the incredible hulk

This has to be one of the quickest reboots in the history of reboots.

The Incredible Hulk is not a sequel to "Hulk", the Ang Lee movie from 2003. Interestingly, though, it's also not an origin story, as such. Indeed, the origin stuff is covered across the opening title sequence.

Instead, we get what would work quite well as a sequel movie, except that the origin movie wasn't made. Or, to put it another way, if you've seen the Ang Lee movie which does have origin stuff in it, but instead of making a sequel to that, they switched back to the comic, but made a sequel.

I know - it's a bit confusing when you actually think about it.

Not the movie itself that is - the movie is relatively simple, story-wise - but the meta-textual stuff. The real world and outside stuff.

And to some extent that stuff is detectable in the movie. The main feeling you get is that they're trying to cram all the stuff into this movie from the comics and the TV series that Ang Lee either didn't want to or decided not to include in the first one.

Some examples are that Lou Ferrigno (who played the hulk in the TV show) pops up in a cameo, there's a tiny burst of the TV show's theme and that the iconic line "Hulk Smash!" makes it into the film. There are quite a few others that you'll pick up on if you know the comic or the TV series and these add a nice, fun layer to this film that perhaps wasn't there in the original.

But this is where things get a little weird - the film tries to both have its cake and eat it. It tries to be that fun, comic-book film that wasn't really the case in the first one (although, weirdly, the first one was shot to look like a comic, even though it wasn't really a comic book film in tone), but it also tries to be a bit more serious.

There are quite a few heavy scenes between Bruce and Betty, for example and they try to play up the tragic nature of being the Hulk. But I dunno, it doesn't quite sit well here. Edward Norton's performance in particular is played pretty straight and while it works in and of itself, it seems to jar a bit with the more comic-booky stuff.

In a way, it's like he thought he was in a sequel to the Ang Lee movie, where the producers (Marvel) were trying to bring in more of the fun, fan-favourite comic book and TV stuff. I got the feeling then that the director was caught in the middle a bit - trying to do both and kinda agreeing with both sides and keep them happy at the same time.

I think I'm being a bit overly analytical here. This stuff doesn't really detract from the film as a whole, which is basically okay.

Part of the trouble with the hulk, and it was particularly evident in the TV show, is that basically it's a rather simple, repetitive story. Bruce Banner can't have a proper life with the woman he loves because when he gets angry he turns into a huge green monster that smashes stuff up. So instead, he spends his life looking for a cure and (obviously, otherwise the whole story would stop) not finding it. That's also why he doesn't just go and live in a monastery or deep in the woods - he needs a cure so he can be with Betty.

It's also why over the years they've had to do so much buggering about with that basic story. It's repetitive and predictable unless you start doing stuff like make the hulk intelligent.

Its also why they pitch him against all sorts of good and bad guys - it at least gives him something different to do.