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The success of 'Iron Man' has set the bar for comic book movies high this year and while 'The Incredible Hulk' does have its moments, it falls well short of the mark set by its Marvel stablemate.

You would think a movie based on a big green wrecking machine would get to the action quickly, particularly with this version of the Hulk not bothering with an origins story but instead we spend a good 30 minutes watching Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) hiding out from the US government in Brazil as he looks for a cure to his inner beast.

Banner is on the run from General 'Thuderbolt' Ross (William Hurt), who is keen to capture the gamma-infected bookworm and use him in creating more super-powered weapons of destruction. Ross' daughter Betty (Liv Tyler), meanwhile, is still pining the loss of Banner, who she hasn't seen since he first mutated into the Hulk.

If you think there's a lot going on, that's because there is, and it's where the overly earnest film becomes a little frustrating.

Word is that Marvel and Norton had a falling out over the script — Marvel apparently left a sizeable chunk on the cutting room floor — but it's hard to imagine how this film would go down if it was any longer than the finished product, which is already too long…

Marvel knows what the fans of their comics want, which is why they've started making their own movies, and while Norton is undeniably talented he can't seriously expect Hulk fans to sit through too many scenes without the title character.

But, while it drags in places, 'The Incredible Hulk' does offer fans, and non alike, a lot — particularly if you know what to look for — and it sets the tone for a follow-on quite beautifully. Norton's story has less to do with how Banner became the Hulk and more to do with how he's beginning to control it.

Ang Lee's version of the green monster in 2003's standalone film was an unstoppable wrecking machine, incapable of thought or logic, but Norton presents us with a man who isn't only battling his inner monster, but also beginning to keep it on a leash — the mind of Banner and the power of the Hulk are merging into one.

Something else that Norton and director Louis Letterier give us is a suitable villain. Lee's incarnation battled soldiers and gun-ships, and while this Hulk does the same he also has to contend with a power-hungry soldier, Emile Blonsky (Tim Roth), who willingly offers himself up to General Ross as a lab-rat in an effort to stop the big green guy.

Of course things go horribly wrong and Blonsky finds himself transformed into the Abomination — setting up one of the best on-screen brawls ever. It is in the fight scenes that the Hulk comes to the fore — let's face it, that's why we're watching. We want to see The Hulk using a police car as boxing gloves, the doors of a jeep as a shield, and we definitely want to see the Abomination fling humans around like toy soldiers.

But there's not enough of this stuff, with the action spread too thin. Norton obviously also wanted to explore the story's human side, although — perhaps due to the cut scenes — the "character development" moments don't always fit and there's a distinct lack of chemistry between him and Tyler.

What certainly works is the intriguing final scene, with Marvel continuing their quest to create big screen crossovers for their major characters. Although it never reaches the heights of 'Iron Man', 'The Incredible Hulk' is certainly a giant (green) leap in the right direction.