Member review

“Avengers: Endgame” is only 37 days, 10 hours and 49 minutes away! I have never been more excited for any movie than I am for this one, so what better time than now to review all of the previous MCU films leading up to the grand finale!

“The Incredible Hulk” was released one month after the exceptional “Iron Man” (which I’ve already reviewed.) It was met with fairly tepid reviews and is widely considered to be one of (if not the absolute) worst entry in the MCU. Personally, I think that “The Incredible Hulk” is fine, it’s got some effectively sad moments and well-staged action, but this is easily one of the most forgettable and uninspired films in the otherwise stellar Marvel Cinematic Universe.

To be fair, this isn’t my least favourite film in the franchise, it edges up to the penultimate spot thanks to the aggressively mediocre “Thor: The Dark World.” I cut “The Incredible Hulk” some slack because the MCU was still finding its feet at this point, whereas “Thor: The Dark World” was the eighth entry in the series which means that it doesn’t have a valid excuse for being so bland.

To give credit where credit is due, this is a far better Hulk film than the notoriously bizarre (and terrible) Ang Lee directed “Hulk” from 2003. However, that statement is like saying that walking down the street is preferable to crashing a helicopter into a nuclear power plant, your comparing an average occurrence with an absolute disaster!

The lack of an engaging protagonist in this film is probably the biggest reason that “The Incredible Hulk” falls where “Iron Man”, “Thor” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” soars. In my opinion, “Iron Man” is a near-perfect film (I actually prefer it to “The Dark Knight”) and one of the many reasons why I love it so much is due to Robert Downey Jr.’s infectiously entertaining performance. It’s also worth mentioning that the best scene in “The Incredible Hulk” is Robert Downey Jr.’s cameo appearance in the final scene. That’s right, the best scene in the movie is the final scene that sets up more movies, starring a character from a better movie… good job guys.

“Thor” is one of the most underrated MCU films that I really enjoy, it’s not without fault but Chris Hemsworth’s portrayal of the God of Thunder really HAMMERS the film home. “Captain America: The First Avenger” features one of the best superhero origin stories in film but loses its way slightly in the latter half of the narrative; but the combined efforts of Chris Evans’ endearing Steve Rodgers and Hayley Atwell’s awesome Peggy Carter keep the movie on track.

But sadly none of the cast in “The Incredible Hulk” give particularly memorable performances. Edward Norton did an ok job of portraying Bruce Banner, he was decent in the more emotional scenes and exciting sequences but didn’t bring much energy or enthusiasm to the table. His incarnation of the character works fairly well in this more sombre film but I can’t imagine him in, say, “Thor: Ragnarok.” Overall, I’m glad that they recast him for the far more likeable version played by Mark Ruffalo.

Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross is a disposable love interest and Tim Roth as antagonist Abomination is merely alright. Probably the most memorable character in “The Incredible Hulk” is General Thunderbolt Ross, played by William Hurt. The only reason that people remember him is because he is the only major actor in this film to appear in later movies (he appears in “Captain America: Civil War” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”)

Fun fact, the actor who plays Mr. Harrington, the academic decathlon coach in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (Martin Starr), also appears in “The Incredible Hulk” as the guy in the college campus who toasts Bruce Banner with a slice of pizza. So, there is an extra layer of unseen brilliance to this film, who knew (it was probably just a coincidence.)

The action sequences in “The Incredible Hulk” are pretty disappointing. I think that the fight sequences in this film are immensely enjoyable, the choreography is inventive (I’d be lying if I said that Hulk using two halves of a police car as boxing gloves wasn’t cool) and the cinematography adds to the scope of the action.

What really let’s these sequences down however is the awful CGI. Whereas 99% of the effects in “Iron Man” looked picture perfect, here, the Hulk looks like a giant khaki-green bogey that’s been unceremoniously photo-shopped into the film by a nine-year old. I really dislike this design of the Hulk; the filmmakers removed all of the body fat from him so the not-so-jolly green giant is way too muscular and therefore unpleasant to look at. Unlike the Ruffalo version, this Hulk looks absolutely nothing like the actor who portrays Bruce Banner (his hair is much longer than Edward Norton’s), which adds to the unsightly image of this gross looking hero. This probably sounds like the shallowest fanboy nit-pick ever, but in my opinion, if the audience winces when a super hero comes on screen, it’s time to go back to the drawing board!

And lastly, the biggest reason that “The Incredible Hulk” doesn’t feel like an MCU movie, I think, is because of its tone. This film lacks any humour or jokes (apart from an ok taxi gag), which is a STARK contrast to many of the later entries in the series, which pride themselves on their comedic moments. “The Incredible Hulk” feels more like a second-rate “Jason Bourne” film, with monsters thrown into the mix; it’s more broody than most of the other films.

In summary, “The Incredible Hulk” isn’t as bad as many people say it is. It’s far more watchable than the baffling mess that is “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” or the pathetically incompetent “Justice League”, it’s not great, but it’s an inoffensive watch. If you’re planning on an epic Marvel Marathon before “Avengers: Endgame”, I would recommend re-watching “The Incredible Hulk.” It’s not essential viewing, but its quaint vibe is a nice way of showing us how far this genre has come.