I’m not sure what all of those negative reviews of The Incredible Hulk were thinking. Sure, I guess if you went into the theater expecting the next Paths of Glory you might have been disappointed. But come on, this a summer blockbuster where the point is special effects and explosions, and The Incredible Hulk delivered plenty of both with a decent story. In some ways it was even better than Iron Man — at least the final battle in The Incredible Hulk actually made sense, as opposed to the obvious continuity errors in the Iron Man vs. Iron Monger battle.

It was also nice to see director Louis Leterrier include references to the TV and comics version of the Hulk, as opposed to Ang Lee’s film where the director seemed embarrassed that he was making a film about *gasp* a comic book character.

Unfortunately, the bad blood between Edward Norton — who wanted a more Ang Lee-ish film filled with tender character exposition — and Marvel means that it is unlikely he’ll be back as Bruce Banner for the inevitable sequel. But who cares as long as they stay on course for this Avengers movie that they’re clearly aiming for (as long as it doesn’t revolve around trying to guess which one of the Avengers are really Skrulls).