So I got to see the new movie “The Incredible Hulk” tonight and I thought that it was alright but not great. Before I continue, let me tell you that my only previous exposure to “The Incredible Hulk” has been the Family Guy episode where Stewie mimics the final scene of the 1978 “Hulk” television series. Also, I saw the movie in the German dubbed version and obviously there’s always the possibility that the translators or voice actors go it all wrong. That said, here’s my review:

The movie attempts to do for “Hulk” what “Batman Begins” did for “Batman”: it tries to make it accessible to a wider audience. I’ll tell you if it worked in a second. First of all, let me tell you that the performances by both Edward Norton and Liv Tyler are excellent throughout the movie. Also, their lines are always believable and never cheesy. William Hurt on the other hand sucks donkey balls in this (pardon my French) and that was a surprise to me. It’s not all his fault though. He is forced into a character that couldn’t be more cliché and his lines are without exception some of the worst bits of dialogue I have ever heard in a movie. I was actually surprised that neither of the two writers (one of whom is actually Edward Norton) had worked on The Marine which featured dialogue of similar quality. But discussing the quality of the dialogue of an action movie that is based on a comic is actually quite ridiculous. It’s just that since “Batman Begins” and “V for Vendetta”, quality dialogue in those kinds of movies isn’t unheard of anymore.

So what about the action? Well, it was pretty intense of course. The quality of the effects was generally very good; it’s just that whatever you do, it’s absolutely impossible to make a giant green humanoid monster look believable in a live action movie. So when I say that the Hulk looked crappy, I’m not implying that the effects people screwed up. I’m sure they did a great job. It’s just that it can’t be done any better. So maybe the “Hulk” just isn’t meant to be anything other than a comic book character.

The final verdict is that while the movie was quite entertaining, it’s not another “Batman Begins”. It has failed to turn a comic book into anything more than a solid comic book movie. But I don’t think they could have made it any better unless they had completely reinvented the Hulk universe. So I guess go see it if you enjoyed Spiderman (which is roughly of the same caliber), but don’t expect any kind of greatness. There is however a moment in the movie that is truly great. In a chase scene at beginning of the movie the music playing in the background for a few seconds picks up the “Lonely Man Theme” from the “Hulk” television series which is not only pretty clever, it’s also a beautiful piece of music.