While discussing Kung Fu Panda, I alluded to the effect of expectations. Many a good movie has been dealt harshly because of expecting great, and many a mediocre film has been let off easy because of expecting awful. However, some films stand as examples of the converse: that expectations do not an opinion make. The Incredible Hulk does exactly that.

It was another film I thought would suck, I admit. The trailers didn’t do much for me, and despite somewhat positive buzz, I could not find it appealing. Yet these low expectations perform no magic dance. The smoke clears, and the film is just okay.

It starts off well, providing a likable, interesting Bruce Banner. The story builds slow, but not slow — methodical. In a good way. It gains momentum and intrigue, slips into familiar action movie tropes — all still fine, nothing to dislike, even if a bit too structured and predictable.

Then we get to the third act, and they throw everything decent out the window to have a big monster fight. A big, boring monster fight.

Yeah, so the first two thirds are not high art, and contain few surprises. But they’re entertaining. They obey their own rules. By the final fight, even these consistencies are jettisoned. Plot and character are abandoned like a sand-filled life preserver, and even fun is left behind, as the entire city of New York is reduced to a single street and a single rooftop for the most meaningless and low-stakes battle of the CGI baddies this summer.

If you’re desperately hard-up for some comic-book superhero action, you could do worse. It’s not a terrible movie; it’s not a great movie. More like The Tolerable Hulk, am i right?

Sorry.

it was at a funny angle