The Jolly Green Giant

As a result, the budding romance between Betty Ross and Bruce Banner feels underdeveloped and almost tacked on as an after thought. Any depth that the movie might have had is lost amid a series of explosions and flying debris. Neither of their performances demand anything from either of the actors; Liv Tyler spends most of her screen time staring, her mouth a frozen “O” and Edward Norton concentrates mainly on his heavy breathing. It's a shame that such a good actor wasn't used to more effect.

Elsewhere, it attempts to show the tenderness inside the Hulk as he and Ross hide out in caves and jungles, but this feels like it's been lifted directly from King Kong rather than having any original significance.

Director Louis Letterier manages to inject some humour into the proceedings, whether it's Banner interrupting a love scene with Ross because he can't get too “excited”, or Banner learning Portuguese from Sesame Street (leading to the wonderful gag of “Don't make me hungry, you wouldn't like me when I'm hungry”). There are some fun cameos too – Stan Lee makes his obligatory appearance as does original Hulk, Lou Ferrigno. There is one other surprise special guest who pops up at the end and gives a little glimpse of what future movies might contain – in five years time we'll no doubt see all Marvel characters duking it out on screen.

It's a good comic book yarn, which succeeds in creating an exciting and action packed experience, which at the very least is entertaining. Those expecting anything beyond the explosions and carnage are going to be sorely disappointed. If you're going to see one Marvel superhero movie this year, make it Iron Man.