decent as this film is it doesn't leave a lasting memory. It's a loud and fast paced action film, which is exactly what it should be. It will please those who might have wanted more from the first one, which took itself way too seriously. There's fun to be had here, watching a giant Hulk destroy army vehicles will please action junkies. But we are now on a high lever for comic book films. No longer can you just make a decent comic book film, you need to wow the audience and leave a lasting impression. The Incredible Hulk doesn't do this. You walk in, enjoy the two hours and then leave and don't really talk about it anymore.