Not so Marvel

It was only a matter of time before the most troubled of superheroes made the transition from comic star to big screen idol.

Hot on the heels of the X-Men and Spiderman, The Hulk is the latest marvel comic character to make the movies.

Under the direction of Ang Lee, who achieved critical acclaim with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, expectations were high.

But with a hardcore comic book fan base and a generation brought up on the 70s television series, The Incredible Hulk, it was always going to be hard to please everyone.

So when Lee took the decision to stick to the original comic book dimensions, and make the Hulk a staggering 15ft tall and not the 6ft 5ins height of TV actor Lou Ferrigno, he immediately alienated fans of the television series.

What's more he created this big screen version of The Hulk using a computer generated image, opening him up to a wave of criticism from fans and critics alike.

And after an opening 30 minutes, which seems to drag on, you could hear the sharpening of knives.

As the film develops the audience is treated to the meat of the film, which sees mild mannered Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) exposed to some deadly gamma rays with devastating consequences.

Every time he begins to get angry his body transforms into the 15ft green monster and this provides the most interesting and challenging part of the film as we see him struggle to come to terms with this strange behaviour and search for a cure.

And for the first few times the audience's attention is drawn to the clever way in which he makes the transition. It's only as the movie wears on, and the level of acting deteriorates, that things take a turn for the worse.

Not only does the acting of Bana and even Oscar winner Jennifer Connolly, who plays Betty Ross, leave a lot to be desired, the actual generated image of The Hulk looks particularly flimsy at an alarmingly regular rate.