The Incredible Hulk - Movie Review

 The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk is a superhero film from 2008, it's the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second Hulk film adaptation. It tells the story of Bruce Banner, who already became the Hulk, as he goes on a quest to cure himself while also being on the run from the military who wants him as a weapon. The film was released on June 13th, 2008, was a box office and received mostly positive reviews. Let's continue on with my MCU reviews leading up to Black Widow!

THE GOOD

This movie isn't one of the best films in the MCU, but it's a great time! Edward Norton, while not quite as good as Mark Ruffalo, still gives a solid performance, I wouldn't expect anything less from an actor as talented as him! While the story isn't anything original, it's always engaging and it always kept my attention. I loved the execution of the story of Bruce Banner's fear of becoming the Hulk and his journey to finding the cure. I loved the fact that this movie didn't just choose to retell Bruce Banner's origin story again, especially because Ang Lee's snoozefest Hulk movie just came out 5 years before this movie did, this movie cuts right to the chase and decides to just have fun with the characters. I can't review a Hulk movie without talking about the Hulk action, and when it happens, it is fucking AWESOME! The action sequences in this movie are fucking fantastic, the big throwdown between the Hulk and the military about half way through the movie is so adrenaline fueled and white knuckled and fun, I really love that action sequence! There's only 3 main action sequences but each of them are very well handled and directed, each of them are unique and distinct, and they last a long time too so there's not a feeling of a lack of action whatsoever. I love the military characters in this movie, they were so much fun to watch, and Tim Roth's character is definitely one of the better villains in pre-Phase 3 MCU. There's also a few very nice references to the original 70s TV show, including the theme song being played and Lou Ferrigno also makes a cameo too!

THE BAD

I do have a few flaws here, some of the CGI definitely didn't age very well, especially in the final throwdown between the Hulk and the Abomination. Speaking of the final act, while the final act still kept my attention and was pretty entertaining, it was the least interesting part of the movie, and the entire thing looked like a video game that would have come out at the time this movie did. This movie also runs into the same issue I had with Iron Man, where the villain gains the same power as the hero to fight the hero, it's just not an interesting way to have a final fight in a superhero movie. There's nothing strong in terms of emotional weight, there's some here, and it's definitely well executed, much better executed than that piece of shit Ang Lee made in 2003, but there definitely could have been more.

CONCLUSION

Is The Incredible Hulk one of the best films in the MCU? No, but it is extremely entertaining! The performances are very good, the characters are fun, the action is exciting, and the story is fairly compelling, despite the lack of emotional weight and the fact that this is another film where the villain just copies the hero.

GRADE:  B+

FILM INFO

MPA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images and brief suggestive content)

Run time:  113 min

Release date:  June 13th, 2008

Studio:  Universal Pictures