MCU Reviews #2: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Following up from the successful Iron Man came the next installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this time being based on the most famous green goliath: The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier. Even if you're not into the Hulk, chances are you know of him: a guy transforms into a destructive green monster after getting angry. That's how famous he is.

This wasn't the first cinematic interpretation of the Hulk. There was Ang Lee's Hulk from 2003 starring Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, which wasn't a successful movie. Not just that, but it was pretty forgettable, apart from the comic book-style editing and an unintentionally funny death scene. When I first heard of The Incredible Hulk, I thought it was a sequel to the 2003 movie, but I learned that it was not the case. It's more or less a continuity reboot, which the different cast should have tipped off right away.

Just like my Iron Man review and all subsequent MCU reviews, due to the serialized nature of the franchise, SPOILER ALERT!


To avoid spending the first third or so explaining the origin story to audiences again, it's retold entirely throughout the opening credits. The difference now is that Bruce (Edward Norton) volunteered to get into the experiment that resulted in him transforming in the Hulk, rather than by accident. The opening credits works to that advantage with a lack of dialogue and lets audiences fill in the blanks.

The movie centers around Bruce trying to find a cure for his condition. The problem is that he is on the lam, being pursued by General Ross (William Hurt), who wants to use the Hulk as a weapon, and Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who sees the monster as a worthy opponent. Immediately, we understand what Bruce is going through and we feel scared for him every time. For most of the movie, he is alone and he has to find ways to stop himself from raising his heartbeat (rather than getting angry) that can transform him.

I gotta say, Edward Norton's pretty great in the role. You really buy the fact that he is intelligent and resourceful. Being chased by the government also gives him that vulnerable side that makes us care for him even more so. The guy just wants to get rid of the Hulk and those bozos are giving him a hard time. I have heard that Norton was a big Hulk fan, and it shows because of how dedicated he is to the role. I've also heard that he rewrote some parts of the script, which isn't all that surprising given how controlling he is behind the scenes in some movies.

One thing worth noting is that his blood, which has gamma radiation, plays a part in the story. One example is that in the soda factory, he accidentally cuts himself, resulting in his blood making its way into a bottle of soda. In an amusing cameo that nonetheless moves the plot forward, Stan Lee ingests the soda and gets gamma poisoning, which is how the government becomes aware of Bruce's whereabouts. It's not easy being him.

The Hulk himself looks great. Remember how cartoonish the CGI for him in the 2003 movie was? He looks way better here, with the skin color not looking too saturated and the facial animations being top-notch. The film also does a great job in not making him all destructive, having a soft side, almost like Bruce is also controlling the monster a bit.

The action scenes involving him, however, are just okay. There are some highlights that I will address, though. His first appearance in the soda factory works as a suspenseful scene, with him mostly being obscured in the shadows and taking out some guys one by one. The scene on the campus grounds has him picking up two giant scraps of metal as shields, which carries over Bruce's resourcefulness.

The scene that everyone talks about when referring back to the movie is the climax where he fights the Abomination. On paper, that sounds like a great idea: Hulk versus another Hulk, which levels the playing field. The Abomination's design is something that I admire, looking like a corrupted Hulk with brownish skin and bones sticking out. The way that it is executed, however, is pretty underwhelming. They pack a few blows before focusing on the Abomination threatening the life of Betty and that's where I kind of tapped out.

As for the rest of the action, I'm not that fond of the shaky cam in some scenes when the troops are running or when Bruce is being chased in Brazil. Not that I have anything against shaky cam; it's just that The Bourne Ultimatum did this much better a year prior that captured the speed and desperation of said scene without disorienting viewers.

While the movie shows the dangers that Bruce faces when he's on his own, what happens when other people are involved in helping him? Enter Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), his former girlfriend and General Ross's daughter, who was there when he first transformed. While Liv Tyler's performance is nothing to write home about, I like that her character helps Bruce out, knowing fully well that she will be endangering herself in the process. That takes a lot of guts.

While only a minor character, I gotta give props to Betty's boyfriend, Leonard Samson (Ty Burrell). He could have easily been portrayed as a mean, controlling boyfriend who doesn't listen to reason. Instead, he comes off as a nice guy who, after seeing Hulk protect Betty, understands everything that is going on. He even calls out Ross on his nonsense, which too takes a lot of guts. According to director Louis Leterrier, Edward Norton rewrote the character to be this way, so I'm glad he went down this route instead of using a tired cliché.

There is also Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who does come off as eccentric, but is otherwise nice enough to help Bruce find a cure. That's not to say that he's completely morally right, though. Remember when I talked about Bruce's blood playing a part in the story? The previously-mentioned soda problem didn't stop there. We learn that he synthesized the gamma-irradiated blood for other means, playing a part in the film's climax, which I will mention briefly.

The movie has two antagonists, those being the aforementioned General Ross and Emil Blonsky. Ross serves as a good adversary for his determination to capture Bruce as a means of weaponizing the Hulk. The movie also does a great job in not making him a one-dimensional jerk by showing that he does love his daughter, Betty, despite their strained relationship.

Blonsky, on the other hand, isn't all that special. I like that Tim Roth brought some ferocity to the role and I like that his character is written as someone who sees the Hulk as a worthy opponent. This results in him not only using the same serum to enhance himself, but also forces Stern to inject him with Bruce's blood to transform into the Abomination. Besides those traits, Blonsky's a dull villain, which is part of the reason why I thought the climax fight to be middle-of-the-road for me.

Craig Armstrong composed the score for the film and it's okay. It does its job when playing during certain moments, whether it would be action or quiet moments, but not much sticks out. The reason I bring up the score is because an iconic track plays in the scene where Bruce is in Guatemala. Any Hulk fan will quickly guess that "The Lonely Man" from the 1978 show plays in that part. In fact, that's not the only reference to that show.

Lou Ferrigno, from the same show and the 1996 series, has a cameo as a security guard who Bruce bribes with pizza. He also voices the Hulk in the movie, even providing the iconic "Hulk smash!" line. In addition, Stan, the owner of a pizza restaurant is played by Paul Soles. At first, I thought "why is the first voice of Spider-Man in a Hulk movie?" That's when I learned that Soles also voiced Bruce in the 1966 Incredible Hulk show. This movie has call-backs up the wazoo.

The whole cinematic universe concept becomes more noticeable here like the mentions of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization and hints of the Super Soldier serum, which would later be explored in Captain America: The First Avenger. What I want to give attention to is the last scene (which was meant to be played after the credits, but wasn't) where Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as Tony Stark for a cameo, telling Ross that a team is being put together. It's a nice tease of the eventual Avengers movie that we would get in a few years.

Overall, The Incredible Hulk is serviceable. There are definitely things to praise here. I like Edward Norton as Bruce Banner and I thought some of the call-backs to older Hulk material is nice. There's also some good moments of levity, like Bruce saying "hungry" in Portuguese instead of "angry." However, the movie overall feels pretty lacking not just in spectacle, but rewatch value as well. It's hard to put into words, but the best I can say is that I don't find myself going back to this one a lot. I watched this movie for the first time in about ten years in preparation for this review, and with subsequent MCU movies, this one just feels middle-of-the-road.

Also, while I won't dock the movie, I felt it was necessary to bring this up: Sterns's last scene involves him getting knocked out, with some of Bruce's blood dripping on his head, causing it to swell. It's a build-up for him eventually becoming the Leader in a future sequel. However, since we're not getting any solo Hulk movies anytime soon, it's just going to leave us hanging indefinitely, meaning it was all for nothing.

Still, it does deserve credit where it's due. With my praises that are then contrasted with me finding it okay, and I'm giving it a fair score of...

THINK FOR YOURSELF

I'm a bit let down that we haven't had a sequel to this one, since there is room for improvement. I get the reason why: Universal has the distribution rights to solo Hulk movies, as well as The Incredible Hulk being the lowest-grossing film in the MCU, grossing only $130 million domestically. Even Ant-Man made more money than this. Can't win them all, I guess.

Next time, I will be taking a look at Iron Man 2, so stay tuned.