From the very moment I heard that a second Hulk movie was going to be made, I was excited. Not because I read comic books (I don’t), not because I like large green men (don’t even try), but because of Edward Norton. Not only did he play Bruce Banner, but he played a significant role in completing the script. Norton’s resume includes a white supremacist, a schizophrenic loser, a magician, a children’s show host and now a Marvel hero. Too bad the studios were being bitchy with him.

I can see that the Incredible Hulk has accumulated some very positive feedback already. But I feel that it is my duty as a blogger to highlight its hits and misses.

The Hits:

1. It wasted no time. The plot progressed at a good pace, it did not dwell excessively on any monologues or inner conflicts or anything. It presented the point well enough to keep audiences glued.

2. It kicked ass. I was blown away by the action scenes in this movie. It wasn’t just mindless smashing, it took the opportunity to show the world a fight that was previously impossible to film. The climactic clash between the Hulk and the Abomination is a battle to remember. After all, superhero movies must always have supervillains.

3. It was emotional. But not too much. Bruce Banner had to deal with a problem that no other superhero had to face: himself. The Hulk isn’t out to save the world and get the girl. He had to be man enough to persevere, and make difficult choices.

And now for the misses:

1. It is not stand-alone. The way the movie begins and ends made it too dependent on the prequel (or existing knowledge on the audience’s part) and the obvious sequel(s). The lack of origins explanations may leave some newbies confused. And the ending did not *spoiler alert?* bring his conflicts to a real close.

2. Too much in trailers. The trailers revealed too many snippets of the movie, some of which were important. I especially felt that the Tony Stark cameo should have not been ‘leaked’. I do not want to watch a movie and have ‘I saw that coming’ moments.

3. It felt shallow. The movie did only so much to tell the story. It was almost as if its just another episode of a series (like how I would describe Ocean’s Thirteen and Jumper). I want movies to be whole in itself, seeing the hero experience a transformation (no pun intended) that would make a different but better person altogether.

All in all I give it 4 stars, mostly for the intensity of the action scenes. Or maybe the speakers were too loud.