The Incredible Hulk (2008) - Film Review

Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth & William Hurt

Screenplay: Zak Penn

Directed By: Louis Leterrier

Certificate: 12

Now more than ten years since it first began, I find it interesting to re-visit the early steps of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's staggering to see just how much it's changed and grown over that time. But like any long-running series of films, there are some that get more love than others. For the MCU, it's probably 'The Incredible Hulk' that's become the runt of the litter. Not only the lowest grossing instalment of the MCU, it tends to get shunned by a lot people now. It's the film where people seem to go "Yeah we'll just skip that one" when marathoning the Marvel movies. But is there a reason why 'The Incredible Hulk' is remembered with such ambivalence or does it deserve a bit more love? 

After being exposed to a high amount of gamma radiation, Dr. Bruce Banner is left with a remarkable superhuman ability. Whenever his heart rate hits numbers above 200bpm, he transforms into a creature known as the Hulk, a large, angry being with devastating strength and destructive power. Banner exiles himself outside of the U.S for the next five years as he attempts to find a cure for his condition. But Banner is living as a fugitive, wanted by the American military as part of a "super soldier" program. The military have no idea of the incredible power Banner holds, and it's up to him to ensure no-one else can abuse that power.

Looking at it just on a surface level, 'The Incredible Hulk' is easy to attack as a dumb trashy blockbuster, but honestly it's not without its moments of innovation and creativity. The opening montage is a terrific example of visual storytelling and a speedy, efficient way of allowing the film to dive straight in with the interesting stuff. This is a smart move, especially following the admirable misfire that was the 2003 'Hulk' film. Much like 'Iron Man' (although maybe not to quite as strong an effect), 'The Incredible Hulk' situates itself in the real world nicely. While I don't think "irradiated doctor who turns into a big green monster" can exist quite as well as "billionaire genius who creates a high-tech suit of armour", it's still made as realistic as it probably could be. Things like the location filming in South America and the fugitive Banner working in an industrial bottle factory are some of the touches that help to create this verisimilitude (now there's a posh word for you). One of my favourite sequences from the film is the army's first attempt to bring Banner into custody. As the action shifts to the bottling factory, our first look at the Hulk is a fantastic moment. By keeping him secluded in the steam and shadows, and the way he effortlessly picks off his attackers, it's almost like something out of a horror film. Portraying the Hulk in this way not only suits him, but it's one of the best ways to put across the sense of fear and unstoppable terror that the Hulk should bring. 

Across the board really, editing, cinematography, the use of colour (especially green), the CGI - it's all quite impressive and holds up more than ten years on. The Hulk CGI, including the transformation are obviously the highlight and it's showcased in several pretty good set-pieces. It shines best however at the end during Hulk's battle with the Abomination. The two creatures have a tangible weight and heft to them. Every punch is packing and their interactions with the environment are stellar. It feels like two powerful juggernauts going against each other, and that's exactly how it should feel. Balance of power is an important component of any fight scene, and whereas for the majority of the film Hulk was lacking much of a challenge by just going up against the military, against Abomination he's outmatched. It's never a given that Hulk is going to emerge the victor.

While it has more creative flourishes than many would likely give it credit for, this isn't to say 'The Incredible Hulk' is without flaws. On the contrary, it has a couple that bug many comic book movies. The first of these is Banner's love interest, Betty Ross. Liv Tyler is very likeable in the role, but the role itself is minimal at best. While I do like some of the visual parallels between her and Hulk with Ann and King Kong, Betty simply has nothing to do. She only seems to be here to fulfil an obligatory love interest role, and it's telling that Betty wouldn't appear again in the MCU after this and that loss is barely felt. 

Here in their early days, Marvel films in particular were also the subject of one very consistent accusation - the underwhelming villains. Look at the Phase 1, and for that matter a lot of the Phase 2 films, this complaint holds a lot of water and it most definitely applies to this film. Tim Roth is a good actor and he's fine here, but the character that he's playing? Few fit the term "generic" better than him. It almost feels like luck that the camera happens to follow him for the rest of the film, and not one of the other soldiers Thunderbolt Ross sends after Hulk. For most of the film, Blonsky follows Hulk's trail jealous of the sheer power Hulk has but once presenting an actual threat to him. That doesn't come about until right at the end when Blonsky obtains the same powers as the Hulk to become the Abomination. Even when he's the Abomination, he barely leaves an impression. He's basically "evil Hulk" with a more grotesque-looking design. The actual fight scenes between the two like I've said are pretty good, but as a character Abomination is not at all interesting and disposed of as quickly as he came into being.

It's also worth mentioning Edward Norton's one and only performance as Banner. Norton as an actor invests himself entirely in a role - just look at the physical changes to his body between 'American History X' and 'Fight Club', and how here again he's physically built himself up to play Banner. Norton has also famously generated a reputation of being challenging to work with through his tendency to exhibit a lot of creative control, and he himself made changes to this script too. It's not really a surprise that he would end up parting ways with Marvel. Now I'm not some snobby critic who inherently looks in disgust at Marvel movies, nor do I think of them as stingy when it comes to allowing actors to make creative decisions. But an intense method actor who likes to exhibit a lot of creative control doesn't really gel with a big conglomerate like Marvel Studios. It is a shame though 'cause I really like Norton as Banner. He isn't up to quite the same level as Mark Ruffalo's turn in the role, but then again Ruffalo has had a lot more time to make the role his own. Norton's version of the character does come across as more serious, and while I don't think this would have suited some of the later films (a straight-faced Banner wouldn't exactly work in 'Thor: Ragnarok' now would it?), for this solo outing and with this serious struggle between Banner and Hulk, I think the more serious approach works in the film's favour. 

So to go back to my original question - is there a reason why 'The Incredible Hulk' seems to be largely forgotten? Objectively yes - the overall feel of the film is somewhat different from most MCU movies. It's not as good as 'Iron Man', for the most part it's standalone, the fact that there have been no solo Hulk films since this, and most importantly the fact that Edward Norton was recast: this has all combined to make 'The Incredible Hulk' one of the most disposable chapters of the MCU. It's destined to be around the bottom of most people's Marvel movie rankings. And yet despite that it's by no means the worst MCU film. On the contrary, as I've said it has a lot to like and in my eyes it still holds up as a good film. Hardly the saga's greatest hour, but write it off at your own loss. 

The Incredible Hulk

7/10