Cautiously hyped about "The Incredible Hulk"

"The Incredible Hulk" opens next week and the marketing machine has gone into overdrive. I'm really enjoying the promotional trailers and graphics. I especially like that it's built off the classic TV series, particularly the remix of the TV series' "Lonely Man Theme".

But a part of me is also cautious about the movie. Even though it's supposed to depart from Ang Lee's "Hulk", there's too much about this outing that reminds me of the older movie. Parallels include:

• Hulk vs the army
• General Ross fighting to control Banner/Hulk
• Hulk vs an impossibly overpowered villain

I was re-watching the pilot episode of the TV series the other day. What really gripped me was that it wasn't an action film. Rather, it was an emotional film. It told the tragic story of one man's quest to improve himself to redeem his single biggest failure in life, only to unleash something far worse and uncontrollable. It also helped that there was a sub-plot of unrequited love.

I'm sure that an emotional film about the Hulk would never work as a summer blockbuster, so I've given up hoping for that. And I'm still willing to give this movie the benefit of the doubt. But if this movie is as big a failure as "Hulk", then I'm really going to avoid watching any more Hulk movies.

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