The Incredible Hulk Review: Hulk Smash
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The Incredible Hulk
Director: Louis Leterrier
7
Where to Watch The Incredible Hulk?
The second film in this MCU journey is one that many people tend to forget is even part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Incredible Hulk was also released in 2008 and many people tend to not talk about it when discussing the MCU. This is largely due to the fact that Edward Norton was recast with Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers and because of this general audiences tend to not connect the two.
This was fine because besides a couple of lines here or there this film was largely ignored up until 2016. Since 2016 though there have been more and more references to the film starting with bringing back General Ross in Captain America Civil War. After that we had the reappearance of Abomination in both Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as well as She-Hulk and the villain in the upcoming Captain America Brave New World also first appeared in this film.
This happens to be the only MCU film that I didn’t see in theatres. This is probably due to the fact that we had no idea it was connected and it probably did not interest my parents. I do remember watching the film for the first time on Netflix in 2013 and being shocked that Tony Stark was in the movie. I was familiar with the Hulk previously through comics and TV shows so when he appeared in Avengers I wasn’t confused at all and just thought it was his first appearance to that point.
I have since watched the film a couple of times and I have to say it ranks pretty low on my ranking. In fact, it ranks as my second least favourite just ahead of Eternals but we will talk about that movie later. I guess my biggest gripe with this film is just how slow it is. The pacing is off and it feels like it has two different movies inside it fighting for control of the plot. You have this very cerebral film that looks at how being the Hulk has affected Bruce and what he has to do to keep himself calm.
The other film is the army chasing down the Hulk and trying to create new super soldiers. I think both these films could be interesting but I think neither part is given sufficient time to breathe. This film frustrates me because there is potential but I feel it misses the mark with the conflicting tones.
Now let’s talk about the casting. It’s easy for me to say that I prefer Mark Ruffalo as that’s who I saw first in the role. Personally, even with considering the performance from this film my favourite interpretation of the Hulk is in The Avengers. I just think it balances the darker elements of this film while incorporating some humour and snark that develops in the following films.
Edward Norton doesn’t do a terrible job but I just feel he is too emotionally detached in the performance. For a man with such range, I feel like his choices with this character didn’t land for me. Even though Bruce Banner is a scientist he is still an emotional man, I mean the Hulk is released due to emotion. He just doesn’t feel as alive to me. I can buy the sad and depressed part but the longing, the hope and especially the anger don’t come through to me.

To talk about some things I like, the action is quite good. I feel that the university campus fight is really well done as you feel the strength of the Hulk when he is taking down these trucks with ease. The final fight is also quite good as I know it’s become the superhero trope to have characters with the same power fight but I quite enjoyed seeing the Hulk fight the Abomination.
Plus, I mean this is the only time to this point that we hear the Hulk utter the phrase “Hulk Smash” so that is honestly pretty cool. Something that I wasn’t expecting to enjoy was the film score. There are some iconic MCU scores and while this isn’t in my top 5 it is quite good. In particular, I enjoy the romantic score between Bruce and Betty.
I have enjoyed all the references to this film more than the film itself. I have liked all of General Ross’ appearances and think he serves as a good foil to the Avengers as he is a government man through and through. I quite liked Emil Blonsky in She-Hulk and am interested in seeing his further cameos. I am curious to see how the Leader is adapted in the new Captain America movie since my only experience with the character is from a cartoon and I think it will be hard to pull off.

So overall, this movie is not one of the MCU’s best and I consider it one of its worst but it does present some interesting ideas that are carried forward. You can feel the shakiness of the MCU still trying to establish itself and its identity which is ok this was only the second movie. At the same time, this isn’t one I revisit often but you’ll have to watch yourself and see if you feel this Hulk adventure is in fact incredible.