Seeing the movie makes it possible to critique the critics. That's what this review will attempt to do, providing yet
another perspective on the movie as a whole.
Story
Honeycutt gives details of the kind people want to know in evaluating a movie. Whereas Hammond leaves out some of these kinds of details, Honeycutt provides them. For example, Hammond tells us nothing of the military first finding Bruce Banner after 5 years in Portugal where Honeycutt fills us in. However, I was surprised that neither mentioned the nice touch where Bruce Banner is in Portugal and watching Bill Bixby who played the human side of the Hulk in the TV Series only as Mr. Eddy's Father, another TV Series that Bixby starred in. Honey cut also tells us about the time in Spain. However, neither tell of the cameo appearance of Lou Ferigno, who played the Hulk monster in the TV series, who plays a guard that Banner bribes with a Pizza to get back into the lab at home. Neither tell of the irony of the fact that a soldier recruited to get the Hulk becomes a Hulk creating a need for the original Hulk Bruce Banner to get the soldier Hulk, which he does.
Acting
Hammond seems to be much stronger in his attitude toward the acting. His was a more up-beat take whereas Honeycutt seemed a bit more jaded. Hammond noted the wit and intelligence that actor Edward Norton brought to the character of Bruce Banner and the credibility that Liv Taylor brought to the character of Betsy Ross, Bruce's love interest. Tim Roth brought a subliminal, yet detectable sense of sinister darkness to the character of the soldier marksman recruited by the general to get the Hulk. In all cases, the acting was true to the characters involved. "Action rather than introspection" was how one critic contrasted the acting in the 2008 film as opposed to the earlier 2003 film. The end had a cameo of the star of Iron Man to add interest and intrigue. The thing is, you have to have seen Iron Man to really get it.
Direction
Contrasting Louis Leterrier's direction of the 2008 film with Ang Lee's 2003 film is a way to engage the topic. Whereas Lee wants to show a more introverted pensive passive flow with a lot of slow-mo action sequences, Leterrier keeps the film moving at a fast pace, allowing the audience just enough time to catch a breath before engaging in the next high action, high speed action sequence. Computer animation of the monster sequences seems to be right on the money. The direction the 2008 film took seems to be taking the direction that the Marvel comic book meant it to take.