Incredible Hulk Review
Incredible Hulk
Directed by: Louis Leterrier
Written by: Zak Penn
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth
When Marvel first announced that they would be rebooting the Hulk franchise and starting from scratch with a new cast and a new creative team, their justification was that they wanted to correct all of the fan complaints from Ang Lee’s film. Of course, in the end they boiled it all down to one thing: more action. While that may sound good on paper, 90 minutes of Hulk smashing does not a good movie make. In the back of our minds, I’m sure we all knew there had to be some semblance of a plot and a love story at its core, but it doesn’t matter — based on what they promised, the Incredible Hulk movie is a failure, and quite honestly, not much an improvement on Ang Lee’s Hulk either.
Director Louis Leterrier stated in interviews that the Hulk would be revealed within the first two minutes of this flick (because you know, they’ve just packed so much action into it!), but that’s not entirely true. The opening credit sequence tells the back story of how Bruce Banner became the Hulk through sort of a hazy flashback in a first person perspective. After that, we don’t see the Hulk for a while as we meet up with Banner who is now on the run, hiding out in the slums of Brazil and trying to deal with his condition.
I actually liked this first part of the film. There was an element of intrigue from him being a fugitive, and it was interesting that Banner would try to find ways to control his anger (although I don’t see why living in one of the most dangerous parts of the world would be a good idea). He is exchanging encrypted messages over the internet with a mysterious researcher who is helping him to find a cure for his gamma radiation, but when Banner accidentally cuts himself at his job and a drop of his blood gets into a drink at a bottling factory, eventually it reveals his location to General Ross (through Stan Lee’s silliest cameo yet). General Ross makes his move, and among his strike team is a soldier named Emil Blonsky, who takes a special interest in the Hulk and becomes intrigued with his power. Later Ross decides to make him a guinea pig for another experiment that ultimately leads to the creation of the Abomination.
Going into this movie, I already suspected that the biggest problem was going to be Liv Tyler. Betty Ross was played by Jennifer Connelly in the first Hulk movie, and there’s simply no comparison between the two. As a result, the love story in this movie is downright painful to watch (it also doesn’t help when you hire an action guy to direct relationship stuff). Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means against having a love story in the movie; I think you need it, because it’s the only thing that brings humanity to the Hulk. But I am pretty sure this is going to be the thing that most fans take issue with, and I have to agree. To be fair, John Hurt was also pretty laughable as General Ross as well. He just seemed to have been miscast, and his interaction with Liv Tyler was equally awkward.
Still, surely if you can look past the love story, there must be some pretty amazing action and special effects in this movie, right? Well, yeah, the thing about that is… not really. The CG Hulk in this film is a lot more detailed and expressive than Ang Lee’s Hulk, and while it’s an impressive technical achievement, it actually felt more artificial to me. I didn’t like the glowing green eyes that they gave him, and there’s a softness to his face that I think was designed to make him a little more sympathetic, particularly during the final fight against the Abomination. He seemed very cartoony, and it just didn’t work for me.
Speaking of which, the finale may be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen on screen (and at least as silly as the head scratcher of an ending that Ang Lee gave us). Once again, I’m sure it was a painstaking process to create it, but like Michael Bay’s Transformers, I couldn’t get invested in a fight between these two massive CG creatures, slugging it out. Overall, there wasn’t nearly as much action in the movie as I was expecting. There are only three hulk outs during the course of the film, and there’s only so much you can do with them. There is a fun parkour-esque chase scene with Bruce Banner near the beginning that was cool (even if it reeked of Bourne), but once you get into battles with the Hulk himself, I don’t know how the director of The Transporter was expected to magically make these feel even more kinetic and cool. It’s not like the Hulk does martial arts… know what I mean?
The one major thing that this movie has going for it is Ed Norton. He certainly suits the role of Bruce Banner perfectly, and comes across as nerdy, soft-spoken and unassuming. He also plays a head case quite convincingly, and in moments of stress he nails it. Unfortunately, his performance is not enough to save the movie from being… ahem… an abomination. The dialogue is terrible, and the few attempts at humour are groan-worthy at best.
I don’t know if I’m holding the Incredible Hulk up to different standards because of what was promised, but the bottom line is that it simply didn’t deliver. I felt like I had seen it all before, either in the first Hulk movie or in previous Marvel films. More importantly, the movie is just big and empty, and as the epilogue with Tony Stark proves, little more than a set up for the eventual Avengers movie. But hey, maybe the Hulk will work better as part of a team, because as this movie shows, he’s just not all that interesting on his own. — Sean
SCORE: 
Recommended If You Like: King Kong, Hulk, Hollow Man
Comments (26)
sean, I love ya, but the hulk is probably the most interesting character in the marvel U…that’s just my opinion, I realize, but just because the hulk himself is mostly just an engine of hate and destruction and because they cant seem to find the absolute “right” way to show him on screen…doesnt mean its the character being bad, its the writing of the movies.
I mean, honestly I really dont like comic book movies…they belong on the page…not the screen…FRESH NEW IDEAS belong on the (mainstream)screen, but we have all given up hope for that right?
Posted by Bob The Slob on June 14th, 2008Yeah, I haven’t read many Hulk comics, but I’m sure there are some cool stories to be told. Unfortunately this just wasn’t one of them.
Did you see the movie? If so, what did you think?
Posted by Sean on June 14th, 2008I’m gonna see it in a couple days. No rush, really.
I have no special feelings towards the Hulk. I’m a defender of the Ang Lee version, and don’t really feel this one is necessary, and wont be upset if i don’t like this one. This is one case of whether I love it or hate it, I won’t be arguing strongly either way with anyone.
Posted by Goon on June 14th, 2008sean, I’m a HUGE HULK fan, and yeah I’ve seen it twice, and loved it…its not a great movie, but it is great for any hulk fan especially those into the comics and tv show…but I dont think it’s “great” in the overall sense of the word. I was also a fan of the Ang Lee version, with the exception of Bana’s wooden acting, the hulk dogs, hulk’s size, and that ending in the lake (WTF was that?)…this movie was like the best episode of the TV show ever made, and for that reason I totally dug it. However it should be noted that me saying “i loved” a modern comic book movie filled with CGI basically means i’m saying “it wasnt cinematic satan, but it’s still nothing like the old days.”
If you check out any current comics on the hulk, or are ever inclined to…get Planet Hulk and it’s sequel World War Hulk…I dont read comics anymore, but those were completely worth the time and money.
thanks for commenting back sean.
-Bob
Posted by Bob The Slob on June 14th, 2008It’s William Hurt who plays General Ross, not John Hurt!
Sounds like a bad movie. I’m with you, I think Liv Tyler is completely talentless, and I think Jennifer Connelly is extremely talented. That was the one major trade-down in terms of casting from the first one I thought, the rest seemed to be as good or better. I really like William Hurt.
I probably won’t see this. The lack of respect for Ang Lee’s good film is annoying me to no end. Edward Norton said on the Kimmel sketch that they were trying to pull the franchise ‘out of the fucking cellar’. What? It wasn’t even a horrible bomb the first one, it made hundreds of millions of dollars! And creatively, it seems it’s gone the opposite way of what Norton was saying.
Posted by Henrik on June 14th, 2008That ending wasn’t just terrible, but it kinda insulted my intelligence or maybe it was a plot hole to get movie over with. Up until that last part of the movie I really liked the movie and was put together nicely. I liked the ADD-style frenetic editing in this film way more than the Transformers.
I agree with what you said about the humor Sean. The funniest moment in the film was when I saw a victoria secret looking model in a men’s factory workplace.
Posted by Primal on June 14th, 2008By the way, after hearing you guys talk about Manda Bala in a previous filmjunk podcast, I watched the film and really enjoyed it. I also knew that when they had sweeping shots of that Rio ghetto in Incredible Hulk, I knew it couldn’t be CG, hehe.
Posted by Primal on June 14th, 2008Henrik: Oops, yeah, William Hurt. I had him listed at the top, not sure why I said John Hurt in the actual review.
Bob: Thanks for the comic recommendations, I will look into those.
Primal: The editing in this was better than Transformers, at least you could follow what was going on. I really liked the Rio ghetto as a backdrop… that’s one of the reasons why I thought the first act was cool, even if the actual people he met there were completely contrived.
Posted by Sean on June 14th, 2008Sean, if you are ever interested in reading a Hulk comic and you liked the beginning of Leterrier and Norton’s movie, you should definitely read Bruce Jones and John Romita Jr’s The Incredible Hulk: Return of the Monster TPB. Multiple elements from this new Hulk film were taken right from that book, such as the online conversations between Mr. Blue and Mr. Green and the fact that Banner is a fugitive going to extreme measures to evade capture.
Another Hulk book which I would recommend is written by Brian Azzarello, drawn by underground comix legend Richard Corben, and is simply called Banner. It’s a contained story about Bruce Banner losing all hope and trying to finally rid himself of the Hulk by seemingly any means necessary.
As for this new film itself, I thought it was pretty good. Final “action” scene aside, I preferred the Ang Lee film. I liked Ed Norton more than genEric Bana (aka Eric Bland-a) as Banner, but I preferred Jennifer Connelly to Liv Tyler. I like William Hurt a lot, but felt he was short-changed in this movie. In essence this film was the polar opposite of Ang Lee’s version. One has superior action and the other has a superior story and character development. Unfortunately, neither have had the proper combination of those two elements.
Posted by Rian on June 14th, 2008Uh oh, you insulted the female lead of a comic book movie! Your abusive lover Jay Cheel is going to be pissed.
Posted by Rusty James on June 14th, 2008saw tih last night. wasnt as disappointed as with the first one but still felt short changed. maybe i expected too much or saw too many of the released clips and it spoiled it for me. i’ve come to really like the first one after being able to skip pass the slow parts on dvd. i still hate the ending.
william hurt didn’t work for me. i every line he said i imagined how sam elliot would have said i so much better.
liv tyler? all she did was talk in whispers. still in lotr mode, i guess. connely was/is a much better actress
although this hulk has more action and way less psycho analysis stuff, the cgi imo was not as good and looked cartoony quite a bit. angs hulk was not perfect at times, but overall that hulk had more believable movements and was more polished and finished. saying that, is not comparing the more beastly quality of this hulk to angs it’s just ilm’s cgi was and is better than r&h’s imo. i thought the abom looked more convincing then the hulk. r&h was really proud of their close up hulk grimace face…they really show it a lot.
what else is grinding my gears?? what’s with the preview shots of things not in the movie?? where was the snowy mountain scene??
overall the movie was ok. story was ok the action was cool the cgi was a little disappointing
Posted by alpoc on June 14th, 2008I have no interest in seeing this movie. I never really liked The Incredible Hulk.
Posted by ShenEvil44 on June 14th, 2008The way this looked from the onset, I thought it was gonna be terrible, or at least worse that Ang Lee’s version. Hmm, makes you wonder if a great Hulk movie is even possible.
Posted by Matt on June 14th, 2008I think the new design to the hulk is completley ugly, the texture is weird, and its not softness
Posted by Drew on June 15th, 2008I give it a pass, but not a strong one. I actually prefer the Ang Lee version.
Posted by Goon on June 15th, 2008I don’t know what all the hate was about for this movie. While it wasn’t as good as Iron Man, it was very enjoyable. The only part I had an issue with really was the end fight scene. Up until that, it was awesome. Edward Norton was great as usual, and I enjoyed seeing Tim Roth as the jealous Blonsky. Quite an improvement of the last one by Ang Lee. It seems that Sean is just understandably tired of the genre. But after so many horrible Marvel adaptations (Ghost Rider, Elektra, Spider-Man 3) it’s nice to see Marvel taking back it’s properties and making something worthwhile.
Now, as for “The Happening”, that was a piece of crap!
Posted by Dane on June 15th, 2008how the hell do people put Spiderman 3 with Elektra and Ghost Rider. theres no comparison. SM3 even leaves both Hulk movies in the dust.
Posted by Goon on June 15th, 2008I love both Spider-Man 3 and Hulk. Ghost Rider has its Nic Cage-appreciator moments, but is definitely a horrible, horrible movie. Elektra I haven’t seen. To sum up, SM3 is amazing. Hulk is equally amazing. Both are better than Ghost Rider or Elektra.
Posted by Henrik on June 15th, 2008Make a third Hulk movie! Get Ewe Boll to direct it….he couldn’t do worse. Seriously, I liked Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk the best. That Hulk scared me a little as a kid. Could they have just used a real man and made him look taller/bigger? Like the baby in “Honey I the kid”.
I hate to say it but right now TV is running roughshod over film.
Great review Sean.
Posted by Lord Dungbeetle on June 15th, 2008And yeah “World War Hulk” rules!
Posted by Lord Dungbeetle on June 15th, 2008Sean, I don’t wholeheartedly agree with all your points but my score would be the same. I left feeling like the trailer practically showed the whole movie. Plus, the pacing lacked rhythm and the Abomination looked like it was modeled and textured like eight years ago in some shots. The only truly awesome action beat in the whole movie was Blonsky getting smashed into that tree. Zak Penn wrote Wolverine being smashed into a tree and it was executed in the same way in X-Men: The Last Stand!
I think they should have introduced the intelligent Hulk. Why don’t they realize the same thing Marvel writers realized years ago; a superhero is less interesting if he can’t express himself.
Posted by Ryan on June 16th, 2008Oh yeah, allow me to add that the lack of a skeletor was disappointing. Whats a skeletor you ask? After the end credit sequence in Masters of the Universe there was a brief scene of Skeletor saying “I’ll be back”. All post end credit scenes are skeletors in my circle of friends. The Tony Stark sequence felt tacked on and should have functioned as the skeletor.
Also, this whole cameo thing has brought upon this crazy dynamic in my circle of friends, some of our dialogue during the film was as follows:
Justin: “Mr. Blue is Captain America!”
Ryan: “That’s fucking stupid, he’s not a scientist. It’s Stark or Ant-Man.”
Tommy: “Captain America is blue.”
Ryan: “Good God this is geek.”
Basically, I have a love/hate relationship with this crossover tease. They are setting themselves up for possible commercial success but probable critical failure with the whole thing. With a slew of movies all hyping The Avengers they have a lot to live up too. They’ll need a visionary director to pull off showing all these characters that we saw through different lenses in the same shot. Plus, in the Iron Man skeletor why didn’t Nick Fury tell Tony Stark that “Do you think you and Spiderman are the only superheroes out there?”….Alright I’m done.
Posted by Ryan on June 16th, 2008I’ll have to say that I enjoyed this movie almost as much as I liked the first one. So the first one was slow paced and it dragged a bit; but that’s no different from the very first Superman movie. I say ,Patience. The first hulk had a very good script and went into great detail (for realism). The ending was pretty confusing but nobody’s perfect, especially when it comes to a director who’s only really done dramatic films. The CG wasn’t that bad. I thought it was badass(compared to the old shows, bodybuilder painted up with an ugly ass wig… I mean, what the fuck do you expect, national geographic graphics? It was made around 2004, not 2024. The new one, I thought delivered more suspence, action, and less drama than the first one, which I thought made it more exciting to watch. Even though it wasn’t technically considered a sequel, it somewhat felt like it was pickin up where the first one left off. The CG was 3 or 4 years newer than the first and it looked better. The script wasn’t as realistic sounding as the first one; this one was more comic book campy, but wasn’t terrible. When I go to the movies to see a character from a comic book, I go to see what’s been done to make the character come to life (which is proly why I liked the script in the first one better). The director impressed the hell out of me, after seeing the Transporter films >;P
I think comic book movies like The Incredible Hulk is perfect for a director like Louis Leterrier.
P.S. CG ain’t cheap mofos… Lets see how your Hulk movie looks. lol
Posted by Derek on June 18th, 2008If there is a third Hulk did anyone catch a hint on who the villain was going to be during the movie? Me, my brother, and our friend did. Pay attention to Samuel Sterns(Mr.Blue) when he falls on the floor. As for you Ryan you’re right about him not being Captain America but he’s a Hulk villain NOT a superhero(Iron Man,Ant Man. Also is Betty’s boyfriend Doc Sampson?
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