The latest Hulk movie, starring Edward Norton as the titular character, is a fun popcorn flick. It’s not as great as Marvel’s other summer blockbuster Iron Man. But it’s entertaining and that’s certainly more than could be said for Ang Lee’s version, which somehow managed to make the Hulk boring.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that not only had I seen this movie a couple of years ago on the big screen, I had seen it before in the form of the video game The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction.

No matter the medium, the Hulk still likes
to turn boxy cars into boxing gloves.

The story line is similar to the game, focusing on the military’s hunt for Bruce Banner and then the creation of Abomination, who becomes the main villain. Even some of the moves in the game, such as splitting a car in half and using it as boxing gloves and the sonic clap, make an appearance in the film.

I have to admit, too, that Marvel’s movie formula is getting a little stale. It seems all of its latest movies involve the superhero (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk) fighting against a slightly bigger, badder version of himself (Venom, bigger Iron Man guy, Abomination) only to have his ass kicked for a while before ultimately triumphing (sorry if I spoiled anything for you there — the good guys don’t lose). It’s not awful, it’s just awfully predictable. But the Incredible Hulk sequel, which seems likely to feature Leader, a longtime nemesis of the Hulk in the comics, will hopefully take things in a more interesting direction.

Overall, it was a fun movie, but the game was better.