THE INCREDIBLE HULKReleased 13 June 2008
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, Christina Cabot, Peter Mensah, Paul Soles, Debora Nascimento
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.
112 minutes
Merit: 3/4
After a gamma experiment goes awry, the brilliant and mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner finds himself with a peculiar condition. When angered or provoked, he transforms into an uncontrollable green-skinned monster. Now being hunted by a secret military force, Banner desperately searches for a cure to the gamma radiation that has poisoned his cells and created his alter ego known as the Hulk. [Synopsis from "Marvel Cinematic Universe - Phase One: Avengers Assembled" Blu-ray box set]
THE INCREDIBLE HULK is not one of the better efforts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it may be the most underrated. It has a bad reputation, for what reputation it has, as a lot of people tend to forget about it. Of the two big screen independent outings for the angry green giant, it's less ambitious and arguably less interesting, but it's a lot better, and a lot more fun. It definitely isn't a bad movie, and it's better than at least a couple of other films in the MCU. Even still, it didn't quite work out how Marvel Studios would have liked, it's notably lacking in continuity with the other MCU movies, and as such, Marvel seems to prefer it as a footnote anyway.
To date (although they're now working on Spider-Man films), the Hulk is the first character in the MCU to have been adapted to a theatrical release previously, so Marvel opted for something in between a complete reboot and a sequel to Ang Lee's 2003 film, HULK. Quickly retelling the origins of the Hulk in an opening credits montage, in a lab accident modeled after the popular 1978 TV series that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno (both of whom have cameos in the film, the late Bixby appearing in archive footage), the film opens in Rio de Janeiro, where fugitive scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) works as a severely overqualified machine repairman at a bottling plant. In hiding from General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) who wants to extract and militarize the condition of Banner's gamma irradiated cells which cause him to transform into the immensely powerful, indestructible but unpredictable Hulk, Banner is attempting to find a cure for his condition. When an accident reveals his location to General Ross, Banner is forced back on the run, and Ross has been experimenting with "super soldier" serums on his own man, Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), to condition him to take down the Hulk.
THE INCREDIBLE HULK is a more traditional form of the superhero film than IRON MAN, following the parallel story lines of the hero and villain, occasionally colliding as they build to the big final showdown. When I saw both movies in 2008, I liked THE INCREDIBLE HULK better, finding more familiarity and emotional potency in it; needless to say, my views have evolved, and I now find much more to appreciate in IRON MAN and less in THE INCREDIBLE HULK. It lacks a strong directorial vision, being directed by French journeyman director Louis Leterrier, but it's still not as much a manufactured studio product as is THOR.It's a fairly standard superhero movie with lots of big CGI action and big melodrama, except that it brings a big brand to go with it all. It's a more than adequate standard superhero movie though, and I feel compelled to defend it. It is melodramatic, a science fiction love story first and foremost, filled out with a lot of over-the-top monster action. Liv Tyler plays Banner's colleague and girlfriend Betty Ross, a cellular biologist and estranged daughter of the General, who reunites with Banner shortly after he returns to the States and helps him evade the Army while searching for a cure. She's a disappointingly inactive role in the plot, mostly tagging along to provide an emotional core, with romantic moments with swelling musical score by Craig Armstrong, such as embraces in the pouring rain and passionate kisses before going into battle. Like I said, it's a more traditional superhero movie, for better or worse.
Ultimately, Marvel didn't think so much of THE INCREDIBLE HULK though. Director Leterrier's and star/co-writer Norton's working relationship with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige soured over editing process of the film, with Leterrier and Norton preferring a nuanced cut about twenty minutes longer than Feige's, and Norton also irked credited screenwriter Zak Penn, by pointing out that he rewrote much of the film prior to shooting each day (Norton was initially given credit on some of the posters as "Edward Harrison", before the Writers' Guild of America decided sole credit would be given to Penn). Noted for his intense work ethic but often confrontational as a result, upon the film's release, Norton opted out of the typical media interviews and promotional tour, making only a couple of appearances, and was doing charity in Africa when the film opened over Father's Day weekend in 2008. The movie opened at #1 for the weekend with $55.4 million, but only narrowly passed Ang Lee's financially disappointing HULK in total grosses with $263.4 million worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing MCU installment to date by a margin of over $100 million. While IRON MAN 2 and MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS contain minor references to THE INCREDIBLE HULK (THOR contains a brief reference to the character, but not in relation to the events depicted in the Hulk movie), the movie is largely brushed under the rug in the midst of the MCU at large. Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo for the Hulk's next outing in MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS, and none of the cast has appeared in another MCU film either, with no other solo Hulk films to date or officially in development.
Easter Eggs to Look For:
- Reference to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER: General Ross refers to a "bio-force enhancement research project developed during World War II," which Blonsky identifies as "Super Soldier," the program which made Steve Rogers into Captain America in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. It is revealed that Ross was hoping to revitalize the program in the accident that made Bruce Banner the Hulk.
- Reference to CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, IRON MAN: When General Ross retrieves the Super Soldier serum for Blonsky, it is contained in a cryogenic canister labeled "Stark Industries" (Tony Stark's company in IRON MAN), with the "Developer" of the serum listed as "Reinstein" an alias in Captain America comics of Dr. Abraham Erskine, the doctor who created the serum for Captain America, and who would be played in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER by Stanley Tucci.
- Reference to IRON MAN, Foreshadowing to MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: In what would have been a post-credits scene in other MCU movies (THE INCREDIBLE HULK is the only MCU movie without a post-credits scene), Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.), aka Iron Man, shows up at a bar with an offer: "What if I told you we were putting a team together?"
- Foreshadowing to MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: A CGI visualization of internet surveillance includes a seal for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, aka S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Harlem Fight- Yeah, it's a couple of CGI characters brawling in a cityscape and breaking everything in their path in the process, but it's a balls-to-the-wall CGI battle with a slightly cheesy appeal.
- Free-fall Hulk-out- In order to transform into the Hulk before fighting the Abomination, Banner free falls out the back of an Army plane, accompanied by Craig Armstrong's bombastically emotional score, the adrenaline rush transforming him into the Hulk just in time to crash through the asphalt of the streets.
- Chase Through Rio de Janerio- Regardless of the living conditions, the tight spaces and winding, sloping landscapes of Rio's favelas make them ideal for a cinematic foot-chase.
- Hulk vs. Sonic Cannons- Bullets, mortar shells, grenades are nothing, but aim a couple of giant sonic cannons at the Hulk, and then he's got a real challenge, plus, you don't get sonic weapons too often in movies.
- Tim Blake Nelson- Most movies could use a little more Tim Blake Nelson.
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| Images via Marvel Studios |
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