Marvel Comics have featured many superhero characters who have become very popular with some of them turning up in cartoons, television shows, and movies. The character of Bruce Banner/Hulk has been featured in all three. In 2003, he turned up in the major movie Hulk that wasn't as good as it could have been. I didn't think it was as horrible as many people did, but it wasn't one of my favorites either. I was interested when I heard about the new Hulk movie, The Incredible Hulk (2008), and I have been wanting to see it for a while now.
I am only going to mention things about the plot of The Incredible Hulk that were shown in the trailers and I'm not going to be specific about certain things. There are no spoilers in this review. Anyone who would prefer not to know anything about the plot should skip the following paragraph.
**Minor Plot Discussion**
Dr. Bruce Banner was living a life on the run while trying to find a way to reverse what exposure to gamma radiation had done to him. Any time he got angry, or even just excited, Bruce turned into a large, powerful, green monster. Bruce had also been working on trying to control his anger and prevent transforming into the Hulk. He went into hiding, leaving behind Betty Ross because her father, General Thaddeus Ross and the military wanted to use him in Hulk form as a weapon. A solider, Emil Blonsky, willing underwent an experiment meant to make him a better solider. Things didn’t go as planned and he became Abomination, a monster even more powerful than the Hulk.
**End of Minor Plot Discussion**
The Incredible Hulk was based on the Marvel character created by Stan Lee. I never read the comic books, so I don’t know what was changed from them for this movie. I did see the cartoon and live action television show when I was growing up though. I have forgotten things about both, but I do remember really enjoying both of them. I have learned more about the comic book version of the Hulk from reading Hulk: The Incredible Guide, and I think this movie stayed fairly close to the way the characters were in the comics even though there were some changes made.
Most people familiar with Marvel Comics know that the characters from the different comic books have interacted with each other over the years. In most of the previous movies featuring Marvel characters, there wasn’t even any mention of the other superheroes even though some of them were in the same city. That didn’t happen in The Incredible Hulk. There were a few small references or mentions of other characters or groups like Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D. that turned up a few times. That can be done now since Marvel formed their own movie studio and reacquired the rights to their characters. That opens up all kinds of interesting possibilities for future movies. The very last scene of the movie showed a little something with another Marvel character that is setting up something for the future. There was also something else shown late in the movie that I think has possibilities for future movies as well. I did wait through the credits just in case, and there wasn’t a scene after they ended.
When I first heard that there was going to be a new movie featuring the Hulk, I thought it was going to be a sequel to the 2003 movie. I still thought it might be even after I saw the first trailer. I later read a few things that indicated that The Incredible Hulk was more of a reboot, sort of like what was done for the Batman series with Batman Begins. The origin story of how Bruce first became the Hulk was only briefly shown, first during the opening credits and later in a short flashback. He was still exposed to gamma radiation during an experiment, but it was a different sort of experiment. He and Betty had been working on a project for General Ross and the military. I’m really glad that there wasn’t anything about Bruce’s father in the movie like there had been in the 2003 version.
I have read a little about The Incredible Hulk and seen a few things that brought up how it was decided to try to make the movie be more like the television show. The show introduced Bruce - or David as he was called in the show - and the Hulk to many people who had never read a comic book before. I know a lot of people really liked that show, so it does make sense why they would try to connect to the show with this movie. It has been a long time since I last saw the television show, but I still remember a few things that turned up in this movie. When he was on the verge of changing into the Hulk, Bruce’s eyes would become green before there was any other change to his body. Bruce was living on the run while trying to find a cure, something that I think was a big part of the television show. There were a few shots of Bruce walking down a road alone, a frequent image in the television show. I think that music from the television show turned up at least once, but since it has been so long since I last saw the show, I might be wrong.
When The Incredible Hulk got started, Bruce had been on the run for five years. Really nothing that had happened to him during that time was brought up other than that he had been working to control his anger and excitement to prevent the transformations while also trying to find a cure. Most of the movie was focused on how determined Bruce was to find a cure while General Ross was just as determined to capture Bruce to use him for military purposes. The movie wasn’t complicated but I wouldn’t consider it simple either. There was enough going on to keep things interesting without overloading the plot with too much or too many villains like has happened in some other superhero movies. Bruce/Hulk did end up having to deal with Abomination, a villain that has been in the comic books. I liked that one of the villains from the comic books was used instead of the weird mess of a villain used in Hulk. One brief shot also set up another villain for a future movie.
The action started fairly early after a fluke allowed General Ross to track down Bruce. He had his first transformation into the Hulk fairly early in the movie even though he was mostly in shadows at that point. That worked well since the men that were trying to capture Bruce for General Ross had no idea what they were dealing with. There was more action later in the movie, including a few big battle scenes. I think the action scenes worked well and they seemed believable even though unrealistic things were happening. I do think the action scenes worked better in this movie than they did in Hulk. There was violence in the fight scenes, but it wasn’t overly graphic. The movie was rated PG-13 and it really isn’t something for young children to see.
Hulk and Abomination were created with special effects that involved motion capture performances from the actors. I thought that worked well and made both of them seem realistic. The Hulk was shown interacting with other people in ways that looked normal and natural. That did add to the believability of the movie. The Hulk was much bigger than Bruce and other people, but he didn’t look as odd as the character did in the 2003 movie. He also didn’t keep changing size throughout the movie. Overall I liked the look of the Hulk even though the green for his skin was a different shade than it was in the television show and comics. The bright green color used in the 2003 movie made him look almost cartoon like, something that didn’t happen this time. The green was more subdued, which I think helped to make the character look more realistic. From what I have read about Abomination, a few things were changed about him, including how he looked after his transformation, but the look worked for the movie.
For the most part, The Incredible Hulk was a serious movie. Time was taken to show how Bruce had been dealing with his life and trying to prevent future transformations. There really wasn’t a lot of attention given to the internal struggle and conflicts that Bruce had about having an aspect of himself that he couldn’t control. Enough was shown to know that he didn’t like changing and desperately wanted to find a cure. I would have liked it if a little more time had been given to that aspect of the movie. There were a few humorous moments that popped up here and there that helped to lighten the mood a bit. I think the funniest thing involved Betty’s reaction to a wild cab ride. There were also a few jokes connected to Bruce needing stretchy pants.
The Hulk is not a typical superhero, so The Incredible Hulk isn’t a typical superhero movie. Once Bruce transforms, he’s basically a rampaging monster who can cause limitless destruction. Nothing hurt him and he couldn’t be stopped. If Betty happens to be around, she can calm him down and somehow get through to the part of the Hulk that is still Bruce. Anger usually set off the transformations, which caused the Hulk to be, well, very grumpy. The fact that General Ross and the military were always shooting at him and trying to capture him didn’t do anything to help the situation. He really just wanted to be left alone so he could find a cure, but General Ross just wouldn’t stop hunting him. Taking that into consideration, it wasn’t surprising that the Hulk tended to be grumpy and aggressive.
Bruce and Betty’s relationship has been important throughout the comic books and it was important in The Incredible Hulk. They had been involved before the accident that caused Bruce to turn into the Hulk. Bruce loved her, but was forced to leave her behind when he went on the run from General Ross. Even after five years, he still loved her. It wasn’t specifically said, but I think Bruce’s desire to be with Betty again was at least part of his motivation for continuing to search for a cure. Betty had seemed to move on, but it was very clear once she saw Bruce again that she still loved him. Seeing him change into the Hulk and witnessing the destruction he could cause didn’t change her feelings. There weren’t any sex scenes in the movie, though one scene came close. Betty showed just a little bit of skin during that scene. Bruce showed off his bare chest more than once and turned up naked once in the shower, though his bare backside wasn’t shown. I did think the relationship between Bruce and Betty was more believable in this movie than it had been in the 2003 movie.
Bruce had been working hard to manage his anger and excitement as well as find a cure while on the run. He was very determined because he didn’t want General Ross to use what was in him as a military weapon. Bruce didn’t want to hurt anyone, which was another reason why he stayed away from people for the most part. I really liked Edward Norton in the part. Betty wasn’t as developed, but she wasn’t depicted as a damsel in distress for Bruce/Hulk to rescue either. She was a scientist, so she was intelligent. Hulk did end up protecting her more than once, but she wasn’t helpless. It would have been nice if she had been developed a bit more. Liv Tyler made her a kind, caring woman.
Betty and her father General Ross had a strained relationship because he saw Bruce as a weapon and kept hunting him. General Ross believed that the Hulk was dangerous, but he still wanted to capture Bruce to somehow use him as a weapon for the military. He saw the Hulk as the ultimate weapon, which was why he authorized the experiment on Emil. General Ross was not a nice guy and I did not like him. William Hurt was really good in the part. Emil was a solider who loved fighting but was starting to feel his age. He wanted to be stronger and faster, which was why he took part in the experiment. He became obsessed with finding a way to be stronger than the Hulk, which lead to him turning into Abomination. I thought that Tim Roth was good in the part.
None of the other characters were that important, so they weren’t developed. Ty Burrell turned up in a few short scenes. The credits on the actual movie listed him as Leonard, but online, I saw him credited as Dr. Samson, a character from the comic books. I remember seeing something in the trailers that wasn’t in the movie that also featured Leonard. I think his part was supposed to be longer originally. Lou Ferrigno, the man who played the Hulk in the television show turned up in a short scene as a security guard. He also provided the voice for Hulk. Stan Lee had another cameo that was actually important to the plot.
Main Cast
Ty Burrell - Dr. Samson Lou Ferrigno - Voice of Hulk/Security Guard William Hurt - General Thaddeus Thunderbolt Ross Edward Norton - Bruce Banner Tim Roth - Emil Blonsky Liv Tyler - Betty Ross
Louis Leterrier - Director
I really enjoyed The Incredible Hulk. I think it was much better than Hulk. The characters and situations just seemed to work better in this version. It would have been nice if there had been more focus on a few aspects, but the movie was still very entertaining and worth watching. I think it is one of the better superhero movies. Marvel is doing things right with how they are handling making movies based on their characters and setting up future movies. DC should pay attention.
I would have rated this four and a half stars if I had the option. Since I don’t, I decided to round up to five.
Edward Norton stars as scientist Bruce Banner, a man who has been living in shadows, scouring the planet for an antidote to the unbridled force of rag...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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