O Incrível Hulk

Out of the five original Avengers, I always thought that the Incredible Hulk was the least interesting and therefore least likely character to be adapted to film (except Ant-Man, although he'll be arriving in 2010...look forward to that.) However, here we sit in 2008 with not just one, but TWO different portrayals of the less-than-jolly green giant. The main problem that the new film faces is that some people will believe it to be a sequel to Ang Lee's 2003 effort, which upon release was blindfolded, made to stand against a wall and executed by public firing squad. The fact is that it is not a sequel at all. Instead, director Louis Leterrier has pulled a 'Batman Begins' and rebooted the franchise, and not just in name only. Everything about the 'Hulk is excellent. From the special effects to the characters to the reticent nods to other superheroes within the Marvel universe, the 'Hulk succeeds on every level.

The film sidesteps the curse of the tedious 'origin story' by showing it to the audience in the opening credits. That should really be a law within superhero movies. It works so well: Bruce Banner works on a radioactive serum with love interest/scientist Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler's lips), he injects himself to see if it works, it transforms him into the Hulk. There, that didn't need to take one hundred minutes of screen time did it? This means that director Leterrier has free reign to explore how Bruce Banner lives as the Hulk and the attempts by the United States army to track him down and neutralise him, which leads to several action set pieces involving vehicles being thrown into walls and soldiers firing a nimiety of bullets at the Hulk, even when they can clearly see them bouncing off his body. Really, what is the best they are hoping for in a situation like that? "Keep firing, he might develop a vague sense of moral ill-being and stop!" Ultimately, the film boils down to a brawl in New York City between the Hulk and his evil counterpart, a special-ops soldier (Tim Roth being exemplary as usual) willingly injected with the Hulk genes, much like the climax to 'Iron Man.' The difference here is that the build up to this fight doesn't seem rushed like in 'Iron Man' because Leterrier has been able to utilise the whole of the film's running time to arrive at this natural conclusion, instead of being preoccupied with the origin story and tagging on an antagonist at the end.

Whoever cast Edward Norton as Dr Bruce Banner is almost as much of a genius as the person who asked Robert Downey Jr. To play Tony Stark in 'Iron Man' (who makes an appearance in the film inducing fan-boy erections everywhere.) Norton plays his role with understated finesse, never resorting to overly pained facial expressions, intense eye contact or shouting to display the anguish which is consuming him for the majority of the film. He simply shows that the Hulk sized burden on his back is destroying him, crushing his will to live. He looks haunted and tired, but possesses a steely resolve not to succumb to the beast within, although it would temporarily end his struggle if he did so. He's so good that Christian Bale will have to turn water into wine in The Dark Knight to retain his title as King of the Superheroes (Tobey Maguire? Hahaha, you're kidding...wait, you aren't?) There are many minor elements in 'The Incredible Hulk' that elevates it above most movies in this genre. For example, for nearly half of the film the audience are only provided with fleeting glimpses of the Hulk, much like Batman in 'Begins. His presence is not overused, though it easily could be with the bravura CGI shown at the end. Indeed, the first chase scene does not involve Banner turning into the Hulk at all, it is just an exciting pursuit across rooftops in Rio De Janeiro. Also, the orchestral score lends an air of intelligence to the film and enhances the scenes much more than an overdriven guitar track (hello, Iron Man) would have done.

The Incredible Hulk is one of those minority superhero films; it's good. In fact, with regard to any competition it faces, you (if you were looking to conclude a film review with a dialogue related pun) might be inclined to say "Hulk smash!"

The Incredible Hulk, based on another marvel superhero and also the 1970s TV show, revolves around Bruce Banner becoming a fugitive after his science experiment exposes gamma radiation on him which transforms him into the Hulk which becomes his appearance for brief periods of time. Meanwhile, General Ross and his army including Emil Blonsky tracks down Bruce and little does he know that Emil decides to use a serum that would give him some abilities while also transforming him into an even worse creature imaginable.

Out of all the MCU films I've seen, the one that didn't make as much money compared to the others is this. Which is a shame because this is directed by Louis Leterrier, who would later direct the terrible Clash of the Titans remake, Now You See Me, and the recent TV show The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (which I severely liked). And the acting from everyone involved is good. Edward Norton does a great job as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler from The Lord of the Rings trilogy does a good job too as Betty as did William Hurt and Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson. Sure, the villain could've been developed more and the second act of the film could've been better, but everything else is done very well. The cinematography is gorgeous, the pacing is decent, the editing is superb, the music from Craig Armstrong is rousing, and the action sequences are solid.

So, overall, this isn't a perfect film by any means but it's way better than the 2003 version (which isn't terrible but could've been much better). To those who have seen most of the MCU films or not, certainly give this one a go. :)

This movie was the second film to release that would set up the 2012 Avengers film. In retrospect, it was a bit of a mistake as it did underwhelming business at the box office; especially when you compare the box office take of this film and the first film to release, Iron Man. Why is it a mistake, well there was already a Hulk movie released only five years prior to this one and it too was a disappointment. That being said, this is the better film than the 2003 Ang Lee film, I just feel it released too soon after it. I think if that film had not existed, this one would have performed considerably better. Not the 300 plus Iron Man did, but perhaps a 200 million dollar film rather than making about the same amount as Ang Lee's film did. I also believe they tried to do a bit too much with the story, not that it is complex, just that they almost blend the comics, with the television show and the 2003 film. At the end of the 2003 film, Bruce is in South America, at the beginning of this one he is in Brazil...so it's a sequel? No, not at all. The origin that is shown during the credits alludes to the television show, but Hulk looks like the comics. Just too much and trying to appease too many people all at the same time. I also think Norton was poorly cast in this one, as I did not get a Banner vibe from him at all. He just does not seem like he is into the role and considering he did not opt into doing the Avengers film and beyond suggests that he was not into it.

The story has Bruce in Brazil working at some strange soda plant or something. Looks like Mt. Dew, but has some funky name. Well, a slight accident leads to some of his blood getting into a bottle and this is how the military and General Ross track him down. Bruce is in chats with a man dubbed Mr. Blue in the hopes of finding a cure; however, he must find more data for Mr. Blue to create a cure. A crack team of soldiers try to track down Banner and he avoids them for a while, but soon turns into the Hulk, leading one of the soldiers, Emil Blonsky, wanted another crack at the beast. He is soon infused with super soldier serum and does quite admiral in dodging the Hulk, but it is still not enough. He craves the power the Hulk haves and soon this desire will create an abomination!

The film is pretty good, but could have been better. The scenes with the Hulk are by far the highlights and better than any of the Hulk scenes in the 2003 film with the incredible expanding Hulk. That being said, I did not like the fact they tied Banner turning into Hulk with his heart rate as it is solely tied to his anger. The film also did not portray the Hulk becoming stronger the angrier he got and the fight with Abomination should have showcased this. In the comics, Hulk is stronger than Abomination because of the increase as he gets angry. Abomination though is a better fighter as he is more agile and that is why he gives the Hulk a good fight, not because he is stronger. The reason the Hulk wins is because he keeps getting stronger, not because he is a better tactical fighter.

So, in the end, this film was more enjoyable than the Ang Lee film. That film was just strange in many ways as it played out in comic panels which suggests a fun film, but was so serious with virtually not humor that it was just a strange concoction. This one had some good action, but was not a perfect film. Hurt is the only actor from this film to be seen in a later Marvel universe film as he appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Most things from this film were pretty much scrapped though as the Leader looked to be coming, Abomination was still alive and various other things. Abomination was supposedly going to be in the second Avengers film and that would have been great as I felt Ultron was not enough, but they decided against it which sucked as something other than the exact same robot would have been cool. In the end, this film is kind of part of the Marvel universe and kind of not.

As I am writing this review, Avengers: Endgame is breaking box-office records as the culmination of 11 years of the MCU. Marvel Studios has become a juggernaut that seemingly nothing can ever stop. When The Incredible Hulk came out in 2008, the second movie of the so-called « Phase 1 » after Iron Man, such a success was merely a hope, if it was envisaged at all.

However, this movie is an oddity in the MCU. It isn't considered an essential watch, a lot of people just forget about it, or simply have never seen it. And this isn't very suprising, as The Incredible Hulk has a completely different feel as any other MCU movie. There are no vibrant colors, jokes are few and far between, and, supreme heresy, it doesn't even feature the beloved Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / the Hulk. Despite that, I think this movie should be more recognized by Marvel enthusiasts.

For one, I was surprised at the number of foreshadowing in it. Despite its reputation, it is very clear, watching now, that it was definitely intended as the beginning of a cinematic universe. There are references to Stark Industries, to super soldiers, to S.H.I.E.L.D., and the movie clearly lays the ground for a sequel (that never happened and probably never will).

The performances were strong, and I will single out Edward Norton, who left the Marvel boat after this, for reasons still a bit unclear. Watching this movie made me regret that he didn't stay in the role for more movies (no disrespect to Mr. Ruffalo whom I like a lot, as does everyone). I am a big fan of Edward Norton in general, from whom I have never seen an unenjoyable performance. That stays true for this movie. To me, his casting as Bruce Banner was an inspired one. He portrayed the tortured soul of the character exactly as I envision it, and with a lot of nuances.

The story itself isn't very remarkable. It's fairly conventional, although maybe not totally conventional for a superhero movie. I would say it's more of a thriller, about a man on the run from the military who are after his secrets and his life. We've seen this story before, but here the man also happens to turn into a big, green monster when his pulse gets too high. It isn't just a thriller, though, bu also very much a love story, which may be one of the reasons of its unpopularity (?). If that's the case, then it's a shame, because I found the love story actually well done. There was a real chemistry between Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, who portrayed a sweet, but capable Betty Ross, and there wasn't a moment where I didn't believe that these two characters were completely in love.

What this movie might be criticized for, is a lack of the titular Hulk. It's true that it's mainly Banner's story. However, the scenes in which the Hulk appears are very satisfying. I must say I was impressed by the CGI. It isn't as modern as what we're used to see nowadays, but still very good. In a movie with such a realistic feel, it's even more difficult to make a huge CGI monster look like it's really there in the scene, but I though that it worked perfectly.

This movie definitely is the odd one out in regards to the whole MCU, but I think it deserves not to be forgotten or dismissed. Not only is its quality on par with other, more popular Marvel movies, it is also our only Hulk solo movie, and it will stay so for the foreseeable future, due to the distribution deal between Marvel and Universal. So, if you're taking a nostalgia trip through the history of the MCU, or if you're only just now starting to delve into this cinematic universe, don't skip the Incredible Hulk.

OK, I didn't think the 2003 Ang Lee version was THAT bad, but you ever figure out the faults of a movie when seeing the sequel/reboot to it? Now I do with Ang's version and after seeing the new improved Hulk I must say this is 100 times better! We see more of Bruce "Hulking" out and less of the drama the first showed to us. No more of Bruce blaming his father for what happened to him.

Also this presents to us something else the first lacked: humor. OK, don't want the movie to be a total laugh fest, but nothing wrong with a little moments of laughter, such as some nods to the comic and TV show (the purple pants, and of course Lou's cameo, dang he's huge!). A little humor made Bruce seem like a real human rather than Eric Bana's deadpan performance.

Speaking of, the cast, like the story, is redone and redone well. As I mentioned, Norton makes Bruce Banner more human. Nothing against Sam Elliot, but Hurt gives off a better presence as Thunderbolt Ross. Liv Tyler is easy on the eyes (she does have daddy's lips, but still hot), and easy on the performance as well. Tim Roth just owns as the villain here.

The villain of course is the Abomination and what a sweet villain he is (better than the CG dogs and the Absorb Man). And believe me, the fight scene between him and our green friend will bring out the inner nerd in you. Oh, and hearing "HULK SMASH!" will too!

Overall, more action than the 2003 "drama" and more humor leads to what we WANT a Hulk movie to be like. Oh, and don't forget to watch for a surprise cameo (hint: not Stan Lee or Lou) which hints at a possible cool movie event in the future!