It is Day 4 of my Marvel Movie Marathon, and today's lucky film ready for retro reviewing is "The Incredible Hulk". Before I say anything, I want to start out by mentioning that this has no relation whatsoever to the 2003 Hulk movie, despite the opening in South America. The opening credits does a fantastic job of presenting the Hulk's origin without wasting screen time on it, something that I found a breath of fresh air from all those superhero films who have to begin with an origin story. I wish reboots would do this more often, but that's just wishful thinking. What I do know is that this film gains brownie points just for throwing us in the thick of the story, assuming we're intelligent enough to already know or be familiar with the Hulk's origin.
So if "The Incredible Hulk" is a reboot without an origin story, how does the actual story shape up? Pretty well, as it turns out. There are plenty of references to both the comics and the famous 1970s TV show, not the least of which is a cameo by Lou Ferrigno and the musical theme from the show. The film further pays homage by focusing on Banner's fugitive status, having him travel from South America to the States to Canada all while the military is hot on his heels.
Edward Norton plays an excellent Bruce Banner, coming off as both intelligent yet humble and longing to get rid of the monster inside him. Liv Tyler is good as Betty Ross, although a little annoying at times. Still, she's great at supporting Bruce and comes off as a competent love interest. William Hurt plays General Ross, the Hulk's eternal enemy and Betty's father, with great conviction. He truly wants to utilize Hulk as a weapon, but his love for his daughter and his reasoning when the Abomination rampages through the city make him a more layered character. I also enjoyed Tim Blake Nelson as Dr. Samuel Sterns, who comic fans may recognize as the Leader (and indeed, the film sets up his transformation). He's incredibly nerdy, but I love his enthusiasm when he meets the Hulk. Finally, I have to direct my attention to Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/Abomination. He is a fantastic villain. I love how he becomes obsessed with obtaining the Hulk's power, how he lets it corrupt him so easily and desires it so badly. He was great to watch as a man and even more fun to see as a monster. It's great to finally get an adversary that can match the Hulk's strength, and give him a worthy antagonist to fight.
Like I mentioned earlier, the story focuses on Banner's fugitive status as he tries to outrun the military while trying to cure his condition. He transforms into the Hulk a total of four times, and the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant has all but three lines of dialogue, but the Hulk himself is a wonder to behold. Now granted, he does look a bit like a video game character, but it's a better rendering than the Shrek on Roids approach we got back in '03. Hulk looks more wild and vicious, but at the same time when he comes out to play he shows a high deal of intelligence. He recognizes and cares enough about Betty to cover her from incoming gunfire, and when fighting the military and Abomination he smashes cars and tanks in half only to use them as shields and brass knuckles. It's obvious that Banner is still in there, and these actions help to make Hulk seem like a real, sympathetic character.
One of my favorite scenes is when he takes Betty to a cave to get out of the rain, and he goes from staring at her to throwing a boulder at the sky when a lightning bolt whizzes past him. It was like he was challenging the heavens themselves to keep his woman safe. I felt that in that one moment, the Hulk really felt like a genuine person. Yes, he smashes stuff. Yes, he's a destructive force of nature, but underneath that big green hide he's still human, and the film never lets us forget that.
Now the film isn't up there on the list of my all time favorite superhero films, like Iron Man, but I find this new Hulk to be a step above Iron Man 2 and Thor in terms of its ranking in the Marvel Canon. Besides a couple of references to SHIELD and the Tony Stark cameo at the very end, "The Incredible Hulk" plays out as a standalone story that can show what it needs to show without worrying about setting up future films. Granted, the Stark cameo does play into the Avengers, and the Hulk and Abomination's creations involving the super soldier serum are obviously to help set up Captain America, but these references are integrated in a way where they're not distracting the way they were in Iron Man 2. And, unlike Thor, we have plenty of time here to see the characters develop and for the story arcs to feel genuine, owing to the travelling taking several days, maybe weeks.
Future films do a lot to put this film in the MCU's timeline. We now know that "Hulk" takes place concurrently with the events of "Iron Man 2" and "Thor". But whereas those films kind of rely on each other to understand their narratives, Hulk can stand on its own. While Hulk isn't my favorite superhero, and I don't find him as interesting as Iron Man or Thor, I remember seeing the first Hulk film when I was little and being disappointed at how boring this supposed action movie was, what with Hulk not even appearing until the 40 minute mark. When I first saw this film in theaters, Hulk was up on screen within the first 15 minutes. This was what I wanted that first Hulk film to be, and for that reason alone I enjoyed the hell out of it. I enjoyed it then, and I still enjoy it now.
I think that because of the negative reception to the first film, coupled with the fact that people can't really relate to Hulk, this film is very underrated. People often forget about it, or choose to ignore it. They don't think it has anything to do with the Avengers story line until Tony Stark pops up at the end. But it was that cameo that established Marvel was committed to crossing over its films. The Incredible Hulk is that missing link in the Avengers chain, one that works just as well as a standalone picture as it does when placed alongside its fellow Avengers films. Maybe if they kept Edward Norton in the Avengers, people would recognize this film more, but I'm glad they recasted Banner with Mark Ruffalo. He looks the part and seems to act great, plus I heard that Norton's ego made him a control freak on set. Putting Norton on the Avengers would be a disaster, so I actually welcome the change in cast, even if it does mean we'll have had three actors play Banner in under a decade.
Maybe this film will never break out from the negative reputation of its predecessor. Maybe people will appreciate it more depending on Hulk's reception in the Avengers. Personally, all that matters to me is whether or not "The Incredible Hulk" holds up. For me, it does. It's an enjoyable film that captures the essence of the Hulk's mythology on screen, and while Norton may not be along for the ride next time, he still does a great job of rebooting Hulk and establishing his place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tomorrow I will be reviewing the final solo Marvel film, "Captain America: The First Avenger", thus completing my first series of retro reviews and my marvel marathon leading up to the Avengers release.
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